Strict Analysis Research Articles

Phylogenetic position and age of Lake Baikal candonids (Crustacea, Ostracoda) inferred from multigene sequence analyzes and molecular dating.

With 104 endemic species family Candonidae is one of the most diverse crustacean groups in Lake Baikal, yet their phylogenetic relationships and position in the family have not been addressed so far. Here, we study the phylogenetic position of Baikal candonids within the family and their evolutionary history using molecular markers for the first time since their original description. We choose 10 Baikal and 28 species from around the world, and three ribosomal RNA‐s (18S, 28S, and 16S), and analyze individual and concatenated datasets using Bayesian Inference in MrBayes and BEAST. For molecular divergence time estimates, four fossil records are used to calibrate the root and three internal nodes. The 28S dataset is tested under the strict molecular clock, while for other data we use relaxed clocks. Resulting trees show incongruence between molecular and fossil divergence time estimates, with the former suggesting older ages. Strict molecular clock analysis results in narrower node age confidence intervals and younger time estimates than other analysis. All trees support at least two candonid lineages in Baikal, with two independent colonization events, and 28S suggests a major radiation between 12 and 5 Mya. This divergence time estimate mostly agrees with another, unrelated, ostracod group in the lake and other lake animals as well. Baikal candonid clades show a close phylogenetic relationship with Palearctic lineages, but their deep divergence is indicative of separate genera. Results also suggest a monophyly of tribes that today live exclusively in subterranean waters, and we offer several hypotheses of their evolutionary history.

Reduced-order K-filters based decentralized fuzzy adaptive control of stochastic large-scale nonlinear systems with stochastic input unmodeled dynamics

This paper addresses a decentralized fuzzy adaptive control scheme for stochastic large-scale systems in the presence of stochastic input unmodeled dynamics, which is a novel problem on the research of unmodeled dynamics. The stochastic nonlinear input unmodeled dynamics is restricted to be stochastic input-to-state stable. We introduce changing supply function to deal with the stochastic input unmodeled dynamics and construct the corresponding small gain condition. Due to partial states unavailable for measurement and control gains unknown, we design reduced-order K-filters to estimate the unmeasurable states only. First type fuzzy systems are adopted to approximate the whole of the black-box functions and the unknown continuous system functions, which can degrade the complexity of calculation and simply the K-filters’ structure. Utilizing the changing supply function, dynamic surface control (DSC) method and Chebyshev’s inequality, a strict stability analysis in probability is made. The analysis shows that the control laws can guarantee all the signals to be semi-globally uniformly ultimately bounded (SGUUB) in mean square or the sense of four-moment. Simulation results illustrate the effectiveness of the approach.

An innovative parameter estimation for fractional order systems with impulse noise

This paper investigates the problem of parameter estimation for fractional order linear systems when the output signal is polluted by impulse noise. The conventional least square error objective function is replaced by a new approximate least absolute error (ALAE) function to restrain the influence of impulse noise. Then a novel parameter estimation approach is designed based on the stochastic gradient method, the fractional order parameter update law and the ALAE criterion, which improves estimation accuracy and enhances robustness at the same time. It is shown that the adoption of the fractional order parameter update law ensures larger selection range of update order and smoother convergence of the algorithm. The effectiveness and superiority of the proposed method are verified by strict mathematical analysis and detailed numerical examples.

Evolution dynamic of the expressway toll-free policy impact on the mode choice in a bimodal transportation network during holidays

The implementation of expressway toll-free policy during holidays in China has caused serious congestion and frequent accidents on expressways. Many studies have explored the policy’s macroscopic outcome and its countermeasures for policy managers, while limited attention has been paid to the influence mechanism of the policy on the individuals’ travel behavior, especially the mode choice behavior. More insight into the dynamic effects of individuals reacting to policy measure is needed. This study aims at analyzing the adaption progress of the individual’s mode choice behavior and estimating the time-varying influence of the traffic policy on the mode split. With assumptions travelers’ adapting behavior conform to the inertia and myopia principles, a Logit dynamic evolutionary model for mode choice is proposed. A unique globally stable equilibrium state for the model is derived with the strict mathematical analysis. As an application, the influence of the expressway toll-free policy on mode split is evaluated. The travel cost structure, the sensitivity of the travel distance and traffic supply, and the evolutionary dynamics of the mode split are analyzed in scenarios with and without the expressway toll-free policy. The result indicates that travel distance and network’s total supply amount remarkably affect the implementation effect of the policy.

Migraine is the Third Derivative of Chronic Sinusitis Which in Turn is a Second Derivative of a General Chronic Systemic Bacterial Infection

Migraine which is a mode of a headache affects all age groups and both genders with big varieties. It is treated symptomatically and plaintively in the most majority of the standard treatment all over the world. According to my work on the biological bases of the surgical pathologies for the last twenty years I noticed and analyzed the possibly of migraine could be a complication to the chronic inflammation of the skull base Para-nasal air sinuses. The modalities of migraine are related to the involved air sinus/es and to the nature of its/their affection. Chronic sinusitis in turn is a complication to a known chronic active intracellular bacterial systemic infection. This vision is gone with the trial treatment for that last twenty years all put on strict clinical analysis and clinical trial treatment directed to the systemic infection in question which is a chronic brucellosis in my career. Recently PCR open tissue biopsy admitted in to the work up of the patient which supported this view to average of 40% in a face of nearly a hundred percent successful trial treatment without any modality of palliative treatment, this involved hundred of patients with the widest range of migraine affection.

Species delimitation of the Hyphydrus ovatus complex in western Palaearctic with an update of species distributions (Coleoptera, Dytiscidae).

The species status of Hyphydrus anatolicus Guignot, 1957 and H. sanctus Sharp, 1882, previously often confused with the widespread H. ovatus (Linnaeus, 1760), are tested with molecular and morphological characters. Cytochrome c oxidase subunit 1 (CO1) was sequenced for 32 specimens of all three species. Gene-trees were inferred with parsimony, time-free bayesian and strict clock bayesian analyses. The GMYC model was used to estimate species limits. All three species were reciprocally monophyletic with CO1 and highly supported. The GMYC species delimitation analysis unequivocally delimited the three species with no other than the three species solution included in the confidence interval. A likelihood ratio test rejected the one-species null model. Important morphological characters distinguishing the species are provided and illustrated. New distributional data are given for the following species: Hyphydrus anatolicus from Slovakia and Ukraine, and H. aubei Ganglbauer, 1891, and H. sanctus from Turkey.

Attack-ability Analysis of Wireless Network Routing Protocols

This paper takes a specific routing protocol as an example and formally analyzes the protocol in a machine-assisted theorem proving tool Isabelle/HOL, to prove that routing protocols in wireless networks can be attacked by designing particular attacking schemes and can also be protected from attacks by modifying protocol contents. The paper first gives the specification of the routing protocol and formal definition of the attacker, and then finds the security vulnerability in the routing protocol through strict logical analysis.

Robust M estimation of parameters in a linear system

In this paper, robust M-estimation of parameters in a linear system is studied. Some strict theoretical analysis and algorithm analysis about the linear system are given. The results show that the algorithm is simple, and the amount of computation is affected by the number of data is not very large. The results are much better than the least square estimation.

Aseptic rearing procedure for the stinkbug Plautia stali (Hemiptera: Pentatomidae) by sterilizing food-derived bacterial contaminants

The stinkbug Plautia stali Scott is a notorious agricultural pest whose posterior midgut hosts specific bacteria essential for its growth and survival, highlighted as an experimental model for symbiosis studies. Some symbiotic bacteria of P. stali are cultivable, found free-living in and acquired from the environment, and, furthermore, some free-living environmental bacteria are potentially capable of establishing symbiotic association with P. stali. In this context, it is expected that such environmental bacteria may occasionally contaminate and infect the experimental insects maintained in the laboratory, which could potentially affect the functional analyses of the symbiosis. Here we report that such contamination events do occur under a laboratory rearing conditions for P. stali. When symbiont-deprived newborn nymphs from surface-sterilized eggs were reared in sterilized plastic containers with autoclaved water, most of them died as nymphs presumably as a result of aposymbiosis, but only a small fraction could attain adulthood and the adult insects were all infected with γ-proteobacteria allied to Pantoea and Enterobacter. A variety of bacteria, mainly Bacillus and also Pantoea and Enterobacter, were detected from peanuts and soybeans provided as food for P. stali. Autoclaving of peanuts and soybeans eradicated these bacteria but negatively affected the host survival, whereas ethanol sterilization of peanuts and soybeans removed Pantoea and Enterobacter, but not Bacillus, without negative effects on the host survival. On the basis of these results, we established a practical procedure for aseptic rearing of P. stali, which will enable reliable and strict analyses of host–symbiont interactions in the model symbiotic system.

Lessons from Sobel sequences

Folklore has it that Sobel sequences favor a variably strict analysis of conditionals over its plainly strict alternative. While recent discussions for or against the lore have focussed on Sobel sequences involving counterfactuals, this paper draws attention to the fact that indicative Sobel sequences are just as felicitous as are their counterfactual cousins. The fact, or so I shall argue here, disrupts the folklore: given minimal assumptions about the semantics and pragmatics of indicative conditionals, a textbook variably strict analysis fails to predict that indicative Sobel sequences are felicitous. The correct lesson to draw from Sobel sequences is that their felicity challenges classical implementations of the variably strict and of the plainly strict analysis alike. In response to this challenge I develop a dynamic strict analysis of conditionals that handles indicative Sobel sequences with grace while preserving intuitive constraints on the semantics and pragmatics of their members. A discussion of how such an analysis may handle the challenge from reverse Sobel sequences is provided. BibTeX info

An innovative parameter estimation for fractional-order systems in the presence of outliers

This paper investigates the problem of parameter estimation for fractional-order linear systems when output signal is polluted by noise and outliers. Different from conventional filtering and semi-definite programming methods, the outliers detection problem is formulated as a matrix decomposition problem based on a novel nuclear norm method, which can not only make exact detection of outliers, but also estimate measurement noise at the same time. Then, a new parameter estimation approach is developed via a modified fractional-order gradient method with variable initial value mechanism and fractional-order parameter update law. With the adoption of recovered output signal, the proposed approach can obtain much better estimation performance, whose effectiveness and superiority are verified by strict mathematical analysis and detailed numerical examples.

Business Model in Islamic Perspective: Practising of Baitul Maal Wattamwil (BMT) UGT Sidogiri East Java Indonesia

Objective - The purpose of the research is to explore, to investigate, and to develop a business model in Islamic perspective in microfinance BMT UGT Sidogiri Indonesia. Methodology/Technique - The research developed by qualitative research with a single case study. The content analysis used as the method to analyze the data describes analytic, intuitive, interpretative, textual and strict textual analysis approaches. Findings – The main finding that the framework Islamic business model in perspective Islam proposed previously can be well understanding and applied in BMT UGT Sidogiri. The result showed that there three main building in developing of an Islamic business model consist of the business foundation, business design, and business development. Novelty - The model can be used to optimize the potential business model of Islam in BMT UGT Sidogiri and other microfinance in Indonesia in the future. Type of Paper - Empirical Keywords: Islamic Business; Business Model; Islamic Business Construct; Islamic Business Aims; Baitul Maal Wattamwil (BMT). JEL Classification: K20, M21.

Perspectivas teóricas para la educación ambiental en básica secundaria. Teoría y práctica

El presente artículo expone los antecedentes y conclusiones de una propuesta en Educación Ambiental —EA— sustentada en referentes teóricos que pueden enmarcar procesos de enseñanza y aprendizaje en esta disciplina en básica secundaria, todo ello después de la revisión y el análisis riguroso de la didáctica en educación complementada con la experiencia profesional docente. Para poner en escena este marco conceptual se plantean y desarrollan actividades dentro del Proyecto Ambiental Escolar —PRAE— de la IED Ignacio Pescador como una manera de poner en práctica la teoría analizada. De este modo se logran resultados que validan el marco de referencia propuesto para producir conocimiento sobre la teoría didáctica —la cual va dirigida a formadores profesionales docentes que acompañarán el proceso de enseñanza de la EA en las instituciones educativas de básica secundaria— y el proceso de construcción de conocimiento en el alumnado.

An improved high precision measuring method for shaft bending deflection

• An available measuring method is presented for columnar parts bending deflection. • High precision measuring algorithm is proposed after strict mathematical analysis. • Closed analytic solution method is gotten and won't produce any principle error. • Parameters sensitivity analysis is studied for the method adaptability assessment. • Experimental calibration method is provided and experimental validation is made. The circular-section columnar parts, such as shaft, rod and pipe etc., are widely used in all kinds of machines. The bending deformation of such parts will seriously affect the assembly precision and working performance of the machines. A high efficiency and precision measuring method for bending deflection is needed. With a classic contact-detection mechanism at low cost composed of a displacement sensor, a lever and a shaft supporting device, a high precision measuring algorithm is proposed and deduced after strict mathematical analysis in this paper, and which is a closed analytic algorithm and will not produce any principle error. The parameters sensitivity auditing is carried out and the result shows the measuring method has high adaptability. Furthermore, the corresponding experimental calibration method of the current measurement technology is provided, and an experimental validation on the bending deformation of a particular shaft is carried out. The result shows in depth the proposed method has high accuracy.

Determining the phase shift of quasiharmonic signals through envelope analysis

The paper presents a new technique for the accurate measurement of the phase difference between two quasi-harmonic optical signals through analyzing and processing their envelope values obeying the Rice statistical distribution. With this technique, the envelope values of three signals are measured: two initial quasi-harmonic signals for which the phase difference is measured and a third signal formed as superposition of the first two. The phase shift under measurement is calculated from simple geometrical considerations as the angle of a triangle formed by the amplitude values of the reconstructed undistorted signals. The fundamental distinction of the proposed technique consists in the fact that the phase characteristics are derived from the amplitude measurements alone, thus significantly mitigating the requirements imposed on the equipment and simplifying the practical implementation of the method. It is proposed that the undistorted amplitudes should be estimated using methods of the Rician data analysis. The paper provides a strict mathematical analysis of the problem and computer simulation results. The ability to conduct accurate phase shift measurements based on the proposed method is useful for a wide range of applied tasks solved in numerous ranging and communication systems.

Argumentative Strategies for Interpreting Plato’s Cosmogony: Taurus and the Issue of Literalism in Antiquity

Contemporary debate on Plato’s cosmogony often assumes that the ‘literal’ reading of theTimaeusyields an account of creation, while the view that the cosmos always existed is non-literal. In antiquity, Taurus has been seen as a forerunner of the ‘non-literal’ interpretation. This paper shows, on the contrary, that Taurus’ argument for the sempiternity of the cosmos is a literalist one, relying on a strict linguistic analysis ofTimaeus28b6-8.

Switching the Antidepressant After Nonresponse in Adults With Major Depression: A Systematic Literature Search and Meta-Analysis.

Nonresponders to antidepressant monotherapy during acute treatment of major depression are often switched to a new antidepressant. The objective of this meta-analysis was to compare the efficacy of switching to a new antidepressant with continuation of the first antidepressant. PubMed, Embase, PsycINFO, and Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (CENTRAL) databases and additional sources were systematically searched independently by 2 authors up to March 2015 without language limitations. With employment of a sensitivity-enhancing search strategy, generic terms for major depression, switching, and randomized trials were combined. Articles (3,234) were screened for trials of patients with major depression who had not responded to antidepressant monotherapy who were then randomized either to a new antidepressant or to continuation of the first antidepressant. Studies were subdivided into those not allowing for dose escalation in the continuation arm (strict analysis) and those allowing for dose escalation (broad analysis). Data were extracted and risk of bias was assessed independently by 2 authors, and data were pooled using random effects models. Four randomized controlled trials were included in the strict analysis and 8 in the broad analysis. In both analyses, switching was not superior to continuation: the standardized mean difference in the strict analysis was -0.17 (95% CI, -0.59 to 0.26; P = .45; I² = 77.8%) and in the broad analysis was 0.031 (95% CI, -0.26 to 0.32; P = .836; I² = 85.3%). All secondary outcome analyses (response and remission rates, low risk of bias studies only, leave-one-out analysis, dropouts) supported the results. There was no indication of publication bias. There is a dearth of randomized controlled trials investigating switching. There is no high-level evidence that switching the antidepressant is effective when compared to simply continuing the initial antidepressant. Since there are better treatment options than switching, physicians should be cautious to switch antidepressants.

Application of Trusight Myeloid Panel on Whole Genome Amplified DNA in Myelodysplastic Syndrome Patients

Background: Whole genome amplification (WGA) has become an invaluable method for working with small amounts of starting DNA and for preserving limited samples of precious stock material. Next-Generation Sequencing (NGS) techniques can benefit from WGA, but due to their high sensitivity, WGA reliability needs to be certified to ensure an unbiased and accurate amplification of whole genomes. Myelodysplastic Syndromes (MDS) are a group of clonal hematopoietic stem cell disorders characterized by presenting somatic mutations in several myeloid-related genes. We have performed whole exome sequencing (WES) and targeted deep sequencing in tumoral samples from MDS patients. With the aim to determine if Multiple Displacement Amplification-based WGA can be applied to perform NGS in these type of samples and to obtain valuable results, targeted deep sequencing was performed on both fresh-DNA and WGA-DNA from the same patients.Mehtods: Whole bone marrow samples from four MDS patients were included in the study. WGA was performed in tumoral DNA samples with REPLI-g (Qiagen). WES libraries were generated in tumoral-control paired samples using the SureSelect Human Exome Kit 51Mb v4 (Agilent) and sequenced on an Illumina HiSeq2000. Targeted sequencing libraries were prepared for fresh-DNA and WGA-DNA following the manufacturer specifications for TruSight Myeloid Sequencing Panel protocol (Illumina), and then sequenced on one single run on an Illumina MiSeq. WES sequencing data was analyzed using an in-house pipeline, as previously reported. Targeted sequencing data analysis was performed with theMiSeq Reporter Software (Illumina). Filtering was performed in all cases by eliminating sequencing and mapping errors and by discarding intronic or synonym variants, variants located at highly variable regions or with low coverage, as well as know polymorphisms. Additional filtering was performed by visualization on Integrative Genome Viewer Software v.2.3.72.Results: Regarding targeted sequencing, fresh-DNA samples generated 6 million reads (SD = 1.9 million), with 98.5 % (SD = 0.8) of the mapped reads on-target and a mean target coverage of 12148.8 (SD = 3872.9). WGA-DNA samples yielded about 5.2 million reads (SD = 1.5 million), with 98.3 % (SD = 0.4) of the mapped reads on-target and a mean target coverage of 10447.5x (SD = 2946.3). A mean of 77% of total bases displayed a Q score ≥30, which did not differ between fresh and WGA-DNA.Comparison of all filtered variants within the four pairs revealed a high level of discordance between fresh/WGA samples (Figure 1A). A mean of 86% of the detected variants, considering both fresh and WGA-DNA, were detected at a low frequency (<10%). Therefore, a stricter variant filtering was performed, in which all variants detected at a frequency <10% were removed from further analyses.The pairwise comparison across the paired samples showed a total of 48.1% (SD = 49.3) of common variants, 23.2% (SD = 30.1) of variants exclusively detected in fresh-DNA, and 28.7% (SD = 38.4) of variants exclusively detected in WGA-DNA (Figure 1B). Overall, 100% (n=9) of the common variants were also detected by WES. Regarding fresh-DNA specific variants, 63% (5/8) were seen by WES and 37% (3/8) were not. However, these three variants were detected by targeted sequencing at frequencies between 10-12%. This suggests that even a stricter filtering may be necessary when working with WGA-DNA, or that they were not detected by WES because it was performed at a mean coverage of 60x making it difficult to detect low frequency variants. None of the WGA-DNA specific variants were seen by WES. Taking all these factors into account, we used the fresh-DNA specific variants as the gold standard to further calculate the Positive Predictive Value (PPV) and the sensitivity of the WGA-DNA samples, and thus validate the accuracy of WGA technique in the sample preparation. This revealed a sensitivity of 61.7% (SD = 43.3) and a PPV of 53.3% (SD = 54.2).Conclusions: These findings suggest that WGA methods may introduce errors, that can be detected at a low frequency, and that some bias can be expected, explaining why some variants present the gDNA may be lost during the amplification process. Therefore, we believe that applying WGA before library preparation should be restrained to cases with very limited material source and should be followed by a more in-depth and strict bioinformatics analysis and filtering process. [Display omitted] DisclosuresSole:Celgene: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees.

Embryos cultured in a time-lapse system result in superior treatment outcomes: a strict matched pair analysis

A retrospective strict matched-pair analysis of 728 treatment cycles between January 2011 and September 2014 was performed. A total of 364 treatment cycles, where all embryos were cultured and examined in EmbryoScope®, were matched to treatment cycles where all the embryos were cultured in a standard incubator with conventional morphological examination. Matching was performed for patient age, number of oocytes collected, treatment type and date of oocyte collection (± six months). The clinical (CPR), implantation (IR), live birth (LBR) and miscarriage rates (MR) were calculated and considered significant when p < 0.05 (Chi-square test). CPR, IR and LBR were found to be significantly higher in the time-lapse system (TLS) group compared to the standard incubation group (CPR = 44.8% versus 36.5%, p = 0.02; IR = 39.3% versus 32.2%, p = 0.03; and LBR = 43.1% versus 33.8%, p = 0.01). Although there was a 5.5% decrease in the MR for the TLS group when compared to the standard incubation group, this result was not statistically significant (18.9% versus 24.4%, p = 0.19). There is a paucity of well-designed studies to confirm that embryos cultured and examined in TLS can result in superior treatment outcomes, and this strict-matched pair analysis with a large cohort of treatment cycles indicates the advantage of using TLS.

Nonlinear coupling control method for underactuated three-dimensional overhead crane systems under initial input constraints

In this paper, we present an enhanced coupling nonlinear control method for three-dimensional overhead crane systems under initial input constraints. The proposed control method can achieve superior control performance and strong robustness with respect to system parameter variations and external disturbances. Moreover, it guarantees ‘soft’ trolley start by introducing hyperbolic tangent functions into the controller. More precisely, we enhance the coupling behaviour between the trolley movement and the payload swing by fabricating two composite signals, based on which an energy-like storage function is established. Then, a nonlinear coupling control method under initial input constraints is derived directly. Lyapunov techniques and LaSalle’s invariance theorem are successfully adopted to find the asymptotic stability solution while satisfying the initial input constraints. Strict mathematical analysis of the control scheme with initial input constraints is provided as theoretical support for the superior performance of the controller. Simulation and experimental results are conducted to show the superior performance and strong robustness of the proposed control method.