Search Results (18)

Statistical delay quality of service (QoS) provisioning is crucial for ultra-reliable low-latency communications (URLLCs). In this paper, a precise delay performance analysis framework is proposed based on martingale theory and a wireless resource configuration scheme is designed. A tight upper bound of delay violation probability is conducted for the aggregated traffic composed of bursty flows and independent identically distributed (i.i.d.) flows. A martingale of aggregated arrival processes is constructed. Based on the definition of martingale processes, the martingale parameters are determined by considering the statistical features of flows, which expose the impacts of heterogeneous flows entangled with each other on system delay. A stopping time event related to delay is defined. Leveraging the stopping time theory of martingale processes, the complementary cumulative distribution function of delay is captured, which reveals the implicit relationship among aggregated traffic, service schemes, and delay performance. Guided by the theoretical upper bound of delay violation probability, a bandwidth estimation algorithm is proposed, which facilitates the decoupling of the statistical delay QoS requirements as the bandwidth demands. Subject to the bandwidth demands, a wireless resource allocation problem is formulated. Based on the Lagrangian convex optimization framework, the closed form of the transmission power is obtained. Simulations verify the effectiveness of the martingale-based delay performance analysis method and power allocation scheme. Full article

Archidendron clypearia (Jack) I. C. Nielsen is an important tree species for traditional medicine purposes such as anti-inflammatory, detoxification, uric acid control and neuro-protection. Here, a set of 15 microsatellite markers were used to fingerprint 248 elite genotypes from six origins of A. clypearia and investigate the genetic structure of these genotypes. A total of 170 alleles were amplified. The elite genotypes showed moderate genetic variability, with mean observed heterozygosity (H_o) and expected heterozygosity (H_e) being 0.651 and 0.699, respectively. Each of the elite genotypes could be fingerprinted uniquely. The cumulative probability of identity (PI) and the cumulative probability of paternity exclusion (PE) were 2.25 × 10⁻¹² and 0.999992, respectively, demonstrating the extremely high power of the markers for genotype identification. In STRUCTURE and clustering analyses, the same origin of elite genotypes tended to be grouped in a sub-population and clustered closely, but some genotypes from different geographic origins were mixed, suggesting a low level of genetic differentiation between the origins. These results can contribute to the protection and management of the elite genotype resources of A. clypearia and the comprehensive understanding of its genetic structure. Full article

Respiratory distress syndrome increases the risk of death and bronchopulmonary dysplasia (BPD) in premature infants. Inhaled nitric oxide (iNO) may reduce these risks. Recent meta-analyses have suggested that iNO is effective only at doses higher than 5 ppm and in infants born to Black mothers. In a randomized, double-blinded, controlled trial, infants born before 32 0/7 weeks gestation, weighing <1500 g, and requiring respiratory support were assigned to receive iNO for either seven days (short iNO), or until 33 0/7 weeks PMA (long iNO). The primary outcome was death or BPD. A total of 273 patients were enrolled, of whom 83 receiving long iNO (61.5%) experienced the primary outcome, compared with 65 (47.1%) receiving short iNO (relative risk (RR) 1.37; 95% confidence interval (CI), 1.06–1.79; p = 0.017). This increase was due solely to increased BPD in infants weighing 750–999 g (RR 1.33, 95% CI 1.07–1.66, p = 0.009). However, there was no difference in the numbers of infants requiring supplemental oxygen at 40 weeks PMA. Among infants < 750 g, long-iNO-treated infants had a lower cumulative probability of death (χ² 5.12, p = 0.02). Long iNO increased the primary outcome in non-Black infants (RR 1.93, 95% CI 1.20–3.24) but not in Black infants. Understanding how maternal racial identity determines responses of premature infants to iNO may help narrow the gap in health outcomes between Black and non-Black infants. Full article

From the perspective of wireless communication, as communication systems become more complex, order statistics have gained increasing importance, particularly in evaluating the performance of advanced technologies in fading channels. However, existing analytical methods are often too complex for practical use. In this research paper, we introduce innovative statistical findings concerning the sum of ordered gamma-distributed random variables. We examine various channel scenarios where these variables are independent but not-identically distributed. To demonstrate the practical applicability of our results, we provide a comprehensive closed-form expression for the statistics of the signal-to-interference-plus-noise ratio in a multiuser scheduling system. We also present numerical examples to illustrate the effectiveness of our approach. To ensure the accuracy of our analysis, we validate our analytical results through Monte Carlo simulations. Full article

Numerous lifetime distributions have been developed to assist researchers in various fields. This paper proposes a new continuous three-parameter lifetime distribution called the complementary gamma zero-truncated Poisson distribution (CGZTP), which combines the distribution of the maximum of a series of independently identical gamma-distributed random variables with zero-truncated Poisson random variables. The proposed distribution’s properties, including proofs of the probability density function, cumulative distribution function, survival function, hazard function, and moments, are discussed. The unknown parameters are estimated using the maximum likelihood method, whose asymptotic properties are examined. In addition, Wald confidence intervals are constructed for the CGZTP parameters. Simulation studies are conducted to evaluate the efficacy of parameter estimation, and three real-world data applications demonstrate that CGZTP can be an alternative distribution for fitting data. Full article

Background: Demographic changes have led to an increase in the proportion of older patients undergoing heart surgery. The number of endocarditis cases is also steadily increasing. Given the sharp increase in patients who have received valve prostheses or electrophysiological implants, who are on chronic dialysis or taking immunosuppressants, the interdependence of these two developments is quite obvious. We have studied the situation of older patients suffering from endocarditis compared to younger ones. Are they more susceptible, and are there differences in outcomes? Patients and Methods: A total of 162 patients was studied from our database, enrolled from 2020 to 2022. Fifty-four of them were older than 75 years of age (mean age 79.9 ± 3.8 years). The remaining 108 patients had a mean age of 61.6 ± 10.1 years. EuroSCORE II (ES II) was higher in the older patients (19.3 ± 19.7) than in the younger ones (13.2 ± 16.84). The BMI was almost identical. The preoperative NYHA proportions did not differ. A statistical analysis was performed using R. Results: Older patients had a lower left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF), a higher proportion of coronary heart disease (CHD), a higher amount of N-terminal probrain natriuretic peptides (NT-proBNPs), worse coagulation function, worse renal function than younger patients, and were more often valve prosthesis carriers compared to the younger patients. The diagnostic interval was 66.85 ± 49.53 days in the younger cohort, whereas it was only 50.98 ± 30.55 in the elderly (p = 0.081). Significantly fewer septic emboli were observed in the older patients than in the younger patients, but postoperative delirium and critical illness polyneuropathy and critical illness myopathy (CIP/CIM) were observed significantly more frequently compared to younger patients. In-hospital mortality was higher in older patients than in younger patients, but did not reach statistical significance (29.91% vs. 40.38%; p = 0.256). The postoperative clinical status was worse in older patients than in the younger ones (NYHA-stage, p = 0.022). Conclusions: Age did have an impact on the outcome, probably due to causing a higher number of cumulative preoperative risk factors. However, an interesting phenomenon was that older patients had fewer septic emboli than younger patients. It can only be speculated whether this was due to a shorter diagnostic interval or lower mobility, i.e., physical exertion. Older patients suffered more frequently than younger ones from typical age-related postoperative complications, such as delirium and CIP/CIM. In-hospital mortality was high, but not significantly higher compared to the younger patients. Considering the acceptable mortality risks, and in light of the lack of alternatives, older patients should not be denied surgery. However, individual consideration is necessary. Full article

Caladiums are promising colorful foliage plants due to their unique leaf shapes and dazzling colors. Until now, over 2000 varieties of Caladium have been cultivated worldwide. The long-term natural variation and artificial selection have enriched the germplasm resources of Caladium in the market, yet have blurred its genetic background. In this study, 16 informative EST-SSR markers were used to screen 144 Caladium accessions, indicating that 16 EST-SSRs could distinguish all genotypes with a minimum cumulative identity probability (PI) of 2.0 2 × 10⁻¹⁵. Using the simulated annealing method, the richest genetic information was acquired at the same compression ratio. A final core of 44 accessions was selected, comprising 30.6% of the individuals and retraining more than 95% of the total genetic information. No significant differences were observed in allele frequency distributions or genetic diversity parameters between the core collection and the entire population. Cluster analysis roughly divided the core collections into four populations, where 66.7% of the private alleles were detected in Pop2. Finally, DNA molecular fingerprints of 44 core accessions were established, including barcodes and quick response (QR) code molecular identities (ID). The results will lay a theoretical foundation for identifying, preserving, and utilizing Caladium germplasm resources. Full article

Vitis vinifera ssp. vinifera (domesticated grapevine) includes thousands of cultivars, which are classified according to their main uses, as wines, fresh fruits or dried raisins and sultanas since ancient times. Evidence showed that Crete grapevine cultivars and winemaking date back to 2300 BC. In this study, fifty-one genotypes belonging to seven different traditional Vitis vinifera cultivars, presumed autochthonous to the island of Crete, were selected for their wine-producing potential and classified by 51 ampelographic descriptors. In addition, five genotypes belonging to two non-autochthonous cultivars were included as out-group controls. Subsequently, in order to characterize genetic diversity, establish genetic relationships within and between cultivars and solve accession-labeling problems, genotypes were fingerprinted employing Simple Sequence Repeat (SSR or microsatellite) markers. Four of the autochthonous cultivars namely ‘Vidiano’, ‘Vilana’, ‘Plyto’, and ‘Moschato Spinas’ are used in the local economy for blanc (white) wine production while the rest, namely ‘Kotsifali’, ‘Liatiko’ and ‘Mantilari’ for Noir (red) wines. The two cultivars employed as out-group were ‘Moschato Samou’ and ‘Moschato Alexandrias’: both white wine producers. Ampelography-based clustering grouped the majority of genotypes along cultivar-specific clusters. All three Moschato cultivars formed a distinct clade pointing to the non-autochthonous origin of ‘Moschato Spinas’. A total of one hundred and thirteen (113) SSR alleles were amplified from thirteen (13) SSR loci, with an average number of alleles per locus equal to 10.23 revealing ample genetic polymorphism. The cumulative probability of identity was also quite high (3.389 × 10⁻¹⁶). The overall observed heterozygosity was 0.837 while for twenty-nine of the examined genotypes, at least one private SSR allele was detected. The majority of genotypes were grouped in cultivar-specific clusters. The results of this paper pave the way for the certification and registration of clones of some of the most important wine-producing cultivars in Crete. Full article

This paper presents an uncertain logistic growth model to analyse and predict the evolution of the cumulative number of COVID-19 infection in Czech Republic. Some fundamental knowledge about the uncertain regression analysis are reviewed firstly. Stochastic regression analysis is invalid to model cumulative number of confirmed COVID-19 cases in Czech Republic, by considering the disturbance term as random variables, because that the normality test and the identical distribution test of residuals are not passed, and the residual plot does not look like a null plot in the sense of probability theory. In this case, the uncertain logistic growth model is applied by characterizing the disturbance term as uncertain variables. Then parameter estimation, residual analysis, the forecast value and confidence interval are studied. Additionally, the uncertain hypothesis test is proposed to evaluate the appropriateness of the fitted logistic growth model and estimated disturbance term. The analysis and prediction for the cumulative number of COVID-19 infection in Czech Republic can propose theoretical support for the disease control and prevention. Due to the symmetry and similarity of epidemic transmission, other regions of COVID-19 infections, or other diseases can be disposed in a similar theory and method. Full article

Swine DNA profiling is of high importance for animal identification and parentage verification. The aim of this study was to test a set of 14 microsatellite (STR) markers recommended by ISAG for parentage verification in Polish Landrace (PL, n = 900), Polish Large White (PLW, n = 482), Pulawska (PUL, n = 127), and Duroc pigs (DU n = 108). The studied breeds showed a medium level of genetic differentiation. The average value of heterozygosity and degree of polymorphism (PIC) were above 0.5 for the studied breeds, except for the DU breed (PIC = 0.477). The population inbreeding coefficient indicates an absence of inbreeding in the studied breeds (an average value of F_IS = 0.007). The cumulative power of discrimination for all breeds reached high values close to 1.0, while the probability of identity (P_ID) was low, with P_ID values ranging between 10⁻⁹ (for DU) and 10⁻¹² (for PLW). The cumulative exclusion probability for PE₁ and PE₂ showed that the parentage can be confirmed with a probability of from 92.75% to 99.01% and from 99.49% to 99.97%, respectively. Full article

There is growing concern that extreme breed standardization contributes to a reduction of the effective population size and high levels of inbreeding, resulting in the loss of genetic diversity in many breeds. This study examined genetic diversity among eight popular dog breeds in Poland and evaluated the effectiveness of a 21-microsatellite (STR) panel recommended by the International Society for Animal Genetics (ISAG) for parent verification. The following breeds were characterized: German Shepherd, Maltese, Irish Wolfhound, Yorkshire Terrier, Biewer Yorkshire Terrier, Golden Retriever, Labrador Retriever, and French Bulldog. STRUCTURE analysis showed breed distinctiveness among all the dog breeds under study. Reynold’s distance ranged between θ_w = 0.634 and θ_w = 0.260. The studied breeds showed a medium level of genetic differentiation; the mean number of alleles per locus ranged from 3.4 to 6.6, and the effective number of alleles from 2.1 to 3.5. The mean degree of heterozygosity varied from 49% to 69% and from 47% to 68% for H_O and H_E, respectively. The population inbreeding coefficient (FIS) indicated an absence of inbreeding in the studied breeds. The average polymorphism information content (PIC) values for most of the breeds were higher than 0.5. The cumulative power of discrimination (PD) for all the markers in all breeds reached high values (close to 1.0), while the probability of identity (P_ID) was low, ranging between 10⁻¹¹ and 10⁻¹⁹. The cumulative exclusion probability when the genotypes of one (PE₁) and both parents (PE₂) are known and showed that the parentage can be confirmed with a probability of 94.92% to 99.95% and 99.78% to 99.9999%, respectively. Full article

This paper introduces an upper bound on the absolute difference between: $\left(a\right)$ the cumulative distribution function (CDF) of the sum of a finite number of independent and identically distributed random variables with finite absolute third moment; and $\left(b\right)$ a saddlepoint approximation of such CDF. This upper bound, which is particularly precise in the regime of large deviations, is used to study the dependence testing (DT) bound and the meta converse (MC) bound on the decoding error probability (DEP) in point-to-point memoryless channels. Often, these bounds cannot be analytically calculated and thus lower and upper bounds become particularly useful. Within this context, the main results include, respectively, new upper and lower bounds on the DT and MC bounds. A numerical experimentation of these bounds is presented in the case of the binary symmetric channel, the additive white Gaussian noise channel, and the additive symmetric $\alpha$ -stable noise channel. Full article

This study investigates the development of glaucoma in subjects with surgery-indicated chronic rhinosinusitis (CRS) by the use of the National Health Insurance Research Database in Taiwan. Individuals that received the functional endoscopic sinus surgery (FESS) with a diagnostic code of CRS were regarded as surgery-indicated CRS and enrolled in the study group. Four non-CRS patients were age- and gender-matched to each patient in the study group. The exclusion criteria included legal blindness, ocular tumor, history of eyeball removal, and previous glaucoma. The outcome was regarded as the development of glaucoma, and conditional logistic regression was used for the statistical analysis, which involved multiple potential risk factors in the multivariate model. A total of 6506 patients with surgery-indicated CRS that received FESS and another 26,024 non-CRS individuals were enrolled after exclusion. The age and gender distributions were identical between the two groups due to matching. There were 108 and 294 glaucoma events in the study group and control group, respectively, during the follow-up period, and the study group had a significantly higher adjusted hazard ratio (1.291, 95% confidential interval: 1.031–1.615). The cumulative probability analysis also revealed a correlation between the occurrence of glaucoma and the CRS disease interval. In the subgroup analysis, the chance of developing open-angle glaucoma and normal-tension glaucoma was significantly higher in the study group than in the control group. In conclusion, the existence of surgery-indicated CRS is a significant risk factor for the development of glaucoma, which correlated with the disease interval. Full article

Postclassification Comparison (PCC) has been widely used as a change-detection method. The PCC algorithm is straightforward and easily applicable to all satellite images, regardless of whether they are acquired from the same sensor or in the same environmental conditions. However, PCC is prone to cumulative error, which results from classification errors. Alternatively, Change Vector Analysis in Posterior Probability Space (CVAPS), which interprets change based on comparing the posterior probability vectors of a pixel, can alleviate the classification error accumulation present in PCC. CVAPS identifies the type of change based on the direction of a change vector. However, a change vector can be translated to a new position within the feature space; consequently, it is not inconceivable that identical measures of direction may be used by CVAPS to describe multiple types of change. Our proposed method identifies land-cover transitions by using a fusion of CVAPS and PCC. In the proposed algorithm, contrary to CVAPS, a threshold does not need to be specified in order to extract change. Moreover, the proposed method uses a Random Forest as a trainable fusion method in order to obtain a change map directly in a feature space which is obtained from CVAPS and PCC. In other words, there is no need to specify a threshold to obtain a change map through the CVAPS method and then combine it with the change map obtained from the PCC method. This is an advantage over other change-detection methods focused on fusing multiple change-detection approaches. In addition, the proposed method identifies different types of land-cover transitions, based on the fusion of CVAPS and PCC, to improve the results of change-type determination. The proposed method is applied to images acquired by Landsat and Quickbird. The resultant maps confirm the utility of the proposed method as a change-detection/labeling tool. For example, the new method has an overall accuracy and a kappa coefficient relative improvement of 7% and 9%, respectively, on average, over CVAPS and PCC in determining different types of change. Full article

Regional-scale nitrate and organic contaminants in the shallow groundwater were investigated in the Piedmont region of Taihang Mountains (PRTM), but the information of the microbial communities is limited. However, microorganisms provide a dominated contribution to indicate and degrade the contaminants in the aquifer. Therefore, this study investigates the microbial diversity and contamination microbial indicators of groundwater samples with different contaminated types to better understand the contamination in the PRTM. Seventy-six samples were collected between two rivers in the Tang-Dasha River Basin covering 4000 km² in the PRTM. High-throughput sequencing was employed to determine the samples’ DNA sequences. The samples were divided into four groups: background (B), nitrate contamination (N), organic contamination (O) and organic-nitrate contamination (O_N) based on the cumulative probability distribution and the Chinese groundwater standard levels of NO_3⁻, COD and DO concentrations. Then, the microbial diversity and contamination microbial indicators were studied in the four groups. The results showed that the O group exhibited lower diversity than other groups. Bacteria detected in these four groups covered 531 families, 987 genera, and 1881 species. Taxonomic assignment analysis indicated that Rhodobacter, Vogesella, Sphingobium dominated in the O_N group, N group, and O group, and accounted for 18.05%, 17.74%, 16.45% in each group at genus level, respectively. Furthermore, these three genera were identified as contamination microbial indicators to the three types of contamination, respectively. The results provide a potential molecular microbiological method to identity contamination in shallow groundwater, and established a strong foundation for further investigation and remediation in the PRTM. Full article