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Increased Accuracy (increased + accuracy)
Selected AbstractsParallel protein folding with STAPLCONCURRENCY AND COMPUTATION: PRACTICE & EXPERIENCE, Issue 14 2005Shawna Thomas Abstract The protein-folding problem is a study of how a protein dynamically folds to its so-called native state,an energetically stable, three-dimensional conformation. Understanding this process is of great practical importance since some devastating diseases such as Alzheimer's and bovine spongiform encephalopathy (Mad Cow) are associated with the misfolding of proteins. We have developed a new computational technique for studying protein folding that is based on probabilistic roadmap methods for motion planning. Our technique yields an approximate map of a protein's potential energy landscape that contains thousands of feasible folding pathways. We have validated our method against known experimental results. Other simulation techniques, such as molecular dynamics or Monte Carlo methods, require many orders of magnitude more time to produce a single, partial trajectory. In this paper we report on our experiences parallelizing our method using STAPL (Standard Template Adaptive Parallel Library) that is being developed in the Parasol Lab at Texas A&M. An efficient parallel version will enable us to study larger proteins with increased accuracy. We demonstrate how STAPL enables portable efficiency across multiple platforms, ranging from small Linux clusters to massively parallel machines such as IBM's BlueGene/L, without user code modification. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] Applications of the rep-PCR DNA fingerprinting technique to study microbial diversity, ecology and evolutionENVIRONMENTAL MICROBIOLOGY, Issue 4 2009Satoshi Ishii Summary A large number of repetitive DNA sequences are found in multiple sites in the genomes of numerous bacteria, archaea and eukarya. While the functions of many of these repetitive sequence elements are unknown, they have proven to be useful as the basis of several powerful tools for use in molecular diagnostics, medical microbiology, epidemiological analyses and environmental microbiology. The repetitive sequence-based PCR or rep-PCR DNA fingerprint technique uses primers targeting several of these repetitive elements and PCR to generate unique DNA profiles or ,fingerprints' of individual microbial strains. Although this technique has been extensively used to examine diversity among variety of prokaryotic microorganisms, rep-PCR DNA fingerprinting can also be applied to microbial ecology and microbial evolution studies since it has the power to distinguish microbes at the strain or isolate level. Recent advancement in rep-PCR methodology has resulted in increased accuracy, reproducibility and throughput. In this minireview, we summarize recent improvements in rep-PCR DNA fingerprinting methodology, and discuss its applications to address fundamentally important questions in microbial ecology and evolution. [source] Diagnosis of occlusal caries in primary teethINTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF PAEDIATRIC DENTISTRY, Issue 2 2000Ashley Much research has been published over the last few years looking at alternative diagnostic systems for the diagnosis of occlusal caries in permanent teeth, but there has been little research on primary teeth. The aim of this study was to compare the accuracy of one alternative system (the Electronic Caries Monitor [ECM]) against visual diagnosis for the detection of occlusal dentine caries in primary teeth. Fifty-eight apparently noncavitated extracted first and second primary molars were selected. They were examined visually and with the ECM for dentine caries. Presence or absence of caries was validated by hemisecting the teeth and examining them under a stereo-microscope , 37 teeth had occlusal dentine caries, 21 were sound or had enamel caries. Sensitivities and specificities of the ECM diagnoses were 0·81 and 0·90, respectively, and for the visual diagnosis were 0·73 and 1. In conclusion, the ECM did not provide increased accuracy over visual diagnosis when detecting occlusal caries in primary teeth. [source] Legal Liabilities, Audit Accuracy and the Market for Audit ServicesJOURNAL OF BUSINESS FINANCE & ACCOUNTING, Issue 3-4 2002Sankar De In quality-differentiated audit markets with client-firms of unknown types, insider-managers of client firms strategically select auditors who respond to legal liabilities to decide their care level. In this signaling game, uninformed-investors use the audit report and the auditors' identity for firm valuation. The analysis shows that increased legal liability increases the auditor's effort and audit accuracy but reduces the demand for high quality auditing because, apart from the increased audit costs, the adverse selection benefit of the worse type reduces with increased accuracy. Furthermore, alternative legal regimes and damage allocation rules alter informational efficiency of the financial market. [source] A precise water displacement method for estimating egg volumeJOURNAL OF FIELD ORNITHOLOGY, Issue 2 2009Scott A. Rush ABSTRACT Relationships between egg volume and an array of life-history traits have been identified for many bird species. Despite the importance of egg volume and the need for precise and accurate measurements, egg volume is usually estimated using a mathematical model that incorporates length and width measurements along with a shape variable. We developed an instrument that provides precise estimates of egg volume and can be easily used in the field. Using Clapper Rail (Rallus longirostris) eggs, we compared egg volumes measured using our instrument with estimates based on linear measurements. We found our instrument to be both precise and accurate. Compared with a method based on linear measurements of eggs, use of our instrument reduced variation in egg volume estimates by 1.6 cm3, approximately 8% of the volume of a Clapper Rail's egg. Further advantages of our technique include ease of use, increased accuracy of field-based volume estimates, and increased resolution of variation in egg volume estimates. In addition, our technique does not require postdata collection processing time and did not influence hatching success. Also, for Clapper Rails and similar species, our technique can be combined with other techniques (e.g., egg flotation) so that both egg volume and embryonic stage can be estimated at the same time. SINOPSIS Las relaciones entre el volumen del huevo y una gran cantidad de caracteres en las historias de vida han sido identificadas para muchas especies de aves. A pesar de la importancia del volumen del huevo y la necesidad de medidas más precisas, el volumen del huevo es comúnmente estimado usando modelos matemáticos que incorporan medidas del largo, ancho y forma del huevo. Nosotros creamos un instrumento que proporciona estimativos precisos del volumen del huevo y puede ser fácilmente usado en el campo. Usando huevos de Rallus longirostris comparamos las medidas de los volúmenes de los huevos usando nuestro instrumento con estimados obtenidos mediante mediadas lineales. Encontramos que nuestro instrumento fue preciso. Comparado con métodos que se basan en medidas lineales de los huevos, el uso de nuestro instrumento reduce la variación de los estimativos del volumen de los huevos en 1.6 cm3, aproximadamente 8% del volumen de los huevos de Rallus longirostris. Ventajas adicionales de nuestra técnica incluye facilidades de uso, incremento en la precisión en los estimativos de volumen realizados en el campo y un incremento en la disminución de la variación de los estimativos del volumen del huevo. Adicionalmente, nuestra técnica no requiere tiempo de manejo después de la colección de los datos, y no afecta el éxito de eclosión. También, para Rallus longirostris y especies similares, nuestra técnica puede ser combinada con otras técnicas (e. g., flotación de los huevos) de tal forma que simultáneamente se puedan estimar el volumen del huevo y el estadio embrionario. [source] Increased realism in eyewitness confidence judgements: the effect of dyadic collaborationAPPLIED COGNITIVE PSYCHOLOGY, Issue 5 2003Carl Martin Allwood This study investigated to what extent, and under what circumstances, pair collaboration influences the realism in eyewitness confidence in event memory. The participants first saw a short film clip and then confidence rated their answers to questions on its content. A condition (the Individual,Pair condition) where individual effort preceded pair collaboration showed better calibration compared with a condition (the Simple Pair condition) where no individual effort took place. Furthermore, within the Individual,Pair condition, better calibration, and lower overconfidence, were found in the pair phase compared with the individual phase. The eyewitnesses in the Individual,Pair condition made more realistic judgements of the total number of questions answered correctly. In a control experiment no effect on realism in confidence was found when individuals performed the same task twice. The improved realism in the Individual,Pair condition may partly be explained in terms of the increased accuracy and lowered confidence found for such items where the pair members' had given different answers in the individual phase, and by a risky shift effect for such items where they had given the same answer. Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] | ||||||||||