University of Aberdeen

About: University of Aberdeen is a education organization based out in Aberdeen, United Kingdom. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Population & Health care. The organization has 21174 authors who have published 49962 publications receiving 2105479 citations. The organization is also known as: Aberdeen University.

Differential genetic effects of ESR1 gene polymorphisms on osteoporosis outcomes.

Abstract: 2orless.Conversely,wefoundsignificantreductions in fracture risk. In women homozygous for the absence of an XbaI recognition site, the adjusted odds of all fractures were reduced by 19% (odds ratio, 0.81 [95% CI, 0.710.93]; P=.002) and vertebral fractures by 35% (odds ratio, 0.65 [95% CI, 0.49-0.87]; P=.003). Effects on fractures were independent of BMD and unaltered in adjusted analyses. No significant effects on fracture risk were seen for PvuII and TA repeats. Conclusions ESR1 is a susceptibility gene for fractures, and XbaI determines fracture risk by mechanisms independent of BMD. Our study demonstrates the value of adequately powered studies with standardized genotyping and clinical outcomes in defining effects of common genetic variants on complex diseases.

Automated microaneurysm detection using local contrast normalization and local vessel detection

Abstract: Screening programs using retinal photography for the detection of diabetic eye disease are being introduced in the U.K. and elsewhere. Automatic grading of the images is being considered by health boards so that the human grading task is reduced. Microaneurysms (MAs) are the earliest sign of this disease and so are very important for classifying whether images show signs of retinopathy. This paper describes automatic methods for MA detection and shows how image contrast normalization can improve the ability to distinguish between MAs and other dots that occur on the retina. Various methods for contrast normalization are compared. Best results were obtained with a method that uses the watershed transform to derive a region that contains no vessels or other lesions. Dots within vessels are handled successfully using a local vessel detection technique. Results are presented for detection of individual MAs and for detection of images containing MAs. Images containing MAs are detected with sensitivity 85.4% and specificity 83.1%

Ecology of Bat Reproduction

Abstract: The ecology of reproduction became firmly established as a discrete area of investigation with the publication of Sadlier’s monograph in 1969, The Ecology of Reproduction in Wild and Domestic Animals. I witnessed the gestation of this book, for Sadlier wrote it in the Wellcome Institute in the London Zoo, where I was working at the time on a doctoral thesis. It stimulated me, as it has stimulated others, to adopt techniques and approaches to the study of wild mammals similar to those long used by students of domestic species.

The lights are on but no one's home: meta-awareness and the decoupling of attention when the mind wanders.

Abstract: In a recent review, we suggested that an important aspect of mind-wandering is whether participants are aware that they are off task (Smallwood & Schooler, 2006). We tested this hypothesis by examining the information-processing correlates of mind wandering with and without awareness in a task requiring participants to encode words and detect targets with either a high or a low probability. Target detection was measured via response inhibition. Mind wandering in the absence of awareness was associated with a failure to supervise task performance, as indicated by short RTs, and was predictive of failures in response inhibition. Under conditions of low target probability, mind wandering was associated with a relative absence of the influence of recollection at retrieval. The results are consistent with the notion that mind wandering involves a state of decoupled attention and emphasizes the importance of meta-awareness of off-task episodes in determining the consequences of these mental states.