University of Saskatchewan

About: University of Saskatchewan is a education organization based out in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Population & Health care. The organization has 25021 authors who have published 52579 publications receiving 1483049 citations. The organization is also known as: USask.

Enhancing a Somatic Maturity Prediction Model.

Abstract: AB Purpose: Assessing biological maturity in studies of children is challenging. Sex-specific regression equations developed using anthropometric measures are widely used to predict somatic maturity. However, prediction accuracy was not established in external samples. Thus, we aimed to evaluate the fit of these equations, assess for overfitting (adjusting as necessary), and calibrate using external samples. Methods: We evaluated potential overfitting using the original Pediatric Bone Mineral Accrual Study (PBMAS; 79 boys and 72 girls; 7.5-17.5 yr). We assessed change in R2 and standard error of the estimate (SEE) with the addition of predictor variables. We determined the effect of within-subject correlation using cluster-robust variance and fivefold random splitting followed by forward-stepwise regression. We used dominant predictors from these splits to assess predictive abilities of various models. We calibrated using participants from the Healthy Bones Study III (HBS-III; 42 boys and 39 girls; 8.9-18.9 yr) and Harpenden Growth Study (HGS; 38 boys and 32 girls; 6.5-19.1 yr). Results: Change in R2 and SEE was negligible when later predictors were added during step-by-step refitting of the original equations, suggesting overfitting. After redevelopment, new models included age x sitting height for boys (R2, 0.91; SEE, 0.51) and age x height for girls (R2, 0.90; SEE, 0.52). These models calibrated well in external samples; HBS boys: b0, 0.04 (0.05); b1, 0.98 (0.03); RMSE, 0.89; HBS girls: b0, 0.35 (0.04); b1, 1.01 (0.02); RMSE, 0.65; HGS boys: b0, -0.20 (0.02); b1, 1.02 (0.01); RMSE, 0.85; HGS girls: b0, -0.02 (0.03); b1, 0.97 (0.02); RMSE, 0.70; where b0 equals calibration intercept (standard error (SE)) and b1 equals calibration slope (SE), and RMSE equals root mean squared error (of prediction). We subsequently developed an age x height alternate for boys, allowing for predictions without sitting height. Conclusion: Our equations provided good fits in external samples and provide an alternative to commonly used models. Original prediction equations were simplified with no meaningful increase in estimation error. (C) 2015 American College of Sports Medicine

Amorphous and Polycrystalline Photoconductors for Direct Conversion Flat Panel X-Ray Image Sensors

Abstract: In the last ten to fifteen years there has been much research in using amorphous and polycrystalline semiconductors as x-ray photoconductors in various x-ray image sensor applications, most notably in flat panel x-ray imagers (FPXIs). We first outline the essential requirements for an ideal large area photoconductor for use in a FPXI, and discuss how some of the current amorphous and polycrystalline semiconductors fulfill these requirements. At present, only stabilized amorphous selenium (doped and alloyed a-Se) has been commercialized, and FPXIs based on a-Se are particularly suitable for mammography, operating at the ideal limit of high detective quantum efficiency (DQE). Further, these FPXIs can also be used in real-time, and have already been used in such applications as tomosynthesis. We discuss some of the important attributes of amorphous and polycrystalline x-ray photoconductors such as their large area deposition ability, charge collection efficiency, x-ray sensitivity, DQE, modulation transfer function (MTF) and the importance of the dark current. We show the importance of charge trapping in limiting not only the sensitivity but also the resolution of these detectors. Limitations on the maximum acceptable dark current and the corresponding charge collection efficiency jointly impose a practical constraint that many photoconductors fail to satisfy. We discuss the case of a-Se in which the dark current was brought down by three orders of magnitude by the use of special blocking layers to satisfy the dark current constraint. There are also a number of polycrystalline photoconductors, HgI2 and PbO being good examples, that show potential for commercialization in the same way that multilayer stabilized a-Se x-ray photoconductors were developed for commercial applications. We highlight the unique nature of avalanche multiplication in a-Se and how it has led to the development of the commercial HARP video-tube. An all solid state version of the HARP has been recently demonstrated with excellent avalanche gains; the latter is expected to lead to a number of novel imaging device applications that would be quantum noise limited. While passive pixel sensors use one TFT (thin film transistor) as a switch at the pixel, active pixel sensors (APSs) have two or more transistors and provide gain at the pixel level. The advantages of APS based x-ray imagers are also discussed with examples.

Pea Starch: Composition, Structure and Properties — A Review

Abstract: Recently, pea has developed into a major protein crop in Western Canada. In the search for new food protein resources, small commercial facilities in Canada have engaged in manufacturing protein concentrates from pea by air classification or wet milling techniques. However, the major products from these processes are either crude or refined pea starches. Pea starch has been utilized almost exclusively for industrial application. A major factor, which has an adverse effect on the widespread utilization of pea starch in food industry, it its high extent of retrogradation. This review summarizes the present knowledge on composition, structure and physiochemical properties of smooth and wrinkled seeded pea starches with a view to providing suggestions for needed research to improve the utilization of pea starches in the food industry.

Method to measure microbial phosphate in soils

Abstract: The amount of phosphate in soil microbial biomass was estimated by adding CHCl 3 to soil to lyse microbial cells and measuring the proportion of microbial-P released to 0.5 M NaHCO 3 extracts (pH 8.5). Calculations of total microbial-P were based on the difference between P removed by NaHCO 3 extraction ofChCl 3 treated and untreated samples. This method was improved by (1) removing resin-extractable P from the soil before lysing microbial cells with CHCl 3 , (2) measuring total P rather than inorganic-P in NaHCO 3 extracts, and (3) prolonging NaHCO 3 extraction from 30 min to 16 h. The efficiency of extraction of soil microbial-P was determined by measuring the P recovered from two species each of bacteria and fungi grown first in solutions having different P concentrations, then added to soil. The average proportion of microbial-P recovered from a neutral calcareous soil was 37% ( K P = 0.37). The K p factor was confirmed by adding 33 P-labelled bacteria to a similar soil and measuring the added 33 P recovered (38%) by the CHCl 3 -NaHCO 3 method.