The Multiple-Trait Gibbs Sampler for Animal Models programs were extended to allow analysis of ordered categorical data using a Bayesian threshold model. The algorithm is based on data augmentation, where a value on the unobserved underlying normally distributed variable (liability) is generated in each round of iteration for each categorical observation. The programs allow analysis of several ...

The Reprostat Steering Committee asks for the best monitors of reproductive health. In many European countries, some deleterious agents have caused declines over the past half-century in both dizygotic (DZ) twinning rates and sperm counts. No strong evidence suggests that these declines have reversed, though they may have ceased in some countries. Here attention is only directed at potential se...

The critical parameters for the structural stability of physical vapor deposited TiN film on (112̄0) sapphire were investigated by analyzing the adhesion strength and failure mechanism through in situ observations of the fracture sequence during scratch tests and static normal indentation. TiN was deposited by arc ion plating on (112̄0) sapphire, and the thickness of the TiN film was controlled t...

Hemihedral twinning is a crystal-growth anomaly in which a specimen is composed of two crystal domains that coincide with each other in three dimensions. However, the orientations of the crystal lattices in the two domains differ in a specific way. In diffraction data collected from hemihedrally twinned crystals, each observed intensity contains contributions from both of the domains. With perf...

Natural multiple pregnancy in women leading to dizygotic (DZ) twins is familial and varies across racial groups, suggesting a genetic predisposition. Mothers of DZ twins have a higher incidence of spontaneous multiple ovulation and elevated FSH concentrations. FSH release is controlled by feedback of inhibin peptides from the ovary, and immunization against inhibin alpha-subunit results in an i...

BACKGROUND Twin pregnancies are common but there are few data on rates of twinning or survival of liveborn twin infants in developing countries. METHODS The rates of multiple births were calculated in a population-based cohort of married women of childbearing age who were enrolled in a randomized community trial to assess the impact of vitamin A or beta-carotene on maternal and infant health ...