Mixed models are widely used to analyze longitudinal data. In their conventional formulation as linear mixed models (LMMs) and generalized LMMs (GLMMs), a commonly indispensable assumption in settings involving longitudinal non-Gaussian data is that the longitudinal observations from subjects are conditionally independent, given subject-specific random effects. Although conventional Gaussian...

background: free fetal dna (ffd) in maternal plasma/serum has increasingly become the source of fetal material for diagnostic purposes in recent years. this source of fetal material can be used for sex determination. rh typing paternally inherited sequences and compound heterozygosity. reports on the lack of consistent pcr amplification of y-chromosome sequences of ffd in maternal plasma/serum ...

We introduce a fractional version of the illumination problem of Gohberg, Markus, Boltyanski and Hadwiger, according to which every convex body in R is illuminated by at most 2 directions. We say that a weighted set of points on Sd−1 illuminates a convex body K if for each boundary point of K, the total weight of those directions that illuminate K at that point is at least one. We define the fr...

Given r > 1, we search for the convex body of minimal volume in E3 that contains a unit ball, and whose extreme points are of distance at least r from the centre of the unit ball. It is known that the extremal body is the regular octahedron and icosahedron for suitable values of r. In this paper we prove that if r is close to one then the typical faces of the extremal body are asymptotically re...

AIM  The aim of this study was to systematically review the literature on the influence of enhanced recovery after surgery (ERAS) protocols and health related quality of life (HQoL) and patient satisfaction. METHOD A systematic review of the literature from January 1990 to February 2009 was undertaken. Studies were included if they compared HQoL and/or patient satisfaction after ERAS and conv...

early diagnosis of bacteremia and its complications is the most important part of care and management of the febrile patients. however, a majority of patients who appear to be clinically septic have negative blood culture. the use of polymerase chain reaction (pcr) techniques has allowed identifying the pathogenic organisms rapidly and accurately. the objective of this study was to investigate ...

Small-scale dairy farming in Bangladesh is constrained mostly due to acute shortage, high price and seasonal fluctuation of energy and protein supplements. Poor economic conditions of dairy farmers do not allow them to purchase adequate conventional energy and protein supplements. Locally available non-conventional energy and protein sources can be used as alternatives, cheaper than conventiona...

herbal medicine is being increasingly used by women to prevent diseases, promote health and treat different diseases including a number of psychiatric disorders. the use of herbal drugs is increasing in the western world. the use of herbal drugs during pregnancy has been studied to various extents in different countries. however, more information is required regarding the impact of herbal medic...