Fazil Aliev

A Systematic single nucleotide polymorphism screen to fine-map alcohol dependence genes on chromosome 7 identifies association with a novel susceptibility gene ACN9.

BACKGROUNDnChromosome 7 has shown consistent evidence of linkage with a variety of phenotypes related to alcohol dependence in the Collaborative Study on the Genetics of Alcoholism (COGA) project. With a sample of 262 densely affected families, a peak logarithm of odds (LOD) score for alcohol dependence of 2.9 was observed at D7S1799. The LOD score in the region increased to 4.1 when a subset of the sample was genotyped with the Illumina Linkage III panel for the Genetic Analysis Workshop 14 (GAW14). To follow up on this linkage region, we systematically screened single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) across a 2 LOD support interval surrounding the alcohol dependence peak.nnnMETHODSnThe SNPs were selected from the HapMap Phase I CEPH data to tag linkage disequilibrium bins across the region. Across the 18-Mb region, genotyped by the Center for Inherited Disease Research (CIDR), 1340 SNPs were analyzed. Family-based association analyses were performed on a sample of 1172 individuals from 217 Caucasian families.nnnRESULTSnEight SNPs showed association with alcohol dependence at p < .01. Four of the eight most significant SNPs were located in or very near the ACN9 gene. We conducted additional genotyping across ACN9 and identified multiple variants with significant evidence of association with alcohol dependence.nnnCONCLUSIONSnThese analyses suggest that ACN9 is involved in the predisposition to alcohol dependence. Data from yeast suggest that ACN9 is involved in gluconeogenesis and the assimilation of ethanol or acetate into carbohydrate.

Evaluation of convergence rate in the central limit theorem for the Kalman filter

State-space models are used for modeling of many physical and economic processes. An asymptotic distribution theory for the state estimate from a Kalman filter in the absence of the usual Gaussian assumption was presented by Spall and Wall (1984). They proved the central limit theorem for state estimators when the random terms in the model have arbitrary distribution. In this study, some convergence rates in the central limit theorem are given. These convergence rates are used for the development of a nonparametric test of the validity of the model.

Turkish twin study: an initial step.

In this article we introduce the first twin study in Turkey with the future plan to register all twins born in Turkey for research purposes. The Turkish twin study will illuminate the etiology of health problems in the context of cultural differences, owing to the rich cultural diversity in Turkey. As a first step, we selected a sample of 618 twin individuals from 302 pairs and 14 singletons living in the Kirikkale and Ankara regions of Turkey and administered a questionnaire with items about nicotine use, psychiatric disorders, and information about the family, in addition to zygosity items. Our study provides valuable information regarding factors related to nicotine dependence, age, gender, social situation, and family structure.

Characterization of Geometric Distribution Through Weak Records

Let X1, X2, … be a sequence of independent and identically distributed random variables (r.v.’s) taking on values 0, 1, … with a distribution function F such that F(n) 0, α > 0 and for all i ≥ 0.

A Fuzzy Model Based Control of Well Mixed Reactor with Cooling Jacket

Fuzzy logic control uses linguistic rather than crisp numerical rules to control the industrial processes. Fuzzy logic control may be attractive when the process is either difficult to control or to model by conventional methods. Fuzzy control of processes is an alternative when systems cannot be well controlled by classical or modern control techniques which are based on crisp mathematical models and also reply heavily on measurements to indicate variation in process conditions. For many processes, models and measurements are very difficult to obtain correctly and they show nonlinear behavior. Chemical reactors, pH neutralization process and waste water treatment are the examples for these processes. In such a systems, control rules can be developed depending on whether process is to be controllable. If the operators knowledge and experience can be explained in words, then linguistic rules can be written easily. In such cases, fuzzy model refers to the description of the operators input/output control actions using fuzzy implications.