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Quadratic Mutual Information estimation of mouse dLGN receptive fields reveals asymmetry between ON and OFF visual pathways
Get PDFThe longstanding theory of “parallel processing” predicts that, except for a sign reversal, ON and OFF cells are driven by a similar pre-synaptic circuit and have similar visual field coverage, direction/orientation selectivity, visual acuity and other functional properties. However, recent experimental data challenges this view. Here we present an information theory based receptive field (RF) estimation method - quadratic mutual information (QMI) - applied to multi-electrode array electrophysiological recordings from the mouse dorsal lateral geniculate nucleus (dLGN). This estimation method provides more accurate RF estimates than the commonly used Spike-Triggered Average (STA) method, particularly in the presence of spatially correlated inputs. This improved efficiency allowed a larger number of RFs (285 vs 189 cells) to be extracted from a previously published dataset. Fitting a spatial-temporal Difference-of-Gaussians (ST-DoG) model to the RFs revealed that while the structural RF properties of ON and OFF cells are largely symmetric, there were some asymmetries apparent in the functional properties of ON and OFF visual processing streams - with OFF cells preferring higher spatial and temporal frequencies on average, and showing a greater degree of orientation selectivity
Occupational characteristics and management measures of sporadic COVID-19 outbreaks from June 2020 to January 2021 in China: the importance of tracking down “patient zero”
Get PDFThere are occupational disparities in the risk of contracting COVID-19. Occupational characteristics and work addresses play key roles in tracking down “patient zero”. The present descriptive analysis for occupational characteristics and management measures of sporadic COVID-19 outbreaks from June to December 2020 in China offers important new information to the international community at this stage of the pandemic. These data suggest that Chinese measures including tracking down “patient zero”, launching mass COVID-19 testing in the SARS-CoV-2-positive areas, designating a new high or medium-risk area, locking down the corresponding community or neighborhood in response to new COVID-19 cases and basing individual methods of protection on science, are effective in reducing transmission of the highly contagious SARS-CoV-2 across China
Persona's Dilemma between Academics and practitioners - Ideation Guidelines for Co-designing Future Technologies Workshops
Get PDFThe introduction of Industry 4.0 interactive technologies and automated systems in complex organizations have imposed novel challenges and burdens on academics and industrial practitioners for developing systems that work for future workplaces. Developing such systems need sufficient knowledge and understanding of the trends and technological developments and viability from industry and academic experts before introducing them to the general population.Co-designing workshops with employees and users supported by various design tools can provide better ideation for designing future scenarios. We conducted a qualitative study to analyze academics’ and industrial practitioners’ views on a persona as a design tool during a conference workshop. These participants empirically test the co-creation of personas and find conceptual differences between the groups in their tool use. We propose guidelines on using personas for idea management in the co-design of future scenarios using pre and post-workshop surveys and workshop transcripts to code and clustered our findings. The conclusion is that considering the differences in academics’ and industrial practitioners’ perspectives, using the right design tools for ideation in a prepared environment for a combined team is substantial and can lead to designing positive experiences in future workplace
Episode 4: 'Staff development', with Alexandra Mihai and Maha Bali
No full textThis is episode 4, featuring two esteemed guests, Alexandra Mihai, Assistant Professor of Innovation in Higher Education from the University of Maastricht and Maha Bali, Associate Professor of Practice at the Centre for Learning & Teaching at the American University in Cairo. In a free flowing and wide ranging conversation, Dom Pates, James Rutherford and Dr. Ivan Sikora, invited Alexandra and Maha to talk about their views and experiences of supporting teaching in a live hybrid dual delivery mode. They discussed the importance of equity, listening to students all along the way, the need for support in class to manage both audiences, how hybrid teaching works in a problem-based learning modality, the many challenges of hybrid teaching and how to overcome some of them, the need to focus on the teaching practice and the experience of students rather than the technology, the value of co-ordinated support from stakeholders both pedagogical and technical, and how vital is to have a plan B at all times
Can we predict the likelihood of financial distress in companies from their corporate governance and borrowing?
Get PDFPurpose – A primary aim of the study is to investigate the impact of corporate governance structures on the likelihood of financial distress in U.K. listed companies. The paper examines the impact of borrowing and corporate governance structures on financial distress likelihood in U.K. companies.
Design/methodology/approach – The study uses a quantitative approach with financial, governance and borrowing measures and data from 270 firm-observations between 2010 and 2018. The study analyses the impact of borrowing and corporate governance structures to indicate financial distress likelihood in British companies. Corporate governance variables such as ownership concentration, independence indicators, CEO duality, director remuneration and corporate loans are considered, as well as the UK Corporate Governance Code.
Findings – The results indicate that companies with low ownership concentration and low degree of independence are more likely to incur financial distress. Larger boards and better director remuneration can reduce financial distress likelihood and the existence of corporate loans can increase this likelihood. Empirical consideration of corporate borrowing is a new contribution to the literature.
Originality – Variables are highlighted and aggregated that have not otherwise been studied together; the UK Corporate Governance Code’s main ideas are empirically supported; the study is useful for defining corporate governance structure strategies.
Keywords: Corporate Borrowing, Corporate Governance, Financial Distress, Director Remuneratio
Experimental study on shear performance of RC beams strengthened with NSM CFRP prestressed concrete prisms
Get PDFThis paper presents an experimental investigation of the shear performance of RC beams strengthened with near surface mounted (NSM) carbon fibre reinforced polymer (CFRP) prestressed concrete prisms (PCPs). The shear behaviour of strengthened beams can be affected by several design variables. In this research, the effect of the following parameters were considered: the prestress level, inclination and spacing of the CFRP-PCPs, and material type of the prism. The control beam had conventional shear steel reinforcement only while the other seven beams were shear strengthened with CFRP-PCPs by varying design parameters mentioned above. All the beams were tested under monotonic loading until they reached the failure load. The experimental results showed that the NSM CFRP-PCPs strengthening technique improves the shear performance of the beams effectively. The strengthened beams that applied the CFRP-PCPs at an inclination of 45° were more efficient in improving the shear capacity compared to vertical CFRP-PCPs. The shear capacity and deformation were enhanced with the increase of prestressing levels of CFRP rods and the decrease of CFRP-PCPs spacing. The failure modes of the strengthened beams were influenced mainly by the spacing and the inclination of the CFRP-PCPs. Moreover, the material type of the prism had little influence on the effectiveness of shear strengthening. The analytical model presented was developed to estimate the shear contribution of NSM CFRP-PCPs and the model was found to predict the shear capacity of the tested beams well
Socio-demographic determinants of attendance at diabetes education centres: a survey of patients’ views
Get PDFIntroduction: Diabetes is a global medical condition associated with a huge human and financial cost. However, early detection and appropriate pharmacological and non-pharmacological interventions such structured patient education are useful measures to reduce its impact. Although the benefits of educational intervention are well recognised as a key component of empowerment, motivating attendance in diabetes education centres remain problematic and this has a negative impact on healthcare finances.
Objective: This survey study sought to identify the socio-demographic determinants of attendance at diabetes education centres.
Methods: A questionnaire survey of 207 patients from four diabetes education centres was conducted.
Results: In predicting attendance from demographic variables, the regression analysis showed that the participants that were living alone are less likely to attend while participants that have a flexible working environment are more likely to attend the sessions
Opposing patterns in self-reported and measured physical activity levels in middle-aged adults
Get PDFPhysical activity brings significant health benefits to middle-aged adults, although the research to date has been focused on late adulthood. This study aims to examine how ageing affects the self-reported and accelerometer-derived measures of physical activity levels in middle-aged adults. We employed the data recorded in the UK Biobank, and analysed the physical activity levels of 2,998 participants (1381 men and 1617 women), based on self-completion questionnaire and accelerometry measurement of physical activity. We also assessed the musculoskeletal health of the participants using the dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA) measurements provided by the UK Biobank. Participants were categorised into three groups according to their age: group I younger middle-aged (40 to 49 years), group II older middle-aged (50 to 59 years), and group III oldest middle-aged (60 to 69 years). Self-reported physical activity level increased with age, and was the highest in group III, followed by group II and I (P < 0.05). On the contrary, physical activity measured by accelerometry decreased significantly with age from group I to III (P < 0.05), and the same pertained to the measurements of musculoskeletal health (P < 0.05). It was also shown that middle-aged adults mostly engaged in low and moderate intensity activities. The opposing trends of the self-reported and measured physical activity levels may suggest that middle-aged adults over-report their activity level as they age. They should be aware of the difference between their perceived and actual physical activity levels, and objective measures would be useful to prevent the decline in musculoskeletal health
Development of an evidence-based best practice model for teams managing crisis in dementia: protocol for a qualitative study
Get PDFBackground:
Teams working in the community to manage crisis in dementia currently exist, but with widely varying models of practice, it is difficult to determine the effectiveness of such teams.
Objective:
The aim of this study is to develop a “best practice model” for dementia services managing crisis, as well as a set of resources to help teams implement this model to measure and improve practice delivery. These will be the best practice tool and toolkit to be utilized by teams to improve the effectiveness of crisis teams working with older people with dementia and their caregivers. This paper describes the protocol for a prospective study using qualitative methods to establish an understanding of the current practice to develop a “best practice model.”
Methods:
Participants (people with dementia, caregivers, staff members, and stakeholders) from a variety of geographical areas, with a broad experience of crisis and noncrisis work, will be purposively selected to participate in qualitative approaches including interviews, focus groups, a consensus workshop, and development and field testing of both the best practice tool and toolkit.
Results:
Data were collected between October 2016 and August 2018. Thematic analysis will be utilized to establish the current working of teams managing crisis in dementia in order to draw together elements of the best practice.
Conclusions:
This is the first study to systematically explore the requirements needed to fulfill effective and appropriate home management for people with dementia and their caregivers at the time of mental health crisis, as delivered by teams managing crisis in dementia. This systematic approach to development will support greater acceptability and validity of the best practice tool and toolkit and lay the foundation for a large scale trial with teams managing crisis in dementia across England to investigate the effects on practice and impact on service provision, as well as the associated experiences of people with dementia and their caregivers