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Active prevention and treatment of post-critical illness anemia – is it time for large effectiveness trials
Get PDFFunding and productivity:Does winning grants affect the scientific productivity of recipients? Evidence from the social sciences and economics
Get PDFThere is always controversy over the effects of research funding on scientific productivity. This study contributes to the literature investigating the observed effects of scientific funding. On a sample of 11,537 principal investigators funded by the National Science Foundation’s Directorate for Social, Behavioral and Economic Sciences, we used a multiple time period doubly robust difference-in-differences model and a selection model of research funding with exclusion restrictions to explore funding effects. In the models, we controlled for recipient fixed effects and time-varying effects, accounting for the heterogeneity of funding and isolating selection bias and reverse causality in funding. Meanwhile, we observed the dynamic effects of grants after award. We found that the non-randomness and heterogeneity of science grant allocations can lead to endogeneity issues that contribute to the pseudo effects of science grants. However, when we considered these issues, grants’ effects on scientific productivity disappeared. Furthermore, when observing the funding effect dynamically, there remained no significant impact of research funding on the quality and quantity of research in the post-grant five-year window
Where you place the stakes matter:Examining the relationship between test-based accountability and shadow education
Get PDFAccountability is a nearly ubiquitous part of education systems around the world. However, often missing is an explicit discussion on who the stakes of accountability are placed and how directing high stakes to one group relative to another can lead to different outcomes. We provide an important contribution to by demonstrating that where you place the stakes matters. We identify the type of test-based accountability in 45 countries or areas, then, using multi-level modeling examine the relationship between type of test-based accountability and shadow education participation. Our findings suggest participation in shadow education is higher in systems where high stakes are placed on students solely, or with educators, compared to when stakes are placed on educators alone. Results have implications for designing accountability policy and suggest that to reduce the prevalence of shadow education in a country, you need to consider where you place the stakes on the national test.</p
Solar chimney power plant plus solar pond to remove atmospheric methane: A novel concept
Get PDFThe methane concentration in the atmosphere is far lower than that of carbon dioxide, but it is more potent, accounting for 30% of the global greenhouse effect. Although removing atmospheric methane would be an effective way to mitigate climate change, no practical methods have been identified. The enhancement of the oxidative capacity of ecosystems to remove atmospheric methane is a green approach. This paper presents the novel concept of utilizing a solar chimney power plant (SCPP) associated with a solar pond to remove atmospheric methane. In the proposed system, the production of both hydroxyl radicals from ozone photolysis and chlorine atoms from converting Fe (III) to Fe (II) under optimized conditions degrades the atmospheric methane. The results reveal that a 200 MW SCPP associated with a solar pond could eliminate 0.22 million tons of atmospheric methane per year. The construction of 5400 systems worldwide could remove 1.19 billion tons of atmospheric methane per year, achieving the climate goal of a temperature rise of less than 2°C this century. The devices require an investment of about 3.5748×10 12 EUR. Although the proposal seems a promising way to mitigate the effects of a warming climate, a comprehensive model must be developed to evaluate its feasibility.</p
Adult psychiatric outcomes of young people who attended child and adolescent mental health services:a longitudinal total population study
Get PDFBACKGROUND: There is an unprecedented societal focus on young people's mental health, including efforts to expand access to child and adolescent mental health services (CAMHS). There has, however, been a lack of research to date to investigate adult mental health outcomes of young people who attend CAMHS.METHODS: We linked Finland's healthcare registries for all individuals born between 1987 and 1992. We investigated mental disorder diagnoses recorded in specialist adult mental health services (AMHS) and both inpatient and outpatient service use by age 29 (December 31, 2016) for former CAMHS patients.RESULTS: Before the end of their 20s, more than half (52.4%, n = 21,183) of all CAMHS patients had gone on to attend AMHS. The most prevalent recorded adult psychiatric diagnoses received by former CAMHS patients were depressive disorders (30%, n = 11,768), non-phobic anxiety disorders (21%, n = 7,910), alcohol use disorders (9.5%, n = 3,427), personality disorders (9.3%, n = 3,366), and schizophrenia-spectrum disorders (7.6%, n = 2,945). In the total population, more than half of all AMHS appointments (53.1%, k = 714,239/1,345,060) were for former CAMHS patients. More than half of all inpatient psychiatry bed days were for former CAMHS patients (53.1%, k = 1,192,991/2,245,247). CONCLUSION: While there is a strong focus on intervening in childhood and adolescence to reduce the burden of mental illness, these findings suggest that young people who receive childhood intervention very frequently continue to require specialist psychiatric interventions in adulthood, including taking up a majority of both outpatient and inpatient service use. These findings highlight the need for a greater focus on research to alter the long-term trajectories of CAMHS patients.</p
Same data, different analysts: variation in effect sizes due to analytical decisions in ecology and evolutionary biology
Get PDFAlthough variation in effect sizes and predicted values among studies of similar phenomena is inevitable, such variation far exceeds what might be produced by sampling error alone. One possible explanation for variation among results is differences among researchers in the decisions they make regarding statistical analyses. A growing array of studies has explored this analytical variability in different fields and has found substantial variability among results despite analysts having the same data and research question. Many of these studies have been in the social sciences, but one small “many analyst” study found similar variability in ecology. We expanded the scope of this prior work by implementing a large-scale empirical exploration of the variation in effect sizes and model predictions generated by the analytical decisions of different researchers in ecology and evolutionary biology. We used two unpublished datasets, one from evolutionary ecology (blue tit, Cyanistes caeruleus, to compare sibling number and nestling growth) and one from conservation ecology (Eucalyptus, to compare grass cover and tree seedling recruitment). The project leaders recruited 174 analyst teams, comprising 246 analysts, to investigate the answers to prespecified research questions. Analyses conducted by these teams yielded 141 usable effects (compatible with our meta-analyses and with all necessary information provided) for the blue tit dataset, and 85 usable effects for the Eucalyptus dataset. We found substantial heterogeneity among results for both datasets, although the patterns of variation differed between them. For the blue tit analyses, the average effect was convincingly negative, with less growth for nestlings living with more siblings, but there was near continuous variation in effect size from large negative effects to effects near zero, and even effects crossing the traditional threshold of statistical significance in the opposite direction. In contrast, the average relationship between grass cover and Eucalyptus seedling number was only slightly negative and not convincingly different from zero, and most effects ranged from weakly negative to weakly positive, with about a third of effects crossing the traditional threshold of significance in one direction or the other. However, there were also several striking outliers in the Eucalyptus dataset, with effects far from zero. For both datasets, we found substantial variation in the variable selection and random effects structures among analyses, as well as in the ratings of the analytical methods by peer reviewers, but we found no strong relationship between any of these and deviation from the meta-analytic mean. In other words, analyses with results that were far from the mean were no more or less likely to have dissimilar variable sets, use random effects in their models, or receive poor peer reviews than those analyses that found results that were close to the mean. The existence of substantial variability among analysis outcomes raises important questions about how ecologists and evolutionary biologists should interpret published results, and how they should conduct analyses in the future
Human-Precision Medicine Interaction:Public Perceptions of Polygenic Risk Score for Genetic Health Prediction
Get PDFPrecision Medicine (PM) transforms the traditional “one-drug-fits-all” paradigm by customising treatments based on individual characteristics, and is an emerging topic for HCI research on digital health. A key element of PM, the Polygenic Risk Score (PRS), uses genetic data to predict an individual’s disease risk. Despite its potential, PRS faces barriers to adoption, such as data inclusivity, psychological impact, and public trust. We conducted a mixed-methods study to explore how people perceive PRS, formed of surveys (n=254) and interviews (n=11) with UK-based participants. The interviews were supplemented by interactive storyboards with the ContraVision technique to provoke deeper reflection and discussion. We identified ten key barriers and five themes to PRS adoption and proposed design implications for a responsible PRS framework. To address the complexities of PRS and enhance broader PM practices, we introduce the term Human-Precision Medicine Interaction (HPMI), which integrates, adapts, and extends HCI approaches to better meet these challenges
Compressed Sensing Digital MIMO Radar Using a Non-Uniformly Spaced SIW Sparse Receiver Array
Get PDFA compressed sensing (CS) digital radar system based on a sparse array design is proposed for use in automotive collision-avoidance applications. The proof-of-concept radar system offers an enlarged antenna aperture, employing fewer elements and can distinguish targets at an angular separation of only 2 degrees for a bandwidth of 6.25%. This resolution is made possible using a multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) configuration from the original sparse array which was implemented and tested using substrate integrated waveguide (SIW) technology. More specifically, the total aperture size (of the effective virtual receiver array) is 23.5λ which is equivalent to a uniform-linear array (ULA) having 48 elements spaced at 0.5λ apart. However, the total number of elements is 32. This defines a cost-effective setup offering a reduction of 16 elements which accounts for a 33% reduction in the number of required channels for the SIW array. Also, the radar exploits sparse-reconstruction techniques for target detection. Results of the simulations and measurements show that the performance of the proposed SIW antenna and experimentally verified radar system can offer competitive high-resolution detection when compared to other findings in the literature and to the best knowledge of the authors, no similar antenna and radar system implementation has been designed and experimentally verified
The Systematic Review on RF-EMF Exposure and Cancer by Karipidis et al. (2024) has Serious Flaws that Undermine the Validity of the Study's Conclusions
Get PDFVoice quality and tone as independent dimensions of contrast in Dinka
Get PDFLanguages with independently contrastive Voice Quality and Tone are rare, and the evidence base on them is limited. As a result, key hypotheses on how their phonetic realizations interact with one another and with the vowel system remain tentative. Against the background of this evidence base, it is worthwhile to conduct a production study in which Voice Quality, Tone, and Vowel Quality are orthogonally crossed. This paper presents the results of a comprehensive acoustic study on this configuration in Dinka (Nilo-Saharan, South Sudan). The study is based on 29 four-member minimal sets for Voice Quality (Modal vs. Breathy) and Tone (Low vs. High), across all seven of the Dinka vowels (/i, e, ɛ, a, ɔ, o, u/). These materials were elicited from eight speakers of the Bor South variety of Dinka. The results indicate that Voice Quality, Tone, and Vowel Quality each have their own primary correlate: phonation, F0, and formants, respectively. In addition, each distinction influences other phonetic parameters to a lesser extent. Importantly, the Voice Quality contrast is realized saliently on vowels in Low- and-High-toned syllables alike, and across the vocalic domain.<br/
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