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Bimodal neuromodulation combining sound and tongue stimulation reduces tinnitus symptoms in a large randomized clinical study
Get PDFTinnitus is a phantom auditory perception coded in the brain that can be bothersome or debilitating for 10-15% of the population. Currently, there is no clinically recommended drug or device treatment for this major health condition. Animal research has revealed that sound paired with electrical somatosensory stimulation can drive extensive plasticity within the brain for tinnitus treatment. To investigate this bimodal neuromodulation approach in humans, we evaluated a noninvasive device that delivers sound to the ears and electrical stimulation to the tongue in a randomized, double-blinded, exploratory study that enrolled 326 adult subjects with chronic subjective tinnitus. Participants were randomized into three parallel arms with different stimulation settings. Clinical outcomes were evaluated over a 12-week treatment period and a 12-month post-treatment phase. For the primary endpoints, participants achieved a statistically significant reduction in tinnitus symptom severity at the end of treatment based on two commonly used outcome measures, Tinnitus Handicap Inventory (Cohen’s d effect size: 0.87 to 0.92 across arms; p<0.001) and Tinnitus Functional Index (0.77 to 0.87; p<0.001). Therapeutic improvements continued for 12 months post-treatment for specific bimodal stimulation settings. Long-term benefits lasting 12 months have not previously been demonstrated in a large cohort for a tinnitus intervention. The treatment also achieved high compliance and satisfaction rates with no treatment-related serious adverse events. These positive therapeutic and long-term results motivate further clinical trials towards establishing bimodal neuromodulation as the first clinically recommended device treatment for tinnitus
Isotopic investigations of Chinese ceramics
Get PDFThis chapter provides insights into Chinese ceramic technologies of both bodies and glazes as well as provenance by using isotopes applied to a number of case studies. The use of Sr isotopes to investigate Chinese high-fired Celadon wares and blue-and-white Jingdezhen porcelain (Jiangxi province) has revealed a clear distinction associated with the fluxes used in the glazes: plant ash in celadons and limestone in Jingdezhen glazes, something that is not clear from major element analysis. Furthermore, the technique is able to suggest by implication the nature of the silica source used in the glazes—normally weathered granitic rocks or metamorphic rocks (porcelain stone) which also contains Sr. This leads to an isotopic mixing line of the 2 Sr-rich components and is proof that 2 Sr-rich components were mixed in the manufacture of limestone glaze. This is not the case for plant ash glazes. Eventually, the technique may be used in provenance studies. Like Sr isotope analysis, lead isotope analysis relies on there being a lack of or a minimal change in the isotope ratios when the raw materials are heated. Lead isotope analysis links the use of lead in glazes to the original metal ore and if a kiln uses a distinctive lead source in its glazes, it can provide a provenance for the pottery. This has been very successful in distinguishing Chinese Tang sancai wares made in the Huangye, Huangbao, Liquanfang and Qionglai kilns
Evaluating the Nexus between housing and energy sectors: the comparison of urban, Peri-urban and rural housing areas in Zhuhai, China
Get PDFChina has developed several housing policy reforms and has, in recent years, progressed further on developing policies to promote green strategies and energy-saving plans. The urban housing has much benefited from such reforms and plans, while rural housing has experienced minimal change in the past few decades. As a result, this study aims to identify and explore these differences, challenges, and implications that exist between three areas of urban, peri-urban, and rural in a particular case study in China. For this study, selected residential areas in the City of Zhuhai and its peri-urban and rural areas are selected as case studies. A questionnaire survey is conducted to analyze energy and housing conditions across the more prosperous urban, the dynamic and transitory peri-urban, and the less prosperous rural areas. The case studies are analyzed as comparative examples in a hot and humid sub-tropical area of Southern China. The study compares energy and housing conditions and argues potential possibilities and challenges for the future development of housing policy reforms that are the result of current housing development patterns and green strategy situation in China
Scenario forecasting for global tourism
Get PDFThis study provides innovative forecasts of the probabilities of certain scenarios of tourism demand. The scenarios of interest are constructed in relation to tourism growth and economic growth. The probability forecasts based on these scenarios provide valuable information for destination policymakers. The time-varying parameter panel vector autoregressive (TVP-PVAR) model is adopted for scenario forecasting. Both the accuracy rate and the Brier score are used to evaluate the forecasting performance. A global set of 25 tourism destinations is empirically examined, and the results confirm that the TVP-PVAR model with a time-varying error covariance matrix is generally a promising tool for forecasting. Our study contributes to tourism forecasting literature in advocating the use of scenario forecasting to facilitate industry decision-making in situations wherein forecasts are defined by two or more dimensions simultaneously. In addition, it is the first study to introduce the TVP-PVAR model to tourism demand forecasting
The directionality of uncertainty expressions and the foreign language effect
Get PDFPurpose – This study investigates two issues inherent in accounting judgements: (1) the directional influence of uncertainty expressions and how they might positively or negatively affect accounting judgements and (2) the foreign-language effect (FLE), which refers to the reduction of judgement bias that occurs when an accounting judgement is made in one’s foreign language. This study examines both issues in the context of accounting judgements made in Chinese and English languages.
Design/methodology/approach – This study conducts two experiments. The first experiment applies a 2x2 between-subject research design, and the second experiment adopts a 2x2 within-subject approach.
Findings – The overall results reveal that directionality biases exist in the exercise of accounting judgement in subjects’ native and foreign languages. However, when switching the language from the subjects’ native tongue to a foreign language, overall directionality biases are reduced.
Research limitations/implications – This study suggests that the use of native and non-native languages can have unintended consequences on accounting judgements. However, due to the limitations of using students as proxies for professionals and applying self-assessed language scales, the literature would benefit from future research that extends the subject profile to professional accountants and that assesses language skills more objectively.
Originality/value – This study contributes to the literature on cross-lingual accounting, both theoretically and methodologically. It also extends the FLE theory to an accounting context, providing insights on how language is involved in judgements concerning uncertainty expressions
A theoretical study of noxious gases storage using covalent organic frameworks (COFs)
Get PDFUsing covalent organic frameworks (COFs) to capture noxious gas has become an increasing research interest, especially for the purpose of environmental protection. A theoretical study on the interactions of carbon monoxide (CO), sulfur dioxide (SO2) and nitric oxide (NO), respectively with COF-300 has been proposed, based on the theory of the continuum approximation using Lennard-Jones potential. We discover that COF-300 can store more SO2 in comparison to CO and NO under an increasing pressure at 77K. The present methodology is computationally efficient and can be employed in other types of gases and nano-porous materials without conceptual difficulties
Electrode-molecule energy level offsets in a gold-benzene diamine-gold single molecule tunnel junction
Get PDFOne means for describing electron transport across single molecule tunnel junctions (MTJs) is to use density functional theory (DFT) in conjunction with a nonequilibrium Green's function formalism. This description relies on interpreting solutions to the Kohn-Sham (KS) equations used to solve the DFT problem as quasiparticle (QP) states. Many practical DFT implementations suffer from electron self-interaction errors and an inability to treat charge image potentials for molecules near metal surfaces. For MTJs, the overall effect of these errors is typically manifested as an overestimation of electronic currents. Correcting KS energies for self-interaction and image potential errors results in MTJ current-voltage characteristics in close agreement with measured currents. An alternative transport approach foregoes a QP picture and solves for a many-electron wavefunction on the MTJ subject to open system boundary conditions. It is demonstrated that this many-electron method provides similar results to the corrected QP picture for electronic current. The analysis of these two distinct approaches is related through corrections to a junction's electronic structure beyond the KS energies for the case of a benzene diamine molecule bonded between two gold electrodes
Surviving an infectious disease outbreak: How does nurse calling influence performance during the COVID‐19 fight?
Get PDFAim: To assess the performance of frontline nurses, who believed they were living out their calling, during the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic.
Background: Although as a profession nursing generally requires high levels of performance, the disruption arising from an infectious disease outbreak increases the work stress and decreases the performance of frontline nurses. How this situation can be improved has yet to be thoroughly examined.
Method: We used a snowball sampling technique to recruit 339 nurses who were originally from outside of Hubei but volunteered to join medical teams going to Hubei to tackle COVID-19.
Results: Drawing on the theory of work as a calling, we found that living a calling had a positive effect on frontline nurses’ performance through the clinical and relational care they provided. Perceived supervisor support strengthened these mediated relationships.
Conclusion: Our findings indicate that despite the constraints associated with pandemics, frontline nurses who are living a calling are able to provide better clinical and relational care to infected patients, which in turn improves their performance.
Implications for Nursing Management: The findings of this study suggest that hospitals can introduce career education interventions to enhance nurses’ ability to discern and live out their calling to improve their performance
Sharing travel related experiences on social media – integrating social capital and face orientation
Get PDFTourists can share their travel experiences or related information freely through social media platforms. The purpose of this research is to explore the factors associated with sharing travel related experiences on social media by travellers in the context of social capital theory and person-context interaction theory. Data were collected among consumers in Malaysia using a structured survey; 423 responses were generated. The findings show that the social capital dimensions (social ties, trust, reciprocity and shared vision) positively impact sharing intention on social media while identification doesn’t impact the sharing intention. The results also partially support the hypothesis that protective face orientation negatively influences social capital dimensions and sharing intention while acquisitive face orientation positively influences them. The authors shed light on the construction of social capital dimensions and face orientation and the relative importance of the sharing intention on social media
Experimental data on Helically Coiled Oscillating Heat Pipe (HCOHP) design and thermal performance
Get PDFExperimental and derived data from three Helically Coiled Oscillating Heat Pipes (HCOHPs) charged with ethanol, methanol and deionized water working fluids respectively are presented. The data was obtained from prototypes of the HCOHPs fabricated out of copper and tested under laboratory conditions. The primary data presented covers the HCOHP aspects, charging of the working fluid and temperature measurements from Omega K-type Thermocouples installed on the evaporators, condensers, adiabatic sections, and on the cylindrical copper vessel integrated with it. The derived data covers the HCOHPs performances and thermal contact resistance experienced during laboratory testing. The data on the aspects and charging of the working fluid provides useful information for the validation of design parameters of other heat pipes. The measured temperature data and the derived performance data can used to validate the performance of heat pipes in other studies and to depict performance profiles in standard text and reference books. The nature of the data presented as a whole would be useful for comparative analysis involving heat pipes and other passive heat transfer devices. © 2020 The Author
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