1522 research outputs found
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Engineering Accreditation and Professional Competence in Ireland and Brazil - Similarities, Differences and Convergence in a Global Context
No full textConcordance of Macular Pigment Measurement Using Customized Heterochromatic Flicker Photometry and Fundus Autofluorescence in Age-Related Macular Degeneration
No full textPURPOSE:We compared macular pigment (MP) measurements using customized heterochromatic flicker photometry (Macular Metrics Densitometer) and dual-wavelength fundus autofluorescence (Heidelberg Spectralis HRA + OCT MultiColor) in subjects with early age-related macular degeneration (AMD).
METHODS:Macular pigment was measured in 117 subjects with early AMD (age, 44-88 years) using the Densitometer and Spectralis, as part of the Central Retinal Enrichment Supplementation Trial (CREST; ISRCTN13894787). Baseline and 6-month study visits data were used for the analyses. Agreement was investigated at four different retinal eccentricities, graphically and using indices of agreement, including Pearson correlation coefficient (precision), accuracy coefficient, and concordance correlation coefficient (ccc).
RESULTS:Agreement was poor between the Densitometer and Spectralis at all eccentricities, at baseline (e.g., at 0.25° eccentricity, accuracy = 0.63, precision = 0.35, ccc = 0.22) and at 6 months (e.g., at 0.25° eccentricity, accuracy = 0.52, precision = 0.43, ccc = 0.22). Agreement between the two devices was significantly greater for males at 0.5° and 1.0° of eccentricity. At all eccentricities, agreement was unaffected by cataract grade.
CONCLUSIONS:In subjects with early AMD, MP measurements obtained using the Densitometer and Spectralis are not statistically comparable and should not be used interchangeably in either the clinical or research setting. Despite this lack of agreement, statistically significant increases in MP, following 6 months of supplementation with macular carotenoids, were detected with each device, confirming that these devices are capable of measuring change in MP within subjects over time. (http://www.controlled-trials.com number, ISRCTN13894787.)
Leadership in Implementing Technology-Enhanced Learning in Educational Institutions
Get PDFConventional designs of educational programs are usually based on implicit instruc‐
tional design approaches that look equally at all learners. However, research indicates
that learning is a complex activity involving a number of different aspects. Using tech‐
nology to deliver and support learning adds another layer of complexity. In a rapidly
changing environment a template to map the implementation of blended learning is
proposed to contribute to the ongoing debate in higher education in implementing
blended learning approaches. In a challenging economic environment, some of the
key strategic leadership challenges that institutions must address are articulated.
Much of the research into deploying e-learning initiatives suggests that it is a complex
undertaking and that educational institutions are at various stages in the develop‐
ment and deployment of technology-facilitated initiatives. A number of key leader‐
ship challenges are outlined that academic leaders must address in delivering the
curriculum using technology. A proposed framework for deploying blended learning
coupled with a template for educational managers to embrace in their strategic de‐
ployment of technology in delivering the curriculum is presented
Modelling the Effect of SPION Size in a Stent Assisted Magnetic Drug Targeting System with Interparticle Interactions
Get PDFCancer is a leading cause of death worldwide and it is caused by the interaction of genomic, environmental, and lifestyle factors.
Although chemotherapy is one way of treating cancers, it also damages healthy cells and may cause severe side effects.Therefore, it
is beneficial in drug delivery in the human body to increase the proportion of the drugs at the target site while limiting its exposure
at the rest of body through Magnetic Drug Targeting (MDT). Superparamagnetic iron oxide nanoparticles (SPIONs) are derived
from polyol methods and coated with oleic acid and can be used as magnetic drug carrier particles (MDCPs) in an MDT system.
Here, we develop a mathematical model for studying the interactions between the MDCPs enriched with three different diameters
of SPIONs (6.6, 11.6, and 17.8 nm) in the MDT system with an implanted magnetizable stent using different magnetic field strengths
and blood velocities. Our computational analysis allows for the optimal design of the SPIONs enriched MDCPs to be used in clinical
applications
Finance, Failures, Fines and Fiefdoms
Get PDFThis presentation addresses issues associated with the fines and settlements of over €100bn imposed on international banks by regulatory authorities in Europe and the USA in recent years. It examines the purpose of regulation and the background to the events and behaviours which resulted in transfers of this magnitude. It expresses some hypotheses regarding what may unfold in the future and gives weight to the examination of roles that exist in institutions party to these transfers. It suggests some tasks that may be helpful as the sector pursues the next phase in its journey, perhaps with certain redemptive attributes in mind
Enterprise Data Center Globality Measurement
Get PDFMeasurement of the globality of On-Line Transaction Processing (OLTP) workloads in Enterprise Data Centers is considered. Providing OLTP workload isolation (application, services and databases) for performance-sensitive enterprise workloads, so that activity in one workload cannot interfere with another, remains a challenge. We demonstrate that traditional aggregate OLTP Workload globality measurement frameworks can generate mis-leading globality measures. We propose a higher-order globality measurement framework which addresses this problem. We derive two high dimensional structured measurement matrices, namely a template and measurand matrix, with special spectral properties, which account for globality mea- surement 1) boundedness; 2) programmability; 3) multiplicity; 4) relativity; 5) spatial correlation and 6) the appropriate sensitivity of the measure to changes in the distribution of the workload. We demonstrate that these properties are exhibited by the new measure by ordering OLTP workloads by their globality measure. We evaluate the measure using a stochastic layered block model for data center topology and OLTP workload generation and demonstrate that it is consistent
Load-Adjusted Video Quality Prediction Methods for Missing Data
Get PDFA polynomial fitting model for predicting the RTP packet rate of Video-on-Demand received by a client is presented. The approach is underpinned by a parametric statistical model for the client-server system, namely the PQ-model. It improves the robustness of the predictor in the presence of a time-varying load on the server. The advantage of our approach is that (1) if we model the load on the server, we can then use this model to improve RTP packet rate predictions; (2) we can predict how the server will behave under previously unobserved loads –a tool which is particularly useful for network planning; and finally (3) the PQ-model provides accurate predictions of future RTP packet rates in scenarios where training data is unavailable
