268 research outputs found
The impact of segregation and discrimination on the United States' foreign policy in the containment of communism, 1947 53, 1955
No full textEstimating the returns to UK publicly funded cancer-related research in terms of the net value of improved health outcomes
No full text© 2014 Glover et al.; licensee BioMed Central Ltd. This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly credited. The Creative Commons Public Domain Dedication waiver (http://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/) applies to the data made available in this article, unless otherwise stated.Background - Building on an approach developed to assess the economic returns to cardiovascular research, we estimated the economic returns from UK public and charitable funded cancer-related research that arise from the net value of the improved health outcomes.
Methods - To assess these economic returns from cancer-related research in the UK we estimated: 1) public and charitable expenditure on cancer-related research in the UK from 1970 to 2009; 2) net monetary benefit (NMB), that is, the health benefit measured in quality adjusted life years (QALYs) valued in monetary terms (using a base-case value of a QALY of GB£25,000) minus the cost of delivering that benefit, for a prioritised list of interventions from 1991 to 2010; 3) the proportion of NMB attributable to UK research; 4) the elapsed time between research funding and health gain; and 5) the internal rate of return (IRR) from cancer-related research investments on health benefits. We analysed the uncertainties in the IRR estimate using sensitivity analyses to illustrate the effect of some key parameters.
Results - In 2011/12 prices, total expenditure on cancer-related research from 1970 to 2009 was £15 billion. The NMB of the 5.9 million QALYs gained from the prioritised interventions from 1991 to 2010 was £124 billion. Calculation of the IRR incorporated an estimated elapsed time of 15 years. We related 17% of the annual NMB estimated to be attributable to UK research (for each of the 20 years 1991 to 2010) to 20 years of research investment 15 years earlier (that is, for 1976 to 1995). This produced a best-estimate IRR of 10%, compared with 9% previously estimated for cardiovascular disease research. The sensitivity analysis demonstrated the importance of smoking reduction as a major source of improved cancer-related health outcomes.
Conclusions - We have demonstrated a substantive IRR from net health gain to public and charitable funding of cancer-related research in the UK, and further validated the approach that we originally used in assessing the returns from cardiovascular research. In doing so, we have highlighted a number of weaknesses and key assumptions that need strengthening in further investigations. Nevertheless, these cautious estimates demonstrate that the returns from past cancer research have been substantial, and justify the investments made during the period 1976 to 1995.Wellcome Trust, Cancer
Research UK, the National Institute of Health Research, and the Academy of
Medical Sciences
Elevated FMR1 mRNA in premutation carriers is due to increased transcription
No full textCarriers of premutation alleles (55-200 CGG repeats) of the fragile X mental retardation 1 (FMR1) gene have levels of FMR1 mRNA that are elevated by as much as 10-fold in peripheral blood leukocytes and CNS tissue. The excess expanded-repeat mRNA, per se, is now believed to result in forms of clinical involvement that are largely restricted to premutation carriers, including the neurodegenerative disorder, fragile X-associated tremor/ataxia syndrome (FXTAS). Although evidence to date suggests that the elevated mRNA is not due to increased stability, the basis for the increase is not known. In the current study, we have determined the relative transcriptional activities of premutation and normal FMR1 alleles using a highly sensitive nuclear run-on assay that involves immunocapture of digoxigenin-modified run-on transcripts followed by PCR amplification of the nascent transcripts. Using the nuclear run-on approach, we demonstrate that the rate of run-on synthesis of FMR1 transcripts is increased in premutation alleles. The current run-on assay should be broadly applicable to studies of other genes with promoters of weak to moderate strength. The fraction of capped FMR1 mRNA remains unaltered for premutation transcripts, indicating that elevated message levels are not due to premature escape from the cotranscriptional capping process. We also show that, in contrast to the situation with myotonic dystrophy, there is no net nuclear sequestration of premutation FMR1 mRNA. Finally, we have demonstrated that AGG interruptions within the CGG repeat element do not influence FMR1 mRNA levels
Ants can solve difficult bin packing problems
No full textThe bin packing problem (BPP) is a well-known NP-hard combinatorial optimization problem which occurs in many contexts, including capital budgeting, scheduling and VLSI design. In this work, an ant colony optimization approach is presented for the BPP which is an adaptation of the Max-Min Ant System of Stuetzle and Hoos (2000). When ant colony algorithm is combined with a simple but effective iterated local search procedure, this was found to be competitive with the best known solution methods for certain classes of benchmark instances. We present results from a variety of benchmark instances due to Falkenauer (1996), Scholl, Klein and Juergens (1997), Schwerin and Waescher (1998), Waescher and Gau (1996) and a collection of large instances of our own devising. It was found that the ant colony approach was competitive for a significant number of these benchmark sets, and managed to find new optima for five instances in theWaescher and Gau (1996) set beyond those reported by Alvim, Glover, Ribeiro and Aliose (2002). We will also comment on the weaknesses of the current algorithm and will attempt to show, through experiments, how the hybrid ACO algorithm navigates the solution space to find good solutions
Paraprofessional ratings of supports, stress, and teacher classroom practices
No full textParaprofessionals have become a significant part of inclusive education as they play an important role in educating students with disabilities. Paraprofessionals have historically received inadequate training and supports, though they are key implementers of educational and behavior management supports in classrooms. Research on how paraprofessionals perceive job-embedded supports and work-related stress is very limited. Therefore, this study could offer insights on how to support and develop staff skills to meet student needs. The present study examined paraprofessional ratings of supports (i.e., instrumental support, emotional support, quality of relationships with teachers) and work stress, and independent observer ratings of teacher classroom practices, using a sample of 61 paraprofessionals and 63 classroom teachers. Pearson correlations revealed that paraprofessional-teacher relationships were positively correlated with instrumental support (r = .28, p < .05) and emotional support (r = .39, p < .01), instrumental support was positively related to emotional support (r = .45, p < .01), and emotional support was negatively related to work stress (r = -.38, p < .01). Additionally, observed Behavior Management Strategies (BMS) Total Discrepancy scores were negatively correlated with emotional support (r = -.35, p < .01) and paraprofessional-teacher relationships (r = -.27, p < .05), and Instructional Strategies (IS) Total Discrepancy scores were positively correlated with work stress (r = .28, p < .05). Multiple regression analyses indicated that observed IS and BMS Total Discrepancy scores predicted emotional support and accounted for 13.0% of its variance (R2 = .13, F (2, 58) = 4.17, p < .05). Independently, BMS Total Discrepancy scores significantly predicted emotional support (ß = -.40, p < .05) and had a negative relationship with instrumental support (ß = -.33, p < .05). Study limitations and implications for research and practice are discussed.Psy.D.Includes bibliographical reference
Bulletin of the Massachusetts Archaeological Society, Vol. 53, No. 2
No full textEditor’s Notes (Elizabeth A. Little) An Archaeological Approach to a Suspected 18th and 19th Century Graveyard: Investigations along the North River, Norwell, Massachusetts (Alan Leveillee and Suzanne Glover) Edge Alteration Study for Attleboro Red Felsite Tools (Peter Pagoulatos) An Unusual Slate Artifact from the Powell Site, Kingston, Massachusetts (Bernard Otto) On Speaking to an Audience (Dena F. Dincauze) Author, Title and Subject Index, Vols. 49-53, 1988-1992, Bulletin of the Massachusetts Archaeological Society (Elizabeth A. Little and Sally Pendleton) Radiocarbon Age Reports Procedures for Re-Use of Material Originally Published in the Bulleti
Studies of enlarged property of underdrainage. VII. Seepage coefficient of underdrainage
No full textf, the specific yield of the soil, is often used in the theoretical analysis of the unsteady state of underdrainage. This seems to have been the cause of disagreement between the theoretical and the actual, therefore the author proposed to substitute seepage coefficient (provisional name) "u" for "f". "u" value is transformed along with lowering of the groundwater table. The object of this bulletin is an examination to evaluate "u" and the example of measureed value. The author found that equations show good agreement. The reasons are as follows: The author induced theoretical equation (14) for time and lowering of groundwater table by underdrainage. After differentiated GLOVER's equation (22) with respect to "T" and "h", in this place "f" is replaced by "u", equation (23) is given by integrating again. In the cace of d = ∞ use D = 3/2 H for equation (22) and D = H/2 + L for equation (23). Substituting "u" for "f" in WALKER'S original equation (24) we get equation (25).暗キョ排水によって地下水面が時間的に降下する場合の理論式にはGLOVER(1950)やWALKER(1952)などの式が使われる. これらの式の中で有効間隙率(Specific yield of the soil, drainable pore space)の値をどのようにとるかが問題であって, 土壌の有効間隙率をそのまま使った場合に実際とは合致しない. KIRKHAMがおこなったGIBBS農場におけるフィルドデータによる検討(Proc. Soil Sci. Soc. Am. 16 : 86-293, 1952)においてもGLOVERの式の場合に実際より計算値の方が暗キョ間隔が大きく, またWALKERの式の場合も同様の傾向を示すことを指摘している. 著者は水位の時間的変化に伴って実有効間隙(有効間隙から一時残留水容積を差引いたときの間隙率)が変ることを考慮した浸出係数(Seepage coefficient, provisional name)を提案し, また理論式を誘導してこれらの矛盾を除去した.departmental bulletin pape
OptimaLink: A MATLAB-based code for teaching-learning precision-point and optimum synthesis and simulation of mechanisms
No full textThis paper presents OptimaLink, a MATLAB-based code to facilitate the teaching-learning of design of mechanisms and intelligent optimization methods. The current version of OptimaLink accommodates dimensional synthesis, analysis, and animation of four-bar (RRRR) mechanisms. Dimensional synthesis includes both precision-point and optimum synthesis methods. The paper begins by introducing the objective function for synthesis of the RRRR mechanism, followed by a summary of the intelligent search methods coded in OptimaLink, namely Simulated Annealing, Genetic Algorithm and Tabu Search. OptimaLink's structure and its use are then briefly outlined and an application example is provided to demonstrate the usefulness of the code. Finally, possible didactic uses of the code are proposed. Although dedicated to mechanism design, the user can tap into the optimisation algorithms coded in OptimaLink to solve other design problems by coding the corresponding user-interface module. © 2005 TEMPUS Publications.CHENG HH, 2004, P ASME DES ENG TECHN; Glover F., 1997, TABU SEARCH; KUNJUR, 1997, J APPL MECH ROBOTICS, V4, P8; Pardalos PM, 2002, HDB APPL OPTIMIZATIO; PEREZ A, 2004, P ASME DES ENG TECHN; Pham D.T., 2000, INTELLIGENT OPTIMIZA; PRESS WH, 1989, NUMERICAL RECIPE ART; SANDOR G, 1984, DESIGN MECH, V2; SMAILI A, 2004, P ASME DETC 2004 96; ULAH I, 1997, ASME, V119, P504; YU N, 2002, P ASME DES ENG TECHN11
Three options for citation tracking: Google Scholar, Scopus and Web of Science
No full textBackground:
Researchers turn to citation tracking to find the most influential articles for a particular topic, and to see how often their own published papers are cited. For years researchers looking for this type of information had only one resource to consult: the Web of Science. In 2004, two competitors emerged – Scopus and Google Scholar. The research reported here uses citation analysis in an observational study examining these three databases; comparing citation counts for articles from two disciplines (oncology and condensed matter physics) and two years (1993 and 2003).
Methods:
11 journal titles with varying impact factors were selected from each discipline (oncology and condensed matter physics) using the Journal Citation Reports (JCR). All articles published in the selected titles were retrieved for both years, and a stratified random sample of articles was chosen, resulting in four sets of articles. During the week of November 7-12, 2005 we extracted the citation counts for each research article from the three sources. The actual citing references for a subset of the articles published in 2003 were also gathered from each of the three sources.
Results:
For oncology 1993, Web of Science returned the highest average number of citations, 45.3. Scopus returned the highest average number of citations (8.9) for oncology 2003. Web of Science returned the highest number of citations for condensed matter physics 1993 and 2003 (22.5 and 3.9 respectively). The data showed a significant difference in the mean citation rates between all pairs of resources except between Google Scholar and Scopus for condensed matter physics 2003. For articles published in 2003, Google Scholar returned the largest amount of unique citing material for oncology and Web of Science returned the most for condensed matter physics.
Conclusions:
This study did not identify any one of these three resources as the answer to all citation tracking needs. Scopus showed strength in providing citing literature for 2003 oncology articles, while Web of Science produced more citing material for 2003 and 1993 condensed matter physics, and 1993 oncology articles. Unique material was returned by all three tools. Our data indicate that the question of which tool provides the most complete set of citing literature may depend on the subject and publication year of a given article
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