1,821 research outputs found
Frege and Davidson on Predication
No full textDavidson's conception of predication is examined and critically discussed with reference to Frege's functional conception of concept and first-and higher order predication. The author argues that Frege's account of predication for all its difficulties, included the ones pointed aout by Davidson, is still the best at our disposal
Cardiovascular effects of marine omega-3 fatty acids
No full textMuch evidence shows that the marine omega-3 fatty acids eicosapentaenoic acid and docosahexaenoic acid have beneficial effects in various cardiac disorders, and their use is recommended in guidelines for management of patients after myocardial infarction. However, questions have been raised about their usefulness alongside optimum medical therapies with agents proven to reduce risk of cardiac events in high-risk patients. Additionally, there is some evidence for a possible pro-arrhythmic effect in subsets of cardiac patients. Some uncertainly exists about the optimum dose needed to obtain beneficial effects and the relative merit of dietary intake of omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids versus supplements. We review evidence for the effects of omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids on various cardiac disorders and the risk factors for cardiac disease. We also assess areas of uncertainty needing further researc
Omega-3 fatty acid supplementation does not reduce risk of atrial fibrillation after coronary artery bypass surgery: a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled clinical trial
No full textBackground—Omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (n-3 PUFA) have been reported to reduce the risk of sudden cardiac
death presumed to be due to fatal ventricular arrhythmias, but their effect on atrial arrhythmias is unclear.
Methods and Results—Patients (n108) undergoing coronary artery bypass graft surgery were randomly assigned to
receive 2 g/d n-3 PUFA or placebo (olive oil) for at least 5 days before surgery (median, 16 days; range, 12 to 21
days). Phospholipid n-3 PUFA were measured in serum at study entry and at surgery and in right atrial appendage
tissue at surgery. Echocardiography was used to assess left ventricular function and left atrial dimensions.
Postoperative continuous ECG monitoring (Lifecard CF) for 5 days or until discharge, if earlier, was performed
with a daily 12-lead ECG and clinical review if patients remained in the hospital beyond 5 days. Lifecard
recordings were analyzed for episodes of atrial fibrillation (AF) 30 seconds (primary outcome). Clinical AF, AF
burden (% time in AF), hospital stay, and intensive care/high dependency care stay were measured as secondary
outcomes. One hundred three patients completed the study (51 in the placebo group and 52 in the n-3 PUFA group).
There were no clinically relevant differences in baseline characteristics between groups. n-3 PUFA levels were
higher in serum and right atrial tissue in the active treatment group. There was no significant difference between
groups in the primary outcome of AF (95% confidence interval [CI], 6% to 30%, P0.28) in any of the
secondary outcomes or in AF-free survival.
Conclusions—Omega-3 PUFA do not reduce the risk of AF after coronary artery bypass graft surgery
Centuries of transition
No full textThis review of Chris Wickham's Framing the Early Middle Ages situates the book within the context of his earlier writings on the transition to feudalism, and contrasts his explanation for and dating of the process with those of the two main opposing positions set out in Perry Anderson's Passages from Antiquity to Feudalism (1974) and Guy Bois's The Transformation of the Year One Thousand (1989). Although Framing modifies some of Wickham's earlier positions, it largely sidesteps explicit theoretical discussion for a compellingly detailed empirical study which extends to almost the entire territorial extent of the former Roman Empire. The review focuses on three main themes raised by Wickham's important work: the existence or otherwise of a `peasant'-mode of production and its relationship to the `Asiatic' mode; the nature of state-formation and the question of when a state can be said to have come into existence; and the rôle of different types of class-struggle - slave-rebellions, tax-revolts and peasant-uprisings - in establishing the feudal system
Absence of acute effects of angiotensin II on atrial electrophysiology in humans
No full textPeter M. Kistler, Neil C. Davidson, Prashanthan Sanders, Simon P. Fynn, Irene H. Stevenson, Steven J. Spence, Jitendra K. Vohra, Paul B. Sparks and Jonathan M. Kalmanhttp://www.elsevier.com/wps/find/journaldescription.cws_home/505766/description#descriptio
Unemployment Insurance and Unemployment: Implications of the Reemployment Bonus Experiments
No full textWe translate the results of the three reemployment bonus experiments that were conducted during the 1980s into (a) impacts of a 10-percentage point increase in the Unemployment Insurance (UI) replacement rate on the expected duration of unemployment; and (b) impacts of adding 1 week to the potential duration of UI benefits on the expected duration of unemployment. Our approach is to use an equilibrium search and matching model, calibrated using data from the bonus experiments and secondary sources. The results suggest that a 10-percentage point increase in the UI replacement rate increases the expected duration of unemployment by .3 to 1.1 week (a range consistent with, but only somewhat narrower than, the existing range of estimates), and that adding 1 week to the potential duration of UI benefits increases the expected duration of unemployment by .05 to .2 week (which is toward the low end of existing estimates).unemployment, insurance, bonus, experiments, Davidson, Woodbury
Virtual reality: emerging role of simulation training in vascular access
No full textEvolving new technologies in vascular access mandate increased attention to patient safety; an often overlooked yet valuable training tool is simulation. For the end-stage renal disease patient, simulation tools are effective for all aspects of creating access for peritoneal dialysis and hemodialysis. Based on aviation principles, known as crew resource management, we place equal emphasis on team training as individual training to improve interactions between team members and systems, cumulating in improved safety. Simulation allows for environmental control and standardized procedures, letting the trainee practice and correct mistakes without harm to patients, compared with traditional patient-based training. Vascular access simulators range from suture devices, to pressurized tunneled conduits for needle cannulation, to computer-based interventional simulators. Simulation training includes simulated case learning, root cause analysis of adverse outcomes, and continual update and refinement of concepts. Implementation of effective human to complex systems interaction in end-stage renal disease patients involves a change in institutional culture. Three concepts discussed in this article are as follows: (1) the need for user-friendly systems and technology to enhance performance, (2) the necessity for members to both train and work together as a team, and (3) the team assigned to use the system must test and practice it to a proficient level before safely using the system on patients
Author Co-Citation Analysis (ACA): a powerful tool for representing implicit knowledge of scholar knowledge workers
No full textIn the last decade, knowledge has emerged as one of the most important and valuable organizational assets. Gradually this importance caused to emergence of new discipline entitled ―knowledge management‖. However one of the major challenges of knowledge management is conversion implicit or tacit knowledge to explicit knowledge. Thus Making knowledge visible so that it can be better accessed, discussed, valued or generally managed is a long-standing objective in knowledge management. Accordingly in this paper author co- citation analysis (ACA) will be proposed as an efficient technique of knowledge visualization in academia (Scholar knowledge workers)
A perspective-based model of quality for software engineering processes
No full textIncreasingly, software engineering organisations are defining and implementing processes as a means to support, guide and control project execution. An assumption underlying this process-centric approach to business improvement is that the quality of the process will influence the quality, cost and time-to-release of the software produced. Given this presumed relationship, a critical question arises of what constitutes quality for software engineering processes. This paper describes the results of research undertaken to investigate this question and presents a perspective-based model of quality for software engineering processes that is derived from the stated experiences of software engineering practitioners. The model proposes that practitioners perceive the overall quality of a process with respect to the four quality attributes of suitability, usability, manageability and evolvability and that these judgements are influenced by key process properties and environmental factors. The paper also suggests how knowledge of these quality attributes, properties, environmental factors and their relationships can be practically applied to support software process engineering activities.Trent Kroeger and Neil Davidso
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