TMS-evoked long-lasting artefacts: A new adaptive algorithm for EEG signal correction

OBJECTIVE: During EEG the discharge of TMS generates a long-lasting decay artefact (DA) that makes the analysis of TMS-evoked potentials (TEPs) difficult. Our aim was twofold: (1) to describe how the DA affects the recorded EEG and (2) to develop a new adaptive detrend algorithm (ADA) able to correct the DA. METHODS: We performed two experiments testing 50 healthy volunteers. In experiment 1, we tested the efficacy of ADA by comparing it with two commonly-used independent component analysis (ICA) algorithms. In experiment 2, we further investigated the efficiency of ADA and the impact of the DA evoked from TMS over frontal, motor and parietal areas. RESULTS: Our results demonstrated that (1) the DA affected the EEG signal in the spatiotemporal domain; (2) ADA was able to completely remove the DA without affecting the TEP waveforms; (3). ICA corrections produced significant changes in peak-to-peak TEP amplitude. CONCLUSIONS: ADA is a reliable solution for the DA correction, especially considering that (1) it does not affect physiological responses; (2) it is completely data-driven and (3) its effectiveness does not depend on the characteristics of the artefact and on the number of recording electrodes. SIGNIFICANCE: We proposed a new reliable algorithm of correction for long-lasting TMS-EEG artifacts

An investigation of the corporate responsibility report assurance statements of the Big Four banks in Australia

The corporate responsibility report demonstrates an organisation’s commitment to sustainability. Currently, not much is known about the quality of the assurance statements of the corporate responsibility reports of banks in Australia. This research study fills the gap in the literature by investigating the corporate responsibility report assurance statements of the Big Four banks in Australia. The assurance statements are evaluated against the criteria provided by O’Dwyer and Owen (2005) and Perego and Kolk (2012). The results reveal that although the assurance statements, on average, meet the criteria highly, there are areas that need improvement. Keywords: assurance, bank, AA1000AS, ASAE 3000, ISAE 3000 JEL Codes:G21, M14, M4

Technical efficiency in transport manufacturing firms: evidence from Malaysia

This study aims to identify the level of technical efficiency and the determinants of technical inefficiency for transport manufacturing firms in Malaysia for 2010 using cross-sectional data of 130 firms acquired from the Department of Statistics (DOS). Based on the stochastic frontier analysis (SFA) approach, the results of the study reveal that the average level of technical efficiency is moderate. The estimated result identifies the important determinants of technical inefficiency which are due to employee wage rates as well as the cost of information and communication technology. The fundamental implications of this study are that transport manufacturing firms need to boost motivation among employees and strengthen the network of the production market via wage increment and communication cost

Higher Fertilizer Inputs Increase Fitness Traits of Brown Planthopper in Rice.

Rice (Oryza sativa L.) is the primary staple food source for more than half of the world's population. In many developing countries, increased use of fertilizers is a response to increase demand for rice. In this study, we investigated the effects of three principal fertilizer components (nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium) on the development of potted rice plants and their effects on fitness traits of the brown planthopper (BPH) [Nilaparvata lugens (Stål) (Homoptera: Delphacidae)], which is a major pest of rice in Bangladesh and elsewhere. Compared to low fertilizer inputs, high fertilizer treatments induced plant growth but also favored BPH development. The BPH had higher survival, developed faster, and the intrinsic rate of natural increase (r m ) was higher on well-fertilized than under-fertilized plants. Among the fertilizer inputs, nitrogen had the strongest effect on the fitness traits of BPH. Furthermore, both the "Plant vigor hypothesis" and the "Plant stress hypothesis" were supported by the results, the former hypothesis more so than the latter. These hypotheses suggest that the most suitable/attractive hosts for insect herbivores are the most vigorous plants. Our findings emphasized that an exclusive focus on yield increases through only enhanced crop fertilization may have unforeseen, indirect, effects on crop susceptibility to pests, such as BPH

INDICATORS OF THE GLOBAL REPORTING INITIATIVE REGARDING SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT

Ample debates took place and numerous methods were elaborated in order to assessthe environment performance of an entity. The simplest and fastest method consists in applyingenvironment indicators which can present the multitude of environment data in a much clearerformat. Environment indicators play an important role in decision making and this is why numerousorganisms and institutions are interested in their development. This article presents the activities ofGRI with regard to this issue.environmental indicators, annual report, sustainable development

Online Sustainability Disclosure: Assessing Customer’s Influence And The Use Of Web As A Medium Of Communication Among The Public Listed Companies In Malaysia

Sejak dekad yang lalu, pelbagai isu alam sekitar, sosial dan ekonomi yang disebabkan oleh syarikat korporat telah menjejaskan kehidupan pelbagai pihak yang berkepentingan. Over the past decade, various environmental, social and economic issues caused by the corporate companies are affecting various stakeholders

Microfinance Institutions in Nigeria

The advocation of micro – financing was triggered by the poor performance of the conventional finance sector. The essence was to reach the overwhelming population of the poor to assist in the drive to alleviate poverty. Barely a million had been provided with some credit in Nigeria while a yawning 40 million poor people are yet to be attended to. In terms of supply, commercial and development finance institutions are in the fore front of the outfits that provide credits to the microfinance institutions. Despite their efforts, rates of interest, inequitable distribution of wealth and income and outreaching the poor constitute challenges to the operations. The establishment of microfinance institutions in Nigeria was based on weak institutional capacity, weak capital base, existence of a huge unserved market, utilization of SMEEIS fund among other thingsmicrofinance, financial institutions, agricultural credit and finance

Therblig-embedded value stream mapping method for lean energy machining

To improve energy efficiency, extensive studies have focused on the cutting parameters optimization in the machining process. Actually, non-cutting activities (NCA) occur frequently during machining and this is a promising way to save energy through optimizing NCA without changing the cutting parameters. However, it is difficult for the existing methods to accurately determine and reduce the energy wastes (EW) in NCA. To fill this gap, a novel Therblig-embedded Value Stream Mapping (TVSM) method is proposed to improve the energy transparency and clearly show and reduce the EW in NCA. The Future-State-Map (FSM) of TVSM can be built by minimizing non-cutting activities and Therbligs. By implementing the FSM, time and energy efficiencies can be improved without decreasing the machining quality, which is consistent with the goal of lean energy machining. The method is validated by a machining case study, the results show that the total energy is reduced by 7.65%, and the time efficiency of the value-added activities is improved by 8.12% , and the energy efficiency of value-added activities and Therbligs are raised by 4.95% and 1.58%, respectively. This approach can be applied to reduce the EW of NCA, to support designers to design high energy efficiency machining processes during process planning

Investigating TMS–EEG indices of long-interval intracortical inhibition at different interstimulus intervals

Available online 8 August 2016Abstract not availableGeorge M. Opie, Nigel C. Rogasch, Mitchell R. Goldsworthy, Michael C. Ridding, John G. Semmle