Incorporation of genuine prior information in cost-effectiveness analysis of clinical trial data

The Bayesian approach to statistics has been growing rapidly in popularity as an alternative to the frequentist approach in the appraisal of heathcare technologies in clinical trials. Bayesian methods have significant advantages over classical frequentist statistical methods and the presentation of evidence to decision makers. A fundamental feature of a Bayesian analysis is the use of prior information as well as the clinical trial data in the final analysis. However, the incorporation of prior information remains a controversial subject that provides a potential barrier to the acceptance of practical uses of Bayesian methods. The pur pose of this paper is to stimulate a debate on the use of prior information in evidence submitted to decision makers. We discuss the advantages of incorporating genuine prior information in cost-effectiveness analyses of clinical trial data and explore mechanisms to safeguard scientific rigor in the use of such prior information

The role of interfaces in CoFe/IrMn exchange biased systems

A trilayer system consisting of an IrMn layer exchanged coupled to two CoFe layers of equal thickness has been studied. A single stage reversal was observed over a wide range of temperatures. Two bilayers with the same thicknesses of the pinning layer but different ferromagnetic thicknesses were also studied. By comparing the magnetic properties of these three stacks the effect of the interfacial area on the exchange field and the coercivity has been determined. We find that the interfacial area has a very minor effect on the exchange field H-ex and the blocking temperature (T-B) but causes a doubling of the coercivity (H-c). This indicates that H-c is dominated by the interface whereas the exchange bias is controlled by volumetric effects

The island of Kauai, Hawaii's progressive shoreline setback and coastal protection ordinance

Approximately two-thirds of coastal and Great Lakes states have some type of shoreline construction setback or construction control line requiring development to be a certain distance from the shoreline or other coastal feature (OCRM, 2008). Nineteen of 30 coastal states currently use erosion rates for new construction close to the shoreline. Seven states established setback distances based on expected years from the shoreline: the remainder specify a fixed setback distance (Heinz Report, 2000). Following public hearings by the County of Kauai Planning Commission and Kauai County Council, the ‘Shoreline Setback and Coastal Protection Ordinance’ was signed by the Mayor of Kauai on January 25, 2008. After a year of experience implementing this progressive, balanced shoreline setback ordinance several amendments were recently incorporated into the Ordinance (#887; Bill #2319 Draft 3). The Kauai Planning Department is presently drafting several more amendments to improve the effectiveness of the Ordinance. The intent of shoreline setbacks is to establish a buffer zone to protect shorefront development from loss due to coastal erosion - for a period of time; to provide protection from storm waves; to allow the natural dynamic cycles of erosion and accretion of beaches and dunes to occur; to maintain beach and dune habitat; and, to maintain lateral beach access and open space for the enjoyment of the natural shoreline environment. In addition, a primary goal of the Kauai setback ordinance is to avoid armoring or hardening of the shore which along eroding coasts has been documented to ultimately eliminate the fronting beach. (PDF contains 4 pages

Activation volumes in CoPtCr-SiO2 perpendicular recording media

CoPtCr-SiO2 perpendicular recording media with varying levels of SiO2 were examined by two different methods to determine the activation volume. The first is based on the sweep-rate dependence of the remanence coercivity using Sharrock's equation. The second is based on the measurement of the fluctuation field from time-dependence data, determined using a magneto-optical Kerr effect (MOKE) magnetometer. The values of V-act measured at the coercivity for both methods are almost the same, with the fluctuation field and activation volumes increasing with the SiO2 content. The difference between V-act and the grain volume measured directly from bright-field TEM images decreases as the SiO2 content increases due to the reduction of intergranular exchange coupling. The experimental results indicate that values of V-act obtained from single- and double-layered media are consistent. It was also found that the coercivity and normalized hysteresis loop slope at coercivity varied with SiO2 content, with the coercivity peaking at 8 at % SiO2 (nearly 26 vol% SiO2)

Growth rate effects in soft CoFe films

We report on growth rate effects in sputter-deposited CoFe films prepared using high target utilization sputtering technology (HiTUS). We find that the grain structure of these polycrystalline films is closely related to the growth rate. By changing the growth rate, samples were prepared with different grain structure, which in turn had the effect of changing the magnetic properties of the films. We demonstrate control of the coercivity, which varied by a factor of more than ten. This was achieved via grain size control in CoFe films of thickness 20 nm. Furthermore, by employing a two-step sputtering process, in which two extreme growth rates are used sequentially, we were able to tune the saturation magnetization

Do synaesthesia and mental imagery tap into similar cross-modal processes?

Synaesthesia has previously been linked with imagery abilities, although an understanding of a causal role for mental imagery in broader synaesthetic experiences remains elusive. This can be partly attributed to our relatively poor understanding of imagery in sensory domains beyond vision. Investigations into the neural and behavioural underpinnings of mental imagery have nevertheless identified an important role for imagery in perception, particularly in mediating cross-modal interactions. However, the phenomenology of synaesthesia gives rise to the assumption that associated cross-modal interactions may be encapsulated and specific to synaesthesia. As such, evidence for a link between imagery and perception may not generalize to synaesthesia. Here, we present results that challenge this idea: first, we found enhanced somatosensory imagery evoked by visual stimuli of body parts in mirror-touch synaesthetes, relative to other synaesthetes or controls. Moreover, this enhanced imagery generalized to tactile object properties not directly linked to their synaesthetic associations. Second, we report evidence that concurrent experience evoked in grapheme-colour synaesthesia was sufficient to trigger visual-to-tactile correspondences that are common to all. Together, these findings show that enhanced mental imagery is a consistent hallmark of synaesthesia, and suggest the intriguing possibility that imagery may facilitate the cross-modal interactions that underpin synaesthesic experiences. This article is part of a discussion meeting issue 'Bridging senses: novel insights from synaesthesia'

Bones as evidence of meat production and distribution in York

[First Paragraphs] Many books and papers have been written on the general principles and minutiae of using the animal bones recovered from archaeological deposits as a source of information on past diet.A full discussion of methodological issues is beyond the remit of this chapter, but it is worth reminding ourselves that there are many stages between an animal being killed and used for food, and a pile of bones arriving on the bench. There is the initial stage of decision-making on the part of the human population, and of individuals within it, and possibly on the part of the animals as well. Those decisions bring people and animaIs together ar the point of the animals' death, and may well be what we are seeking to infer from the archaeological record. After slaughter, animals of any size will be butchered in various ways, and parts of one carcass may be traded or redistributed to several locations, at each of which different people will take further decisions as to recipe and utilization. Some bones will have been separared from the carcass during initial butchering, and will be disposed of fairly immediately. After consumption (and different individuals will have different ideas as to what is worth eating), the remaining bones and other waste might be used in some orher way (soup, glue, toothpicks), before being destroyed or deposited in some dump or refuse pit. Micro-organisms and geochemical agents then set to work, modifying and destroying some or all bone fragments through the centuries, until a residue reaches a tenuous equilibrium with the sediment around it, and survives until the archaeologists arrive on site

Animal bones from Anglo-Scandinavian York

INTRODUCTION: This chapter provides an overview of the current state of knowledge regarding vertebrate animals in and around York in the Anglo-Scandinavian period. The great majority of the available evidence derives from 16-22 Coppergate (AY 15/3), with smaller amounts of data from a number of excavations around the city. The aim is not to describe the data at length, but to review the information inferred from those data under several thematic headings. Examination of the material from Coppergate began as the excavation neared its end, early in the 1980s. At that time, our knowledge of urban zooarchaeology in Britain rested on just a few major studies (e.g. Exeter, Maltby 1979; Southampton, Bourdillon and Coy 1980; Baynards Castle, London, Armitage 1977), and little or nothing was known about Anglo-Scandinavian husbandry. The intervening 30 years has seen the publication of many substantial assemblages from 8th- to 15th century urban contexts across northern Europe (e.g. Birka, Ericson et al. 1988; Ribe, Hatting 1991; Waterford, McCormick 1997; Lubeck, Rheingans and Reichstein 1991; Compiegne, Yvinec 1997). With that increasing information has come some shift in emphasis from data such as the relative abundance of different taxa and changes through time, to more thematic questions of supply and demand, and the value of animal bones in discussions on the emergence of towns and their associated social structures (e.g. Bourdillon 1984; O'Connor 1994; Crabtree 1990). This review therefore revisits previously published material, and incorporates additional data in a synthesis of evidence from York as a whole, and in regional comparisons. Practical methods are not discussed at length here: they are detailed by site in the appropriate fascicules of AY 15/1-5, and reviewed in AY 19/2