An Investigation into Neuropsychological Profiles in Anorexia Nervosa and Associated Clinical and Demographic Variables

Objective: Treatment outcomes for anorexia nervosa (AN) remain unsatisfactory. Substantial research has investigated the neuropsychological effects of AN, often with mixed results. One explanation for the inconsistencies is that there exist several distinct neuropsychological profiles within AN. Profiles have been reported, though not associated with clinical or demographic variables, limiting their utility. Suboptimal statistical techniques may undermine these findings. Method: An existing dataset of healthy controls (HCs) and AN patients (n = 423) was subjected to secondary analysis using latent profile analysis and a neural network to investigate latent profiles and the existence of non-linear neuropsychological structure. Profiles were compared with respect to demographic and clinical variables. Results: The latent profile analysis revealed five AN neuropsychological profiles. Patients in a globally neuropsychologically impaired profile were older than those in a high-average with high verbal profile and weighed less than those in an average performance profile. A non-linear neural network failed to outperform a linear neural network on a diagnosis classification task. Discussion: The five-profile solution extended the neuropsychological groups previously found in the literature. This study is the first to successfully associate latent neuropsychological profile to clinically meaningful variables, though the profile in which differences were observed was tiny (7% of patients). None of the discovered profiles differed in terms of anxiety, undermining support for the noradrenergic hypothesis of AN. The failure of the non-linear neural network to outperform the linear network indicates that AN neuropsychological ability does not contain significant non-linearity, indicating that conventional statistical techniques can model them

Practising What We Preach: Developing a Professional Reading Group for the Library Academic Support Team

This paper briefly considers the value of reading or journals clubs for the continuing professional development of library staff. It suggests that a reading club is not just a mechanism for keeping up to date with developments in the sector but can also be used to facilitate the development of a more robust and proactive culture where librarians perceive themselves increasingly as research active to inform and develop their own practice. It considers the Academic Support Team within Libraries and Learning Innovation (LLI) as an example

Neural regulation of cardiovascular response to exercise: role of central command and peripheral afferents

During dynamic exercise, mechanisms controlling the cardiovascular apparatus operate to provide adequate oxygen to fulfill metabolic demand of exercising muscles and to guarantee metabolic end-products washout. Moreover, arterial blood pressure is regulated to maintain adequate perfusion of the vital organs without excessive pressure variations. The autonomic nervous system adjustments are characterized by a parasympathetic withdrawal and a sympathetic activation. In this review, we briefly summarize neural reflexes operating during dynamic exercise. The main focus of the present review will be on the central command, the arterial baroreflex and chemoreflex, and the exercise pressure reflex. The regulation and integration of these reflexes operating during dynamic exercise and their possible role in the pathophysiology of some cardiovascular diseases are also discusse

The impact of employee satisfaction on quality and profitability in high-contact service industries

2008-2009 > Academic research: refereed > Publication in refereed journalAccepted ManuscriptPublishe

From customer orientation to customer satisfaction : the gap between theory and practice

2003-2004 > Academic research: refereed > Publication in refereed journalVersion of RecordPublishe

Adoption of internet banking : an empirical study in Hong Kong

2006-2007 > Academic research: refereed > Publication in refereed journalAccepted ManuscriptPublishe

An empirical model for managing quality in the electronics industry

Author name used in this publication: Kee-hung Lai2005-2006 > Academic research: refereed > Publication in refereed journalVersion of RecordPublishe

Relationship stability and supplier commitment to quality

Author name used in this publication: Kee-hung LaiAuthor name used in this publication: T. C. E. ChengAuthor name used in this publication: A. C. L. Yeung2004-2005 > Academic research: refereed > Publication in refereed journalAccepted ManuscriptPublishe