Complex Modal Analysis of the Swimming Motion of a Whiting

The kinematics of the transverse motion of a swimming fish are analyzed using a complex modal decomposition. Cinematographic images of a swimming whiting (Gadus merlangus) were obtained from the work of Sir James Gray (1933, "Studies in Animal Locomotion III. The Propulsive Mechanism of the Whiting (Gadus merlangus)," J. Exp. Biol., 10, pp. 391-402). The position of the midline for each image was determined and used to produce planar positions of virtual markers distributed along the midline of the fish. Transverse deflections of each virtual marker were then used for the complex orthogonal decomposition of modes. This method was applied to images of a whiting before and after amputation in a Newtonian frame of reference and an "anterior-body-fixed" frame as well. The fish motions were well represented by a single complex mode, which was then used as a modal filter. The extracted mode and modal coordinate were used to estimate the frequency, wavelength, and wave speed. The amputated fish was compared to the nonamputated fish, and the amount of traveling in the respective waveforms was quantified. The dominant complex mode shape and the estimated modal frequency were employed to reanimate the fish motion

Complex Orthogonal Decomposition Applied to Nematode Posturing

The complex orthogonal decomposition (COD), a process of extracting complex modes from complex ensemble data, is summarized, as is the use of complex modal coordinates. A brief assessment is made on how small levels of noise affect the decomposition. The decomposition is applied to the posturing of Caenorhabditis elegans, an intensively studied nematode. The decomposition indicates that the worm has a multimodal posturing behavior, involving a dominant forward locomotion mode, a secondary, steering mode, and likely a mode for reverse motion. The locomotion mode is closer to a pure traveling waveform than the steering mode. The characteristic wavelength of the primary mode is estimated in the complex plane. The frequency is obtained from the complex modal coordinate's complex whirl rate of the complex modal coordinate, and from its fast Fourier transform. Short-time decompositions indicate the variation of the wavelength and frequency through the time record

Are symbols useful and culturally acceptable in health-state valuation studies? An exploratory study in a multi-ethnic Asian population

10.2147/PPA.S4142Patient Preference and Adherence2271-27

Choosing between measures: comparison of EQ-5D, HUI2 and HUI3 in persons with hearing complaints

OBJECTIVES: To generate insight into the differences between utility measures EuroQol 5D (EQ-5D), Health Utilities Index Mark II (HUI2) and Mark III (HUI3) and their impact on the incremental cost-effectiveness ratio (ICER) for hearing aid fitting METHODS: Persons with hearing complaints completed EQ-5D, HUI2 and HUI3 at baseline and, when applicable, after hearing aid fitting. Practicality, construct validity, agreement, responsiveness and impact on the ICER were examined. RESULTS: All measures had high completion rates. HUI3 was capable of discriminating between clinically distinctive groups. Utility scores (n = 315) for EQ-5D UK and Dutch tariff (0.83; 0.86), HUI2 (0.77) and HUI3 (0.61) were significantly different, agreement was low to moderate. Change after hearing aid fitting (n = 70) for HUI2 (0.07) and HUI3 (0.12) was statistically significant, unlike the EQ-5D UK (0.01) and Dutch (0.00) tariff. ICERs varied from 647,209 euros/QALY for the EQ-5D Dutch tariff to 15,811 euros/QALY for HUI3. CONCLUSION: Utility scores, utility gain and ICERs heavily depend on the measure that is used to elicit them. This study indicates HUI3 as the instrument of first choice when measuring utility in a population with hearing complaints, but emphasizes the importance of a clear notion of what constitutes utility with regard to economic analyse

IT controls in the public cloud : success factors for allocation of roles and responsibilities

The rapid adoption of cloud computing by organizations has resulted in the transformation of the roles and responsibilities of staff in managing the information technology (IT) resources (via IT governance controls) that have migrated to the cloud. Hence, the objective of this research is to provide a set of success factors that can assist IT managers to allocate the roles and responsibilities of IT controls appropriately to staff to manage the migrated IT resources. Accordingly, we generated a set of success factors from behavioral and information systems (IS) literature. These success factors were verified using in-depth interviews of executives from the United Arab Emirates (UAE). The empirical intervention suggests that the role allocation is driven predominantly by people’s skills, competencies, organizational strategy, structures, and policies. In addition, the research made clear that the most significant competency and skill for a person allocated to IT controls is to be able to evaluate and manage a cloud service provider, especially in terms of risks, compliance, and security issues related to public cloud technology. The findings of this study not only offer new insights for scholars and practitioners involved in assigning responsibilities but also provide extensions for IT governance framework authorities to align their guidelines to the emerging cloud technology

International meta-analysis of PTSD genome-wide association studies identifies sex- and ancestry-specific genetic risk loci.

The risk of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) following trauma is heritable, but robust common variants have yet to be identified. In a multi-ethnic cohort including over 30,000 PTSD cases and 170,000 controls we conduct a genome-wide association study of PTSD. We demonstrate SNP-based heritability estimates of 5-20%, varying by sex. Three genome-wide significant loci are identified, 2 in European and 1 in African-ancestry analyses. Analyses stratified by sex implicate 3 additional loci in men. Along with other novel genes and non-coding RNAs, a Parkinson's disease gene involved in dopamine regulation, PARK2, is associated with PTSD. Finally, we demonstrate that polygenic risk for PTSD is significantly predictive of re-experiencing symptoms in the Million Veteran Program dataset, although specific loci did not replicate. These results demonstrate the role of genetic variation in the biology of risk for PTSD and highlight the necessity of conducting sex-stratified analyses and expanding GWAS beyond European ancestry populations

Quantification of the level descriptors for the standard EQ-5D three-level system and a five-level version according to two methods

Objectives: Our aim was to compare the quantitative position of the level descriptors of the standard EQ-5D three-level system (3L) and a newly developed, experimental five-level version (5L) using a direct and a vignette-based indirect method. Methods: Eighty-two respondents took part in the study. The direct method represented a visual analog scale (VAS) rating of the nonextreme level descriptors for each dimension and each instrument separately. The indirect method required respondents to score 15 health scenarios with 3L, 5L and a VAS scale. Investigated were: (1) equidistance (Are 3L and 5L level descriptors distributed evenly over the VAS continuum?); (2) isoformity (Do the identical level descriptors on 3L and 5L yield similar results?); and (3) consistency between dimensions (Do the positions of similar level descriptors differ across dimensions within instruments?). Results: Equidistance without transformation was rejected for all dimensions for both 3L and 5L but satisfied for 5L after transformation. Isoformity gave mixed results. Consistency between dimensions was satisfied for both instruments and both methods. Discussion: The level descriptors have similar distributions across comparable dimensions within each system, but the pattern differs between 3L and 5L. This methodological study provides evidence of increased descriptive power and a broadened measurement continuum that encourages the further development of an official five-level EQ-5D