A guide to cost-effectiveness acceptability curves

Use of cost-effectiveness acceptability curves, as a method for summarising information on uncertainty in cost-effectiveness, has become widespread within applied studies. This includes several studies in the mental health field. This editorial uses examples from recent papers to illustrate how cost-effectiveness acceptability curves are constructed, what they represent and how they should be interpreted

The Challenges of Implementing Functional Electrical Stimulation Cycling in a Patient with Hemiparesis following Stroke: A Case Report

Background: Strokes are the most common cause of severe disability in the United States. Functional electrical stimulation (FES) cycling may be used as an intervention to decrease disability post-stroke, though there is conflicting evidence among the existing studies exploring its use. The purpose of this case study is to describe the use of FES cycling in order to decrease residual disability post-stroke, as well as the challenges of implementing this intervention in the inpatient rehabilitation setting. Case Description: The patient was a 75 year-old female who presented to inpatient rehabilitation with a sub-acute ischemic right posterior cerebral artery stroke. The patient demonstrated severe left hemiparesis, left homonymous hemianopsia resulting in left neglect, as well as impairments in sensation, balance, and functional mobility. Interventions consisted of use of an FES bicycle at a low dosage, balance activities, left attention tasks, sensory reeducation, strengthening, and education. Outcomes: The patient’s length of stay was 24 days. During this period, she demonstrated a 22-point increase in the Functional Independence Measure score from initial evaluation to discharge. The patient also demonstrated an increase in postural control as demonstrated by a five-point increase in her Postural Assessment Scale for Stroke score. Discussion: Though the patient made significant improvements in postural control and required much less assistance with mobility, she continued to demonstrate severe deficits at discharge that prevented her from returning home independently. Patient complexity, time constraints, scheduling difficulties, and reimbursement issues represented challenges of regular implementation of FES cycling, resulting in dosage at a level lower than is recommended. While current research is conflicting, FES cycling at an appropriate volume may be beneficial in reducing disability in sub-acute stroke survivors

Transient Testing of Enzymes Designed for Genome Editing in Maize

Successful genome editing is associated with the ability to generate double strand breaks (DSB) efficiently at specific chromosomal locations. Recently, enzymes called TALENs (transcription activator like effector nucleases) have been tested for this purpose. TALENs consist of a DNA binding domain and a DNA cleaving or nuclease domain. They function as dimers; two TALEN proteins interact together to produce a DSB in the DNA. The efficiency of TALENs is influenced by the ability to access and bind the target site and of the two TALENs to dimerize. We have assembled a transient assay system in maize to test which TALENs are most effective at generating DSBs. We generated a modified fluorescent protein reporter gene that contains the DNA binding site for the TALENs. When this gene is expressed following DNA bombardment into maize embryos, it is non-functional and no fluorescence is observed. Genes encoding TALENs are then co-bombarded with the reporter gene plasmid. When DSBs occur, DNA repair machinery of the maize cells will repair the reporter gene generating a functional fluorescent protein. The number of fluorescent cells recorded is a measure of TALEN activity. Results from several TALENs and other DSB enzymes, such as RNA-guided cas9 will be discussed

Distribution of Parasitic Isopods on Caridean Shrimp in South Florida Seagrass Beds

Caridean shrimp are a prominent element of seagrass faunal communities and play an important role in the energy transfer between trophic levels. They are a food source for other organisms and play an integral role in the ecosystem by feeding on algae and assisting with the breakdown of organic matter. Carideans are also fundamental to the marine fishery industry in that they are a food source for potentially valuable juvenile commercial fish. Ectoparasitic isopods (Cymothoida: Bopyridae) that infest caridean shrimps decrease the energy level of the shrimp, resulting in slower reaction time, greater predation rate, slower growth rate, and/or reduced egg production. However, in South Florida, little is known about the distributions and effects of parasitism among caridean shrimp in seagrass habitats. This research investigates the relationship of caridean shrimps and ectoparasitic isopods throughout several marine and brackish basins of coastal South Florida ranging from Lostmans River on the lower southwest mangrove coast through Florida Bay and Biscayne Bay. Samples were collected at the end of the wet season in 2010 and the dry season in 2011 using a 1-m2 throw-trap. Relations among isopods, carideans and environment were determined based on a series of biotic (host preference and availability) and abiotic (salinity, temperature, turbidity, water depth) factors. Bopyrid isopods were most abundant in Manatee Bay and Barnes Sound adjacent to the C-111 canal located in southern Biscayne Bay region and predominantly associated with Hippolyte spp. Logistical regression revealed that the likelihood of parasite presence is associated with higher temperatures, lower salinity, increasing depth, less seagrass coverage and greater macroalgae coverage. The results suggest that increased stressors in an environment, such as anthropogenic runoff, may also negatively impact host resistance to parasitism

If I Am Not for Myself, Who Will Be for Me?: Female Autonomy, Human Rights-Consciousness, and the Right to Exit From Haredi Communities in Israel

The “right to exit” refers to the right of individuals to leave (exit) their religious or cultural groups. While not expressly articulated in any international human rights documents, the right to exit from cultural or religious groups is guaranteed by the internationally acknowledged rights to self-determination, freedom of religion, and freedom of movement. In this study, I examine the effects of Israel’s religious policies on women in Haredi (ultra-Orthodox) Jewish communities, where women have an exceptionally difficult time asserting autonomy, voicing and remedying grievances, and exiting their marriages and/or community if they wish to. By accommodating the Haredim, Israel denies Haredi women many rights guaranteed to all Israeli women by virtue of their citizenship. I conclude that Israel must reform its education system to better ensure that all citizens, regardless of religious affiliation are able to: 1. develop human rights consciousness and autonomy in childhood, and 2. access social services in adulthood that facilitate the full exercise of their rights as Israeli citizens and human beings, including the right to exit

Linear stability of ferrofluids in a non-uniform magnetic field

The linear stability of Newtonian ferrofluids subject to non-uniform magnetic fields is consid- ered in different geometries. First, a ferrofluid column with constant magnetic susceptibility, centred on a current-carrying rigid wire and surrounded by another ferrofluid with a differ- ent susceptibility, is investigated. Ferrofluids with non-uniform susceptibilities are considered next. For a constant susceptibility the magnetic forcing is confined to the interface, but for a non-constant susceptibility the forcing is felt in the bulk of the fluid. It is postulated that a sta- tionary state of a ferrofluid with a non-uniform susceptibility in the presence of a non-uniform field, such that regions of highest susceptibility do not coincide with regions of highest field, may be unstable. An instability could be driven by the release of magnetic energy, since a minimum energy configuration may be reached when ferrofluid regions of high susceptibility and regions of high field coincide. This is explored for equilibria in a cylindrical domain, a planar domain and in a general three-dimensional domain. In a cylindrical domain, a stability condition is determined for a ferrofluid surrounding a current-carrying rigid wire, whose susceptibility varies radially. In a planar configuration, a stationary state of ferrofluid between two channel walls is found. The susceptibility and field vary normal to the wall, such that the regions of highest field and susceptibility do not coincide, and it is proven to be unstable. Methods of stabilising both systems are determined. For the cylindrical system, a constant axial field suffices, but for the planar domain it is shown that a rapidly rotating field is necessary to dampen unstable modes. Lastly, a stability condition is obtained for a general volume of ferrofluid, whose susceptibility varies slowly with position, subject to a non-uniform field.Open Acces

Creative Temporal Costings: A Proto-Publics Research Project with Leeds Creative Timebank

A key defining characteristic of timebanking is that all activities are valued equally and in terms of time, with an hour contributed by a legal expert rendered equivalent to an hour of dog-walking. Leeds Creative Timebank (LCT), shares this principle, but is currently the only UK bank dedicated to the collaborative exchange of time among creative practitioners. The team is working on an experimental social design intervention that explores the practices of collaborative exchange as experienced by, and through a co-commissioned study undertaken with LCT, to investigate the value(s) of creative collaborative exchange in this emerging parallel economy. The authors employed methods that allow them to work within the ethos and economy of the LCT, with each investigator having an equal number of hour-long denominations deposited for them in the bank, to enable participation in the bank on the same basis as other members. The assembled ‘hours’ were invested in individuals’ participation in two workshops and the co-production of two outputs: a research report and a creative publication. This experimental method assemblage allowed to explore how collaboration supports the creation of multiple values from within LCT, while also affording members a position from which to develop critical approaches to collaborative exchange from without

Staying Afloat in Tough Times: What States Are and Aren't Doing to Promote Family Economic Security

Staying Afloat in Tough Times tracks state-level policies that help families both avoid and cope with economic hardship. The report examines three categories of policies: work attachment and advancement, income adequacy, and asset development and protection. Although states have taken the lead over the last decade in policy efforts to help low income families, this study demonstrates that assistance is extraordinarily uneven across the states. The authors conclude that America needs a national vision of family economic security — and the leadership to implement it

The interpretation of particle size, shape, and carbon flux of marine particle images is strongly affected by the choice of particle detection algorithm

In situ imaging of particles in the ocean are rapidly establishing themselves as powerful tools to investigate the ocean carbon cycle, including the role of sinking particles for carbon sequestration via the biological carbon pump. A big challenge when analysing particles in camera images is determining the size of the particle, which is required to calculate carbon content, sinking velocity and flux. A key image processing decision is the algorithm used to decide which part of the image forms the particle and which is the background. However, this critical analysis step is often unmentioned and its effect rarely explored. Here we show that final flux estimates can easily vary by an order of magnitude when selecting different algorithms for a single dataset. We applied a range of static threshold values and 11 different algorithms (seven threshold and four edge detection algorithms) to particle profiles collected by the LISST-Holo system in two contrasting environments. Our results demonstrate that the particle detection method does not only affect estimated particle size but also particle shape. Uncertainties are likely exacerbated when different particle detection methods are mixed, e.g., when datasets from different studies or devices are merged. We conclude that there is a clear need for more transparent method descriptions and justification for particle detection algorithms, as well as for a calibration standard that allows intercomparison between different devices