Electrical bending actuation of gold-films with nanotextured surfaces

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Are Pictures Worth More Than a 1000 Words or…? Insights from Preferences for Agritourism Destinations

This study assessed whether preferences for agritourism destination features vary as elicited with word statements or pictures. Paired t-tests resulted in significant differences between both assessment methods in all five agricultural features examined. In all cases, pictorial representations received significantly higher scores than word statements which may be associated with the capacity of pictures to stimulate greater cognitive elaboration. These results have practical implications for agritourism destinations because managers and marketers may over-estimate or under-estimate certain destination features depending on the type of method used to collect visitors’ preference

New nuclear three-body clusters \phi{NN}

Binding energies of three-body systems of the type \phi+2N are estimated. Due to the strong attraction between \phi-meson and nucleon, suggested in different approaches, bound states can appear in systems like \phi+np (singlet and triplet) and \phi+pp. This indicates the principal possibility of the formation of new nuclear clusters

Treatment outcomes of various types of tuberculosis in Pakistan, 2006 and 2007

Measuring treatment outcome is important for successful tuberculosis (TB) control programmes. The purpose of this study was to examine the outcomes of various types of TB cases registered in Pakistan over a 2-year period and compare those outcomes among the different provinces and regions of the country. A retrospective, cohort study was conducted in which TB treatment outcome reports were reviewed. Of the 349 694 pulmonary TB cases registered in Pakistan during 2006 and 2007, 309 154 (88.4%) were treated successfully. Treatment success was significantly higher in new smear-positive cases and lower in retreatment cases. Among the provinces and regions, treatment success was significantly higher in 4 out of 8 provinces. Treatment success needs to be improved, particularly in retreatment cases. The national TB control programme should review the provincial and regional programmes and learn lessons from well-performing programmes. Patient factors that may affect the treatment outcome should be also studied

Detecting emotion cause with sequence labeling model

2013-2014 > Academic research: refereed > Publication in refereed journalVersion of RecordPublishe

A randomized clinical trial of the immunogenicity of 7-valent pneumococcal conjugate vaccine compared to 23-valent polysaccharide vaccine in frail, hospitalized elderly

Background: Elderly people do not mount strong immune responses to vaccines. We compared 23-valent capsular polysaccharide (23vPPV) alone versus 7-valent conjugate (PCV7) vaccine followed by 23vPPV 6 months later in hospitalized elderly. Methods: Participants were randomized to receive 23vPPV or PCV7-23vPPV. Antibodies against serotypes 3, 4, 6A, 6B, 9V, 14, 18C, 19A, 19F, 23F were measured by enzyme-linked immunosorbent (ELISA) and opsonophagocytic (OPA) assays at baseline, 6 months and 12 months. Results: Of 312 recruited, between 40% and 72% of subjects had undetectable OPA titres at baseline. After one dose, PCV7 recipients had significantly higher responses to serotypes 9V (both assays) and 23F (OPA only), and 23vPPV recipients had significantly higher responses to serotype 3 (ELISA), 19F and 19A (OPA only). In subjects with undetectable OPA titres at baseline, a proportionately greater rise in OPA titre (P<0.01) was seen for all serotypes after both vaccines. The GMT ratio of OPA was significantly higher at 12 months in the PCV7-23vPPV group for serotypes 6A, 9V, 18C and 23F. OPA titre levels for these serotypes increased moderately after 6 months, whereas immunity waned in the 23vPPV only arm. Conclusion: We did not show overwhelming benefit of one vaccine over the other. Low baseline immunity does not preclude a robust immune response, reiterating the importance of vaccinating the frail elderly. A schedule of PCV7-23vPPV prevents waning of antibody, suggesting that both vaccines could be useful in the elderly. Follow up studies are needed to determine persistence of immunity. Trial Registration: The Australian Clinical Trials Registry ACTRN12607000387426 © 2014 MacIntyre et al

Material-independent crack arrest statistics: Application to indentation experiments

An extensive experimental study of indentation and crack arrest statistics is presented for four different brittle materials (alumina, silicon carbide, silicon nitride, glass). Evidence is given that the crack length statistics can be described by a universal (i.e. material independent) distribution. The latter directly derives from results obtained when modeling crack propagation as a depinning phenomenon. Crack arrest (or effective toughness) statistics appears to be fully characterized by two parameters, namely, an asymptotic crack length (or macroscopic toughness) value and a power law size dependent width. The experimental knowledge of the crack arrest statistics at one given scale thus gives access to its knowledge at all scales

Criminal and Noncriminal Psychopathy: The Devil is in the Detail

Brooks, NS ORCiD: 0000-0003-1784-099XPsychopathy is prevalent and problematic in criminal populations, but is also found to be present in noncriminal populations. In 1992, Robert Hare declared that psychopaths may also “be found in the boardroom”, which has since been followed by an interest in the issue of noncriminal, or even successful, psychopathy. In this chapter, the paradox of criminal and noncriminal psychopathy is discussed with specific attention given to the similarities and differences that account for psychopathic personality across contexts. That psychopathy is a condition typified by a constellation of traits and behaviours requires wider research across diverse populations, and thus the streams of research related to criminal and noncriminal psychopathy are presented and the implications of these contrasting streams are explored