Numerical Quantity Estimation in the Elderly, With and Without Cognitive Impairment

This study examined mental representation of numerical quantity in 25 elderly participants with varying degrees of cognitive impairment. An analogue number-line task has been used in research of mental representation of numerical quantity in children, but little of such research has been done in elderly populations. This research also examined the clinical utility of this number-line task as a diagnostic tool for dementia and cognitive impairment in old age

The Curious Case of Charles Darwin and Homeopathy

In 1849, Charles Darwin was so ill that he was unable to work one out of every 3 days, and after having various troubling symptoms for 2–12 years, he wrote to a friend that he was ‘going the way of all flesh’. He sought treatment from Dr James Manby Gully, a medical doctor who used water cure and homeopathic medicines. Despite being highly skeptical of these treatments, he experienced a dramatic improvement in his health, though some of his digestive and skin symptoms returned various times in his life. He grew to appreciate water cure, but remained skeptical of homeopathy, even though his own experiments on insectivore plants using what can be described as homeopathic doses of ammonia salts surprised and shocked him with their significant biological effect. Darwin even expressed concern that he should publish these results. Two of Darwin's sons were as incredulous as he was, but their observations confirmed the results of his experiments. Darwin was also known to have read a book on evolution written by a homeopathic physician that Darwin described as similar to his own but ‘goes much deeper.

Application of the envelope peaks over threshold (EPOT) method for probabilistic assessment of dynamic stability

This paper reviews the research and development of the Envelope Peaks over Threshold (EPOT) method that has taken place in the last three years. The EPOT method is intended for the statistical extrapolation of ship motions and accelerations from time-domain numerical simulations, or possibly, from a model test. To model the relationship between probability and time, the large roll angle events must be independent, so Poisson flow can be used. The method uses the envelope of the signal to ensure the independence of large exceedances. The most significant development was application of the generalized Pareto Distribution (GPD) for approximation of the tail, replacing the previously used Weibull distribution. This paper reviews the main aspects of modeling the GPD, including its mathematical justification, fitting the parameters of the distribution, and evaluating the probability of exceedance and its confidence interval

Half-AUC for the evaluation of sensitive or specific classifiers

This paper describes a simple, non-parametric variant of area under the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve (AUC), which we call half-AUC (HAUC). By measuring AUC in two halves: first when the true positive rate (TPR) is greater than the true negative rate (TNR) and then when TPR is less than TNR, we obtain a measure of a classifier's overall sensitivity (HAUC(Se)) and specificity (HAUC(Sp)) respectively. We show that these HAUC measures can be interpreted as the probability of correct ranking under the constraint that one class must have a higher detection rate than the other. We then go on to describe application domains where this constraint is appropriate and hence where HAUC may be superior to AUC. We show examples where HAUC discriminates ROC curves both when one curve dominates another and when the curves cross, but have an equivalent AUC. (C) 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved

An Assessment of Hallux Valgus

The foot is an essential component for human gait and begins the propagation of forces in the lower extremity of the body. One of the most common conditions that produce forefoot pain is hallux valgus (HV). HV alters or restricts normal body kinematics, influences physical mobility and increases the risk of falling. The root cause of HV has not been fully determined. While the principal kinematics are known and understood, the etiology still remains unclear. Clinically standard planar radiographs are employed but cannot accurately capture first metatarsal pronation, which is known to occur in the onset of hallux valgus. Previous research has also shown changes occur in bone density near the midfoot of cadavers with hallux valgus. Plantar pressure models have shown patients with hallux valgus have increased loading at the big toe and metatarsal head. In this study, we analyzed the forefoot of normal and HV patients groups to measure in vivo density and bone orientation. We also developed patient specific three-dimensional finite element models of the first and second rays of the foot to develop predictions of stress on the metatarsal in the progression of the HV. We found changes in the density profile in patients with hallux valgus. We quantified pronation in the first metatarsal and found differences in the patients with hallux valgus. The pronation reported here is the first true three-dimensional measurement of metatarsal rotation due to the hallux valgus deformity. We found differences in contact forces at the metatarsal head and metatarsal base due to hallux valgus. This study is the first to report an estimate of pressure at the metatarsal sesamoid interface. We found increased pressure due to the altered kinematics as a result of HV, which can lead to pain and erosion at the metatarsal head

Command-level Police Officers’ Perceptions of the “War on Cops” and De-policing

Policing has been the subject of intense public scrutiny for the better part of two years after several high-profile police killings of unarmed African Americans across the United States. The scrutiny has been so extreme that some contend there is currently a “war on cops”—whereby citizens are emboldened by protests and negative media coverage of the police, and are lashing out by assaulting police officers more frequently. In response, it is argued that officers are de-policing (i.e. avoiding proactive stops). We surveyed command-level police officers from a southeastern state about their attitudes concerning the war on cops and de-policing. The majority of our sample believed there has been a war on cops over the last two years. Moreover, officers who felt strongly about the existence of a war on cops were more likely to believe that de-policing is common among officers in today’s world of law enforcement

Confirmation of Elsey virus infection in a Queensland horse with mild neurologic signs

In 2011, a 2-year-old horse in northern Queensland, Australia, was reported to have developed mild neurologic signs, and a blood sample was submitted for laboratory investigation. Virus isolation was performed using the blood sample, and an orbivirus was isolated. This was confirmed to be a strain of Elsey virus (ELSV) after transmission electron microscopy and nucleotide sequencing. The nucleotide sequence was compared with those in GenBank, and had 100% identity with ELSV previously reported from the Northern Territory, Australia. ELSV is taxonomically closely related to Peruvian horse sickness virus