Market transactions and hypothetical demand data: A comparative study.

[Dataset available: http://hdl.handle.net/10411/15666]

The n-width of the unit ball of Hq

AbstractLet E be a compact subset of the open unit disc Δ and let Hq be the Hardy space of analytic functions f on Δ for which stf¦q has a harmonic majorant. We determine the value of the Kolmogorov, Gel'fand, and linear n-widths in Lp(E, μ) of the restriction to E of the unit ball of Hq when p ⩽ q or when 1 ⩽ q < p < ∞ and E is “small”

Associations among neighborhood poverty, perceived neighborhood environment, and depressed mood are mediated by physical activity, perceived individual control, and loneliness

Few studies have documented the pathways through which individual level variables mediate the effects of neighborhoods on health. This study used structural equation modeling to examine if neighborhood characteristics are associated with depressive symptoms, and if so, what factors mediated these relationships. Cross-sectional data came from a sample of mostly rural, older adults in North Carolina (n = 1,558). Mediation analysis indicated that associations among neighborhood characteristics and depressive symptoms were mediated by loneliness (standardized indirect effect = −0.19, p < 0.001), physical activity (standardized indirect effect = −0.01, p = 0.003), and perceived individual control (standardized indirect effect = −0.07, p = 0.02) with loneliness emerging as the strongest mediator. Monitoring such individual mediators in formative and process evaluations may increase the precision of neighborhood-based interventions and policies

Mental Health in China: Stigma, Family Obligations, and the Potential of Peer Support

Some people with mental illness in China do not receive treatment. We explored how stigma and familial obligation influenced accessibility of social support for patients with depression in China and the potential acceptability of peer support programs. Semi-structured qualitative interviews were conducted with five psychiatrists and 16 patients receiving care for depression from a large psychiatric hospital in Jining, Shandong Province of China. Patients with mental illness reported barriers that prevented them from (a) receiving treatment and (b) relying on informal social support from family members, including stigma, somatization, and community norms. Circumventing these barriers, peer support (i.e., support from others with depression) was viewed by patients as an acceptable means of exchanging information and relying on others for support. Formative research on peer support programs to examine programming and activities may help reduce the burden of unmet mental health care needs in China

Study of heterogeneous nucleation of eutectic Si in high-purity Al-Si alloys with Sr addition

The official published version can be accessed from the link below - Copyright @ 2010 The Minerals, Metals & Materials Society and ASM InternationalAl-5 wt pct Si master-alloys with controlled Sr and/or P addition/s were produced using super purity Al 99.99 wt pct and Si 99.999 wt pct materials in an arc melter. The master-alloy was melt-spun resulting in the production of thin ribbons. The Al matrix of the ribbons contained entrained Al-Si eutectic droplets that were subsequently investigated. Differential scanning calorimetry, thermodynamic calculations, and transmission electron microscopy techniques were employed to examine the effect of the Sr and P additions on eutectic undercoolings and nucleation phenomenon. Results indicate that, unlike P, Sr does not promote nucleation. Increasing Sr additions depressed the eutectic nucleation temperature. This may be a result of the formation of a Sr phase that could consume or detrimentally affect potent AlP nucleation sites.This work is financially supported by the Higher Education Commission of Pakistan and managerially supported from the OAD

Combining the High Tech with the Soft Touch: Population Health Management Using eHealth and Peer Support

Integration of diverse approaches may offer paths to meeting population health challenges, such as how to provide ongoing diabetes self-management support to the 387 million people with the disease around the world. The Affordable Care Act challenges us to improve the health of whole populations, with an eye toward chronic diseases in particular. The centrality of highly variable human behavior provides enormous challenges to managing populations of those with chronic diseases. It requires reorienting resources within the health care system to address ongoing, effortful, and complex behaviors of patients amid strong competing priorities

Magneto-Transport Properties of Doped RuSr2_2GdCu2_2O8_8

RuSr$_2$GdCu$_2$O$_8$, in which magnetic order and superconductivity coexist with $T_{Magnetic}$$\gg$$T_c$, is a complex material which poses new and important questions to our understanding of the interplay between magnetic and superconducting (SC) order. Resistivity, Hall effect and thermopower measurements on sintered ceramic RuSr$_2$GdCu$_2$O$_8$ are presented, together with results on a broad range of substituted analogues. The Hall effect and thermopower both show anomalous decreases below $T_{Magnetic}$ which may be explained within a simple two-band model by a transition from localized to more itinerant behavior in the RuO$_2$ layer at $T_{Magnetic}$.Comment: 10 pages, 7 figures, submitted to Phys. Rev. B., correspondence to [email protected]

Reinforcement determines the timing dependence of corticostriatal synaptic plasticity in vivo

Plasticity at synapses between the cortex and striatum is considered critical for learning novel actions. However, investigations of spike-timing-dependent plasticity (STDP) at these synapses have been performed largely in brain slice preparations, without consideration of physiological reinforcement signals. This has led to conflicting findings, and hampered the ability to relate neural plasticity to behavior. Using intracellular striatal recordings in intact rats, we show here that pairing presynaptic and postsynaptic activity induces robust Hebbian bidirectional plasticity, dependent on dopamine and adenosine signaling. Such plasticity, however, requires the arrival of a reward-conditioned sensory reinforcement signal within 2 s of the STDP pairing, thus revealing a timing-dependent eligibility trace on which reinforcement operates. These observations are validated with both computational modeling and behavioral testing. Our results indicate that Hebbian corticostriatal plasticity can be induced by classical reinforcement learning mechanisms, and might be central to the acquisition of novel actions