The significance and performance of the emerging property markets in Asia

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The significance and performance of infrastructure in China

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The risk of secondary traumatic stress in the qualitative transcription process: A research note.

Kiyimba, N. & O'Reilly, M., The risk of secondary traumatic stress in the qualitative transcription process: a research note, Qualitative Research (16:4) pp. 468-476. Copyright © Nikki Kiyimba & Michelle O'Reilly, 2015. Reprinted by permission of SAGE Publications.It is recognised that transcribing is not merely a neutral and mechanical process, but is active and requires careful engagement with the qualitative data. Whether the researcher transcribes their own data or employs professional transcriptionists the process requires repeated listening to participants’ personal narratives. This repetition has a cumulative effect on the transcriptionist and hearing the participants’ personal narratives of a sensitive or distressing nature, can have an emotional impact. However, this potential emotional impact is often not something which is accounted for in the planning stages of research. In this article we critically discuss the importance of considering the effects on transcriptionists who engage with qualitative data

Adherence to Tuberculosis Therapy among Patients Receiving Home-Based Directly Observed Treatment: Evidence from the United Republic of Tanzania.

\ud \ud Non-adherence to tuberculosis (TB) treatment is the leading contributor to the selection of drug-resistant strains of Mycobacterium tuberculosis and subsequent treatment failure. Tanzania introduced a TB Patient Centred Treatment (PCT) approach which gives new TB patients the choice between home-based treatment supervised by a treatment supporter of their own choice, and health facility-based treatment observed by a medical professional. The aim of this study was to assess the extent and determinants of adherence to anti-TB therapy in patients opting for home-based treatment under the novel PCT approach. In this cross-sectional study, the primary outcome was the percentage of patients adherent to TB therapy as detected by the presence of isoniazid in urine (IsoScreen assay). The primary analysis followed a non-inferiority approach in which adherence could not be lower than 75%. Logistic regression was used to examine the influence of potentially predictive factors. A total of 651 new TB patients were included. Of these, 645 (99.1%) provided urine for testing and 617 patients (95.7%; 90%CI 94.3-96.9) showed a positive result. This result was statistically non-inferior to the postulated adherence level of 75% (p<0.001). Adherence to TB therapy under home-based Directly Observed Treatment can be ensured in programmatic settings. A reliable supply of medication and the careful selection of treatment supporters, who preferably live very close to the patient, are crucial success factors. Finally, we recommend a cohort study to assess the rate of adherence throughout the full course of TB treatment

Coverage, Continuity and Visual Cortical Architecture

The primary visual cortex of many mammals contains a continuous representation of visual space, with a roughly repetitive aperiodic map of orientation preferences superimposed. It was recently found that orientation preference maps (OPMs) obey statistical laws which are apparently invariant among species widely separated in eutherian evolution. Here, we examine whether one of the most prominent models for the optimization of cortical maps, the elastic net (EN) model, can reproduce this common design. The EN model generates representations which optimally trade of stimulus space coverage and map continuity. While this model has been used in numerous studies, no analytical results about the precise layout of the predicted OPMs have been obtained so far. We present a mathematical approach to analytically calculate the cortical representations predicted by the EN model for the joint mapping of stimulus position and orientation. We find that in all previously studied regimes, predicted OPM layouts are perfectly periodic. An unbiased search through the EN parameter space identifies a novel regime of aperiodic OPMs with pinwheel densities lower than found in experiments. In an extreme limit, aperiodic OPMs quantitatively resembling experimental observations emerge. Stabilization of these layouts results from strong nonlocal interactions rather than from a coverage-continuity-compromise. Our results demonstrate that optimization models for stimulus representations dominated by nonlocal suppressive interactions are in principle capable of correctly predicting the common OPM design. They question that visual cortical feature representations can be explained by a coverage-continuity-compromise.Comment: 100 pages, including an Appendix, 21 + 7 figure

Detection of emphysema progression in alpha 1-antitrypsin deficiency using CT densitometry; Methodological advances

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Computer tomography (CT) densitometry is a potential tool for detecting the progression of emphysema but the optimum methodology is uncertain. The level of inspiration affects reproducibility but the ability to adjust for this variable is facilitated by whole lung scanning methods. However, emphysema is frequently localised to sub-regions of the lung and targeted densitometric sampling may be more informative than whole lung assessment.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Emphysema progression over a 2-year interval was assessed in 71 patients (alpha 1-antitrypsin deficiency with PiZ phenotype) with CT densitometry, using the 15^thpercentile point (Perc15) and voxel index (VI) -950 Hounsfield Units (HU) and -910 HU (VI -950 and -910) on whole lung, limited single slices, and apical, central and basal thirds. The relationship between whole lung densitometric progression (ΔCT) and change in CT-derived lung volume (ΔCT_Vol) was characterised, and adjustment for lung volume using statistical modelling was evaluated.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>CT densitometric progression was statistically significant for all methods. ΔCT correlated with ΔCT_Voland linear regression indicated that nearly one half of lung density loss was secondary to apparent hyperinflation. The most accurate measure was obtained using a random coefficient model to adjust for lung volume and the greatest progression was detected by targeted sampling of the middle third of the lung.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Progressive hyperinflation may contribute significantly to loss of lung density, but volume effects and absolute tissue loss can be identified by statistical modelling. Targeted sampling of the middle lung region using Perc15 appears to be the most robust measure of emphysema progression.</p

The Earliest Post-Paleozoic Freshwater Bivalves Preserved in Coprolites from the Karoo Basin, South Africa

Background: Several clades of bivalve molluscs have invaded freshwaters at various times throughout Phanerozoic history. The most successful freshwater clade in the modern world is the Unionoida. Unionoids arose in the Triassic Period, sometime after the major extinction event at the End-Permian boundary and are now widely distributed across all continents except Antarctica. Until now, no freshwater bivalves of any kind were known to exist in the Early Triassic. Principal Findings: Here we report on a faunule of two small freshwater bivalve species preserved in vertebrate coprolites from the Olenekian (Lower Triassic) of the Burgersdorp Formation of the Karoo Basin, South Africa. Positive identification of these bivalves is not possible due to the limited material. Nevertheless they do show similarities with Unionoida although they fall below the size range of extant unionoids. Phylogenetic analysis is not possible with such limited material and consequently the assignment remains somewhat speculative. Conclusions: Bivalve molluscs re-invaded freshwaters soon after the End-Permian extinction event, during the earliest part of the recovery phase during the Olenekian Stage of the Early Triassic. If the specimens do represent unionoids then these Early Triassic examples may be an example of the Lilliput effect. Since the oldest incontrovertible freshwater unionoids are also from sub-Saharan Africa, it is possible that this subcontinent hosted the initial freshwater radiation of the Unionoida. This find also demonstrates the importance of coprolites as microenvironments of exceptional preservation that contai

Multiscale modelling of auxin transport in the plant-root elongation zone

In the root elongation zone of a plant, the hormone auxin moves in a polar manner due to active transport facilitated by spatially distributed influx and efflux carriers present on the cell membranes. To understand how the cell-scale active transport and passive diffusion combine to produce the effective tissue-scale flux, we apply asymptotic methods to a cell-based model of auxin transport to derive systematically a continuum description from the spatially discrete one. Using biologically relevant parameter values, we show how the carriers drive the dominant tissue-scale auxin flux and we predict how the overall auxin dynamics are affected by perturbations to these carriers, for example, in knockout mutants. The analysis shows how the dominant behaviour depends on the cells' lengths, and enables us to assess the relative importance of the diffusive auxin flux through the cell wall. Other distinguished limits are also identified and their potential roles discussed. As well as providing insight into auxin transport, the study illustrates the use of multiscale (cell to tissue) methods in deriving simplified models that retain the essential biology and provide understanding of the underlying dynamics

Keeping an eye on noisy movements: On different approaches to perceptual-motor skill research and training

Contemporary theorising on the complementary nature of perception and action in expert performance has led to the emergence of different emphases in studying movement coordination and gaze behaviour. On the one hand, coordination research has examined the role that variability plays in movement control, evidencing that variability facilitates individualised adaptations during both learning and performance. On the other hand, and at odds with this principle, the majority of gaze behaviour studies have tended to average data over participants and trials, proposing the importance of universal 'optimal' gaze patterns in a given task, for all performers, irrespective of stage of learning. In this article, new lines of inquiry are considered with the aim of reconciling these two distinct approaches. The role that inter- and intra-individual variability may play in gaze behaviours is considered, before suggesting directions for future research