The responses of people to virtual humans in an immersive virtual environment

This paper presents an experiment investigating the impact of behavior and responsiveness on social responses to virtual humans in an immersive virtual environment (IVE). A number of responses are investigated, including presence, copresence, and two physiological responses—heart rate and electrodermal activity (EDA). Our findings suggest that increasing agents’ responsiveness even on a simple level can have a significant impact on certain aspects of people’s social responses to humanoid agents. Despite being aware that the agents were computer-generated, participants with higher levels of social anxiety were significantly more likely to avoid “disturbing” them. This suggests that on some level people can respond to virtual humans as social actors even in the absence of complex interaction. Responses appear to be shaped both by the agents’ behaviors and by people’s expectations of the technology. Participants experienced a significantly higher sense of personal contact when the agents were visually responsive to them, as opposed to static or simply moving. However, this effect diminished with experienced computer users. Our preliminary analysis of objective heart-rate data reveals an identical pattern of responses

Comparing estimates of cost effectiveness submitted to the National Institute for Clinical Excellence (NICE) by different organisations: retrospective study

This article has been made available through the Brunel Open Access Publishing Fund and is available from the specified link - Copyright © 2005, BMJ Publishing Group Ltd.Objective: To assess the association between different types of organisation and the results from economic evaluations. DESIGN: Retrospective pairwise comparison of evidence submitted to the technology appraisal programme of the National Institute for Clinical Excellence (NICE) by manufacturers of the relevant healthcare technologies and by contracted university based assessment groups. DATA SOURCES: Data from the first 62 appraisals. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE: Incremental cost effectiveness ratios. RESULTS: Data from 27 of the 62 appraisals could be compared. The analysis of 54 pairwise comparisons showed that manufacturers' estimates of incremental cost effectiveness ratios were lower (suggesting a more cost effective use of resources) than those produced by the assessment groups (25 were lower, 29 were the same, none were higher, P < 0.01). Restriction of this dataset to include only one pairwise comparison per appraisal (27 pairs) produced a similar result (21 were lower, two were the same, four were higher, P < 0.001). CONCLUSIONS: The estimated incremental cost effectiveness ratios submitted by manufacturers were on average significantly lower than those submitted by the assessment groups. These results show that an important role of NICE's appraisal committee, and of decision makers in general, is to determine which economic evaluations, or parts of evaluations, should be given more credence

Rare jaw bone tumor: The importance of multidisciplinary management and minimally invasive treatment

Objective: The aim of this study was to present a mini review of oral Cementoblastoma and to report a particular case of this tumor. The Cementoblastoma is a rare benign lesion that represents less than 1-6% of all odontogenic tumors. Cementoblastoma, in the current WHO classification of odontogenic tumors, falls under the category of mesenchymal tumors (WHO 2017) and it is characterized by the proliferation of cementum-like tissue and, in all cases, tends to be associated with an erupting permanent tooth, most often the first molar. Case Presentation: A 15-year-old female presented a great Cementoblastoma with cortical expansion that affected the left mandibular body, extending from the canine to the first premolar (size 28x24 mm) and involving the mandibular canal. Surgery was performed under general anesthesia with total excision of the lesion, which was then sent for histological analysis. Due to the high risk of nerve injuries and the extreme fragility of the remaining bone after surgery, which required plates and intermaxillary blockage, the surgical site was regenerated with an iliac crest graft together with autologous and synthetic bone. Results: For the mini-review, 107 articles were found, but only 26 were selected. The patient was monitored for 12 months after surgery; a perfect healing was reported without complications, and she showed no signs of recurrence. Conclusions: This case report emphasizes the usefulness of clinical choices in a rare case of cementoblastoma of great size in a very young patient. In this condition, finding the most effective eradicative and reconstructive treatment, following the last published protocols, could achieve optimal clinical and psychological patient outcomes

Exploring the Shopping Motivations of International Residential Tourists

Over the last few decades, so-called “international residential tourism” has increased considerably, creating a new consumer base in tourist destinations, particularly in southern Europe, whose shopping motivations are unknown. As a rule, existing literature has focused its attention on studying consumer motivations in their places of residence, references to the study of the international residential tourist's (IRT's) shopping motivations being very limited. It is in this context that this study examines the main contributions related to IRT shopping motivations. Taking as a starting point empirical research carried out in two top international tourist destinations, the study analyzes and contrasts the applicability of general theoretical contributions to this specific IRT segment. The results obtained confirm the existence, although not without its variations, of certain stability in the main aspects relating to shopping motivation, allowing the foundations to be laid for the incorporation of shopping motivation as a variable for the segmentation of IRTs. Both for tourist resort managers and retailers in the area, having access to a valid scale for measuring these motivations may be of great help to them in being able to categorize IRTs in accordance with their shopping motivations. In this way, they will have a broader knowledge of the market and how it is made up and it will facilitate the implementation of marketing policies aimed at improving the planning of commercial areas, as well as help them to adapt their product range and communication to the segments that are of most interest to their companies and destinations.The authors would like to express their thanks for the financial support received under the MCYTFEDER Research Project, grant SEJ-2006-08342/ECON

Pseudococcus affinis MASK., new vector of grapevine trichoviruses A and B

Research Note Grapevine trichovirus A (GVA) and grapevine trichovirus B (GVB) were successfully transferred with bulk transmission trials under controlled conditions, from infected grapevines to herbaceous hosts by Pseudococcus affinis MASK., a pseudococcid mealybug that may attack grapevines. P. affinis is the fourth mealybug species capable of vectoring GVA and GVB, confirming that transmission by mealybugs of grapevine trichoviruses may not be species-specific

Pharmacological targeting of bet bromodomain proteins in acute myeloid leukemia and malignant lymphomas : From molecular characterization to clinical applications

Altres ajuts: G.R. acknowledges supports from European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) "Una manera de hacer Europa".A25in25proarENG-pr910210011and DNA-protein interactions and abnormal chromatin remodeling are a major cause of uncontrolled gene transcription and constitutive activation of critical signaling pathways in cancer cells. Multiple epigenetic regulators are known to be deregulated in several hematologic neoplasms, by somatic mutation, amplification, or deletion, allowing the identification of specific epigenetic signatures, but at the same time providing new therapeutic opportunities. While these vulnerabilities have been traditionally addressed by hypomethylating agents or histone deacetylase inhibitors, pharmacological targeting of bromodomain-containing proteins has recently emerged as a promising approach in a number of lymphoid and myeloid malignancies. Indeed, preclinical and clinical studies highlight the relevance of targeting the bromodomain and extra-terminal (BET) family as an efficient strategy of target transcription irrespective of the presence of epigenetic mutations. Here we will summarize the main advances achieved in the last decade regarding the preclinical and clinical evaluation of BET bromodomain inhibitors in hematologic cancers, either as monotherapies or in combinations with standard and/or experimental agents. A mention will finally be given to the new concept of the protein degrader, and the perspective it holds for the design of bromodomain-based therapies

On the possible relationship between Kober stem grooving and grapevine virus A

Investigations were carried out to establish possible correlations of two diseases of the rugose wood complex, i.e. Rupestris stem pitting (RSP) and Kober stem grooving (KSG) with grapevine virus A (GVA) and grapevine leafroll associated viruses I (GLRaV I) and III (GLRaV III). To this purpose 84 clonal accessions of different wine grape cultivars were analyzed by ELISA and by indexing onto the indicators Vitis rupestris, Kober 5BB and LN 33. The results obtained clearly indicated that none of the viruses taken into consideration is apparently involved in the etiology of RSP. Conversely, a remarkably close association of GVA with KSG was discovered

The acculturation of international residential tourists and their shopping behaviours

This study deals with an unexplored question regarding the role of the acculturation of international residential tourists (IRT), and provides companies in tourist destinations with keys to develop strategies aimed at this type of tourists. Results show that the acculturation of IRT follows a Pareto/Bradford distribution: few show high levels of acculturation and many show low levels. Finally, we find significant differences in shopping behaviour and socio-demographic variables.The authors would like to express their thanks for the financial support received under the MEYC, DGI Research Project, grant SEJ2006/08342, Spain

Exploring the interdependencies of research funders in the UK

Investment in medical research is vital to the continuing improvement of the UK's health and wealth. It is through research that we expand our understanding of disease and develop new treatments for patients. Medical research charities currently contribute over £1 billion annually to medical research in the UK, of which over £350 million is provided by Cancer Research UK. Many charities, including Cancer Research UK, receive no government funding for their research activity. Cancer Research UK is engaged in a programme of work in order to better understand the medical research funding environment and demonstrate the importance of sustained investment. A key part of that is the Office of Health Economics‟ (OHE) 2011 report “Exploring the interdependency between public and charitable medical research”. This study found that there are substantial benefits, both financial and qualitative, from the existence of a variety of funders and that reductions in the level of government financial support for medical research are likely to have broader negative effects. This contributed to other evidence which found that the activities and funding of the charity, public and private sectors respectively are complementary, i.e. mutually reinforcing, rather than duplicative or merely substituting for one another. “Exploring the interdependencies of research funders in the UK” by the Office of Health Economics (OHE) and SPRU: Science and Technology Policy Research at the University of Sussex, represents a continued effort to build the evidence base around the funding of medical research. This report uncovers the extent to which funders of cancer research are interdependent, nationally and internationally. Key figures show that two thirds of publications acknowledging external support have relied on multiple funders, while just under half benefited from overseas funding, and almost a fifth are also supported by industry. In addition the analysis shows that the general public would not want tax funding of cancer research to be reduced, but would not donate enough to charities to compensate for any such reduction