The modern role of antipsychotics for the treatment of agitation and psychosis in Alzheimer's disease

This is the author accepted manuscript. The final version is available from the publisher via the DOI in this recordINTRODUCTION: Antipsychotics have long been the mainstay of treatment for agitation and psychosis in Alzheimer's disease. Despite their current use successive studies have shown that they only confer a modest benefit which must be balanced against their well-established serious side effects (extrapyramidal symptoms, stroke, accelerated cognitive decline and mortality). Areas covered: This review outlines the current guidance on antipsychotic usage and the evidence of their continued usage against a backdrop of emerging pharmacological treatments and an increasing emphasis on the importance of non-pharmacological interventions. Expert Commentary: The current justification for antipsychotic us in the context the changing landscape of prescribing and provide a view on the most promising alternative candidates to this class of drug are appraised

IMPLEMENTASI METODE CASE BASED REASONING (CBR) DALAM MENENTUKAN KLASIFIKASI ANAK YANG MENGALAMI RETERDASI MENTAL (STUDI KASUS SLB YAYASAN DHARMA WANITA BENGKULU)

Peningkatan kualitas pendidikan terhadap siswa berkebutuhan pendidikan anak luar biasa atau penyandang cacat, terus diupayakan dengan penanganan yang seksama. Masalah siswa reterdasi mental termasuk dalam bidang pendidikan luar biasa. Retardasi mental adalah penurunan fungsi intelektual yang menyeluruh secara bermakna dan secara langsung menyebabkan gangguan adaptasi sosial dan bermanifestasi selama masa perkembangan. Klasifikasi reterdasi mental adalah ringan, moderat, berat dan sangat berat. Penelitian ini bertujuan untuk membangun sistem pakar dengan bahasa  pemrograman java pada android studio untuk diagnose anak yang mengalami reterdasi mental. Data yang digunakan diambil dari SLB Yayasan Dharma wanita Bengkulu. Metode yang digunakan untuk menentukan kasus dan menghitung hasil diagnosis adalah metode Case Based Reasoning, Naïve Bayes dan Simple Matching Coefficient. Hasil analisis dan pengujian menunjukkan bahwa ditinjau dari segi akurasi diagnosis mampu menghasilkan diagnosis yang akurat. Berdasarkan hasil uji kelayakan sistem yang dilakukan menggunakan kuesioner diperoleh baik dengan persentase variabel tampilan 48,75%, variabel kemudahan penggunaan 53,33%, variabel kinerja sistem 46,67%, dan variabel isi 51,67%.Kata kunci: Sistem Pakar, Reterdasi Mental, Case Based Reasoning (CBR), Naïve Bayes, Simple Matching Coefficient (SMC)

An Extension and Further Validation of a Community-based Consumer Well-being Measure

Cataloged from PDF version of article.The goal of this study is to extend the research and further validation of Lee and colleagues' measure of community-based consumer well-being. The measure is based on the notion that consumers experience well-being to the extent that they are satisfied with local marketplace experiences related to (1) shopping for desired consumer goods and services in the local area, (2) preparing locally purchased consumer durables for personal use, (3) consuming locally purchased goods and services, (4) owning consumer durables purchased in the local area, (5) using repair and maintenance services in the local area, and (6) using selling, trading-in, and disposal services in the local area. Data were collected from ten localities in nine countries/states (California, Minnesota, Canada, Australia, Spain, Germany, Switzerland, Turkey, Egypt, and China) using the mall intercept method. The data provided support for the predictive/nomological validity of the measure by providing empirical support for the relationship between the consumer well-being construct and other well-being constructs such as life satisfaction

INTER-RELATIONSHIPS AMONG SPEAKING ANXIETY, CONFIDENCE AND PERCEIVED ABILITY IN ENGLISH ORAL COMMUNICATION OF MALAYSIAN SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY UNDERGRADUATES

The use of English as a second language (ESL) in oral communication is crucial for science and technology undergraduates. However, studies have found that Malaysian undergraduates continue to struggle with low levels of English oral communication due to several factors such as speaking anxiety, low selfconfidence and low perceived ability in oral communication. There is still a need for further research to investigate the inter-relationships among these factors, and how they affect the English oral communication level among Malaysian science and technology undergraduates. Hence, this study aimed to identify the levels of English speaking anxiety, self-confidence and perceived ability in English oral communication, and find inter-relationships among the three factors. Three hundred (300) final year science and technology undergraduates were selected from three Malaysian public universities to complete a survey on factors affecting English oral communication. The Rasch Measurement modeling for polytomous data, descriptive statistics and Pearson correlation coefficient test were utilized to analyze the collected data. Overall, science and technology undergraduates showed moderate level of speaking anxiety, low self-confidence, and yet, high level of perceived ability in English oral communication. There are significant negative relationships between English speaking anxiety with self confidence and perceived ability in English oral communication. Recommendations are presented based on the research findings

A real-time, scalable, fast and highly resource efficient decoder for a quantum computer

Quantum computers promise to solve computing problems that are currently intractable using traditional approaches. This can only be achieved if the noise inevitably present in quantum computers can be efficiently managed at scale. A key component in this process is a classical decoder, which diagnoses the errors occurring in the system. If the decoder does not operate fast enough, an exponential slowdown in the logical clock rate of the quantum computer occurs. Additionally, the decoder must be resource efficient to enable scaling to larger systems and potentially operate in cryogenic environments. Here we introduce the Collision Clustering decoder, which overcomes both challenges. We implement our decoder on both an FPGA and ASIC, the latter ultimately being necessary for any cost-effective scalable solution. We simulate a logical memory experiment on large instances of the leading quantum error correction scheme, the surface code, assuming a circuit-level noise model. The FPGA decoding frequency is above a megahertz, a stringent requirement on decoders needed for e.g. superconducting quantum computers. To decode an 881 qubit surface code it uses only $4.5\%$ of the available logical computation elements. The ASIC decoding frequency is also above a megahertz on a 1057 qubit surface code, and occupies 0.06 mm$^2$ area and consumes 8 mW of power. Our decoder is optimised to be both highly performant and resource efficient, while its implementation on hardware constitutes a viable path to practically realising fault-tolerant quantum computers.Comment: 11 pages, 4 figure

English language speaking anxiety, self-confidence and perceived ability among science and technology undergraduate students: a rasch analysis

The purpose of this paper is to analyse English language speaking anxiety, self-confidence, and perceived ability in English oral communication among Science and Technology undergraduate students. It also aims to identify any significant differences in these constructs based on selected students’ demographic variables. The study employed the survey method with a 41-item questionnaire administered to a voluntary response sample of three hundred 3rd and 4th-year science and technology undergraduates from three Malaysian public universities. The Polytomous Rasch model was used to analyse the data. The analysis showed that the participants experienced English speaking anxiety, low confidence, and high perceived ability in English oral communication. There were significant mean differences in English speaking anxiety across the type of university as well as in confidence and perceived ability based on academic program. The participants were more confident and could perform better in familiar situations and communicate on familiar topics to familiar audiences. The findings suggest that the participants need more training on English oral communication. More authentic situations are also needed for them to practise and improve their proficiency levels. Other suggestions include providing lecturers with training modules, re-assessing the current language policies, and implementing certain programmes at the tertiary education level. Language programmes could be directed towards more social situations to enable undergraduates to make English a social practice, lower English speaking anxiety, and boost confidence

English language speaking anxiety, self-confidence and perceived ability among Science and Technology undergraduate students: a rasch analysis

The purpose of this paper is to analyse English language speaking anxiety, self-confidence, and perceived ability in English oral communication among Science and Technology undergraduate students. It also aims to identify any significant differences in these constructs based on selected students’ demographic variables. The study employed the survey method with a 41-item questionnaire administered to a voluntary response sample of three hundred 3rd and 4th-year science and technology undergraduates from three Malaysian public universities. The Polytomous Rasch model was used to analyse the data. The analysis showed that the participants experienced English speaking anxiety, low confidence, and high perceived ability in English oral communication. There were significant mean differences in English speaking anxiety across the type of university as well as in confidence and perceived ability based on academic program. The participants were more confident and could perform better in familiar situations and communicate on familiar topics to familiar audiences. The findings suggest that the participants need more training on English oral communication. More authentic situations are also needed for them to practise and improve their proficiency levels. Other suggestions include providing lecturers with training modules, re-assessing the current language policies, and implementing certain programmes at the tertiary education level. Language programmes could be directed towards more social situations to enable undergraduates to make English a social practice, lower English speaking anxiety, and boost confidence

Microbiome engineering to combat antimicrobial resistance and upsurge productivity of food animals: a systematic review

Extensive antimicrobial usage in animal farming plays a prominent role in the antimicrobial resistance (AMR) crisis and is repeatedly highlighted as an area needing development under the ‘One Health’ approach. Alternative therapies such as microbiome products can be used as prophylaxis to help avoid infectious disease. However, a limited number of studies have focused on AMR-targeted microbiome products. We conducted this systematic review by using PRISMA guidelines to screen for literature that have evaluated food animals’ health when administrated with microbiome products targeting antimicrobial resistance (AMR) or antibiotic-resistant genes (ARGs). We searched and examined studies from SCOPUS, Web of Science, Embase, and Science direct databases for studies published up to November 2021, restricted to the English language. The findings of this review showed that microbiome products have a promising capability to tackle specific AMR/ARGs coupled with animal’s health and productivity improvement. Furthermore, our study showed that probiotics were the most favorable tested microbiome products, with the most targeted resistance being to tetracycline, macrolides, and beta-lactams. While microbiome products are promising alternatives to antibiotic prophylactics, there is a dearth of studies investigating their efficacy in targeting AMR. Thus, it is highly recommended to further investigate, develop, and improve the microbiome, to better understand its utility and circumvent its limitations.The authors thank Barzan holdings for the financial support

Linking Advertising, Materialism, and Life Satisfaction

This paper develops theory related to advertising, materialism, and life satisfaction by formally testing explanations related to the antecedents and consequences of materialism. Survey data were collected from seven major cities each in a different country (Australia, Bosnia/Herzegovina, Germany, Egypt, Korea, Turkey, and the USA) using a probability sample (cluster sampling method involving income stratification). The results showed that the extent to which advertising is perceived to be materialistic contributes to materialism. Materialism, in turn, leads to the frequent use of various standards of comparison in making judgments about standard of living. As judgments about standard of living increase, standard of living is evaluated more negatively. In turn, negative self-evaluations contribute significantly to dissatisfaction with life. © 2011 Springer Science+Business Media B.V