Measuring Synchronisation and Convergence of Business Cycles

This paper investigates business cycle relations among different economies in theEuro area. Cyclical dynamics are explicitly modelled as part of a time series model. Weintroduce mechanisms that allow for increasing or diminishing phase shifts and for time-varyingassociation patterns in different cycles. Standard Kalman filter techniques are used toestimate the parameters simultaneously by maximum likelihood. The empirical illustrationsare based on gross domestic product (GDP) series of seven European countries which are comparedwith the GDP series of the Euro Area and that of the United States. The original integratedtime series are band-pass filtered. We find that there is an increasing resemblance between thebusiness cycle fluctuations of the European countries analysed and those of the Euro area,although with varying patterns

Comparative assessment of clinical rating scales in Wilson’s disease

Background: Wilson’s disease (WD) is an autosomal recessive disorder of copper metabolism resulting in multifaceted neurological, hepatic, and psychiatric symptoms. The objective of the study was to comparatively assess two clinical rating scales for WD, the Unified Wilson’s Disease Rating Scale (UWDRS) and the Global Assessment Scale for Wilson’s disease (GAS for WD), and to test the feasibility of the patient reported part of the UWDRS neurological subscale (termed the “minimal UWDRS”). Methods: In this prospective, monocentric, cross-sectional study, 65 patients (median age 35 [range: 15–62] years; 33 female, 32 male) with treated WD were scored according to the two rating scales. Results: The UWDRS neurological subscore correlated with the GAS for WD Tier 2 score (r = 0.80; p < 0.001). Correlations of the UWDRS hepatic subscore and the GAS for WD Tier 1 score with both the Model for End Stage Liver Disease (MELD) score (r = 0.44/r = 0.28; p < 0.001/p = 0.027) and the Child-Pugh score (r = 0.32/r = 0.12; p = 0.015/p = 0.376) were weak. The “minimal UWDRS” score significantly correlated with the UWDRS total score (r = 0.86), the UWDRS neurological subscore (r = 0.89), and the GAS for WD Tier 2 score (r = 0.86). Conclusions: The UWDRS neurological and psychiatric subscales and the GAS for WD Tier 2 score are valuable tools for the clinical assessment of WD patients. The “minimal UWDRS” is a practical prescreening tool outside scientific trials

Barriers and facilitators to adherence to group exercise in institutionalized older people living with dementia: a systematic review

Objectives Research suggests targeted exercise is important for people living with dementia, especially those living in residential care. The aim of this review was to collect and synthesize evidence on the known barriers and facilitators to adherence to group exercise of institutionalized older people living with dementia. Methods We searched all available electronic databases. Additionally, we searched trial registries (clinicaltrial.gov, and WHO ICTRP) for ongoing studies. We searched for and included papers from January 1990 until September 2017 in any language. We included randomized, non-randomized trials. Studies were not eligible if participants were either healthy older people or people suffering from dementia but not living in an institution. Studies were also excluded if they were not focused on barriers and facilitators to adherence to group exercise. Results Using narrative analysis, we identified the following themes for barriers: bio-medical reasons and mental wellbeing and physical ability, relationships dynamics, and socioeconomic reasons. The facilitators were grouped under the following thematic frames: bio-medical benefits and benefits related to physical ability, feelings and emotions and confidence improvements, therapist and group relationships dynamics and activity related reasons. Conclusions We conclude that institutionalized older people living with dementia, even those who are physically frail, incontinent and/or have mild dementia can demonstrate certain level of exercise adherence, and therefore can respond positively to exercise programs. Tailored, individually-adjusted and supported physical activity, led by a knowledgeable, engaging and well communicating therapist/facilitator improves the adherence to group exercise interventions of institutionalized older people living with dementia

Characteristics of maxillofacial injuries resulting from road traffic accidents – a 5 year review of the case records from Department of Maxillofacial Surgery in Katowice, Poland

BACKGROUND: In spite of employing numerous devices improving the safety in motor vehicles, traffic accidents are still among the main reasons of maxillofacial injuries. The maxillofacial injuries remain the serious clinical problem because of the specificity of this anatomical region. The knowledge of etiologic factors and mechanisms of injuries can be helpful in a satisfactory trauma prevention. The aim of this study was to find out the incidence and the pattern of maxillofacial injuries resulting from traffic accidents in the patients treated in the Department of Maxillofacial Surgery (Silesian Medical Academy in Katowice, Poland) from January 2001 to December 2005. METHODS: The material consisted of 1024 case records of patients with maxillofacial injuries treated in the Maxillofacial Surgery Department of Silesian Medical Academy. The detailed analysis was carried out on the case records of 198 patients in the age of 3 to 68 with maxillofacial injuries resulting from traffic accidents. On the basis of data from a history, examination on admission, consultations and radiological examinations, patients' age and gender, we obtained the information on a pattern of injury and detailed description of an accident (the date and the time of an accident, the role of the patient in an accident). RESULTS: The traffic accidents were the cause of 19,93% maxillofacial injuries in the analyzed period of time. Most of the patients had injuries to the soft tissues of the face (22,21%), followed by tooth and alveolar process injuries (20,71%) and mandibular fractures (18,69%). All the types of injuries were more common in men than in women. The majority of the patients were car drivers followed by car passengers, pedestrians, cyclists and motor cyclists. The peak age of the patients was between 18 to 25 years. The prevalent number of accidents resulting in injuries to this region took place in spring, especially between noon and 4 PM. CONCLUSION: Our results exhibit that road traffic accidents remain among the main reasons of maxillofacial injuries following the traumas resulting from assaults and interpersonal violence. This succession of etiologic factors is in accordance with the data from the most developed countries. The relatively high incidence of injuries resulting from traffic accidents indicates the necessity to reinforce legislation aimed to prevent road traffic crashes and thus to reduce maxillofacial injuries among children and adults

Mirroring Intentional Forgetting in a Shared-Goal Learning Situation

Background: Intentional forgetting refers to the surprising phenomenon that we can forget previously successfully encoded memories if we are instructed to do so. Here, we show that participants cannot only intentionally forget episodic memories but they can also mirror the ‘‘forgetting performance’ ’ of an observed model. Methodology/Principal Findings: In four experiments a participant observed a model who took part in a memory experiment. In Experiment 1 and 2 observers saw a movie about the experiment, whereas in Experiment 3 and 4 the observers and the models took part together in a real laboratory experiment. The observed memory experiment was a directed forgetting experiment where the models learned two lists of items and were instructed either to forget or to remember the first list. In Experiment 1 and 3 observers were instructed to simply observe the experiment (‘‘simple observation’ ’ instruction). In Experiment 2 and 4, observers received instructions aimed to induce the same learning goal for the observers and the models (‘‘observation with goal-sharing’ ’ instruction). A directed forgetting effect (the reliably lower recall of to-be-forgotten items) emerged only when models received the ‘‘observation with goal-sharing’ ’ instruction (P,.001 in Experiment 2, and P,.05 in Experiment 4), and it was absent when observers received the ‘‘simple observation’’ instruction (P..1 in Experiment 1 and 3). Conclusion: If people observe another person with the same intention to learn, and see that this person is instructed t

Global and regional brain metabolic scaling and its functional consequences

Background: Information processing in the brain requires large amounts of metabolic energy, the spatial distribution of which is highly heterogeneous reflecting complex activity patterns in the mammalian brain. Results: Here, it is found based on empirical data that, despite this heterogeneity, the volume-specific cerebral glucose metabolic rate of many different brain structures scales with brain volume with almost the same exponent around -0.15. The exception is white matter, the metabolism of which seems to scale with a standard specific exponent -1/4. The scaling exponents for the total oxygen and glucose consumptions in the brain in relation to its volume are identical and equal to $0.86\pm 0.03$, which is significantly larger than the exponents 3/4 and 2/3 suggested for whole body basal metabolism on body mass. Conclusions: These findings show explicitly that in mammals (i) volume-specific scaling exponents of the cerebral energy expenditure in different brain parts are approximately constant (except brain stem structures), and (ii) the total cerebral metabolic exponent against brain volume is greater than the much-cited Kleiber's 3/4 exponent. The neurophysiological factors that might account for the regional uniformity of the exponents and for the excessive scaling of the total brain metabolism are discussed, along with the relationship between brain metabolic scaling and computation.Comment: Brain metabolism scales with its mass well above 3/4 exponen

A Profile Likelihood Analysis of the Constrained MSSM with Genetic Algorithms

The Constrained Minimal Supersymmetric Standard Model (CMSSM) is one of the simplest and most widely-studied supersymmetric extensions to the standard model of particle physics. Nevertheless, current data do not sufficiently constrain the model parameters in a way completely independent of priors, statistical measures and scanning techniques. We present a new technique for scanning supersymmetric parameter spaces, optimised for frequentist profile likelihood analyses and based on Genetic Algorithms. We apply this technique to the CMSSM, taking into account existing collider and cosmological data in our global fit. We compare our method to the MultiNest algorithm, an efficient Bayesian technique, paying particular attention to the best-fit points and implications for particle masses at the LHC and dark matter searches. Our global best-fit point lies in the focus point region. We find many high-likelihood points in both the stau co-annihilation and focus point regions, including a previously neglected section of the co-annihilation region at large m_0. We show that there are many high-likelihood points in the CMSSM parameter space commonly missed by existing scanning techniques, especially at high masses. This has a significant influence on the derived confidence regions for parameters and observables, and can dramatically change the entire statistical inference of such scans.Comment: 47 pages, 8 figures; Fig. 8, Table 7 and more discussions added to Sec. 3.4.2 in response to referee's comments; accepted for publication in JHE

APPROACHING CRYOGENIC GE PERFORMANCE WITH PELTIER COOLED CDTE

A new class of hand-held, portable spectrometers based on large area (lcm2) CdTe detectors of thickness up to 3mm has been demonstrated to produce energy resolution of between 0.3 and 0.5% FWHM at 662 keV. The system uses a charge loss correction circuit for improved efficiency, and detector temperature stabilization to ensure consistent operation of the detector during field measurements over a wide range of ambient temperature. The system can operate continuously for up to 8hrs on rechargeable batteries. The signal output from the charge loss corrector is compatible with most analog and digital spectroscopy amplifiers and multi channel analyzers. Using a detector measuring 11.2 by 9.1 by 2.13 mm3, we have recently been able to obtain the first wide-range plutonium gamma-ray isotopic analysis with other than a cryogenically cooled germanium spectrometer. The CdTe spectrometer is capable of measuring small plutonium reference samples in about one hour, covering the range from low to high burnup. The isotopic analysis software used to obtain these results was FRAM, Version 4 from LANL. The new spectrometer is expected to be useful for low-grade assay, as well as for some in-situ plutonium gamma-ray isotopics in lieu of cryogenically cooled Ge

Non-adherence to antipsychotic medication, relapse and rehospitalisation in recent-onset schizophrenia

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>The aims of this study were to describe outcome with respect to persistent psychotic symptoms, relapse of positive symptoms, hospital admissions, and application of treatment by coercion among patients with recent onset schizophrenia being adherent and non-adherent to anti-psychotic medication.</p> <p>Materials and methods</p> <p>The study included 50 patients with recent onset schizophrenia, schizoaffective or schizophreniform disorders. The patients were clinically stable at study entry and had less than 2 years duration of psychotic symptoms. Good adherence to antipsychotic medication was defined as less than one month without medication. Outcomes for poor and good adherence were compared over a 24-month follow-up period.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>The Odds Ratio (OR) of having a psychotic relapse was 10.27 and the OR of being admitted to hospital was 4.00 among non-adherent patients. Use of depot-antipsychotics were associated with relapses (OR = 6.44).</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Non-adherence was associated with relapse, hospital admission and having persistent psychotic symptoms. Interventions to increase adherence are needed.</p> <p>Trial registration</p> <p>Current Controlled Trials NCT00184509. Key words: Adherence, schizophrenia, antipsychotic medication, admittances, relapse.</p

Induced pseudoscalar coupling of the proton weak interaction

The induced pseudoscalar coupling $g_p$ is the least well known of the weak coupling constants of the proton's charged--current interaction. Its size is dictated by chiral symmetry arguments, and its measurement represents an important test of quantum chromodynamics at low energies. During the past decade a large body of new data relevant to the coupling $g_p$ has been accumulated. This data includes measurements of radiative and non radiative muon capture on targets ranging from hydrogen and few--nucleon systems to complex nuclei. Herein the authors review the theoretical underpinnings of $g_p$, the experimental studies of $g_p$, and the procedures and uncertainties in extracting the coupling from data. Current puzzles are highlighted and future opportunities are discussed.Comment: 58 pages, Latex, Revtex4, prepared for Reviews of Modern Physic