4,596 research outputs found

    Measurements of static and dynamic displacement from visual monitoring of the Humber Bridge

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    Author's manuscript version. The final published version is available from the publisher via doi:10.1016/0141-0296(93)90054-8. Copyright © 1993 Published by Elsevier Ltd.A visual tracking system has been employed in the measurement of deck displacements at the centre of the 1410 m span of the Humber Bridge in the UK. The transputer-based system was developed for applications such as the monitoring or testing of large physical structures, where the actual displacements may not easily be otherwise determined. The system employs parallel processing techniques to track predictively the motion of multiple, independent objects at video frame rate. Results obtained using the system in a monitoring programme of the bridge are presented and discussed. © 1993

    Coopetition Balance and Coopetition Capability in Platform Ecosystems: Complementors’ Perspective

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    In a platform ecosystem, complementors can utilize various resources from a platform owner that receives a variety of products/services via complementors for better customers’ choice and satisfaction. The literature has focused on the cooperative nature of the platform ecosystem. Less attention, however, has been given to coopetition (i.e., simultaneous strategic use of cooperation and competition). Drawing upon paradox theory, this study develops a research model that explains the individual and joint impact of coopetition balance and coopetition capability on relationship performance in a platform ecosystem. Based on survey data from 365 complementors to Amazon, this study illustrates that coopetition balance and coopetition capability have a significant impact on relationship performance. Additionally, coopetition capability moderates the relationship between coopetition balance and relationship performance. In particular, results show that coopetition capability is the most critical variable to enhance relationship performance. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed in this paper

    Care farming and green care in Salford

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    This report presents a University of Salford (UoS) investigation into the potential for care farming in Salford as part of the University’s teaching, research and enterprise activities. The work has critically engaged with the notion of care farming with a view to better understand how this approach can contribute to helping communities with diverse needs in terms of physical and mental health as well as wider determinants of health such as social inclusion and employability. Through the establishment of, and engagement with a network of key local stakeholders, the work developed a model that has explored the potential of a care farm. What has emerged is a first step towards the design and establishment of an urban care farm that that could serve as a centre for learning and research as well as integrate existing activities as part of a green and blue network identified through the stakeholder engagement work. This report provides a direction for future work on care farming in Salford in general, and in terms of the University’s teaching and learning activities in particular

    The impact of large core and late treatment trials: An update on the modelled annual thrombectomy eligibility of UK stroke patients

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    \ua9 European Stroke Organisation 2024.Introduction: To support decisions about thrombectomy provision, we have previously estimated the annual UK population eligible for treatment as ∼10% of stroke admissions. Since then, eight further randomised trials that could alter the eligibility rate have reported in 2021-23. We updated our estimates of the eligible population from these trials and other recent studies. Patients and methods: An updated decision tree describing the EVT eligible population for UK stroke admissions was produced. Decision criteria were derived from the highest level of evidence available. For nodes where no specific RCT data existed, evidence was obtained from the latest systematic review(s) or the highest quality observational data. Results: We estimate that 15,420 (approximately 15%) of admitted UK stroke patients are now eligible for thrombectomy, or 14,930 if advanced brain imaging using MRI/CT perfusion or collateral assessment were used in all patients. This is a 54% increase in our previous estimate in 2021. Over 50% of LAO strokes are now potentially eligible for thrombectomy. The increase in eligibility is principally due to a much larger cohort of later presenting and/or larger ischaemic core patients. Conclusion: Most previously independent LAO stroke patients presenting within 24 h, even in the presence of a large ischaemic core on initial non-contrast CT, should be considered for thrombectomy with use of advanced brain imaging in those presenting beyond 12 h to identify salvageable penumbral brain tissue. Treatment in most patients remains critically time-dependent and our estimates should be interpreted with this in mind

    Connectivity-based parcellation of the thalamus explains specific cognitive and behavioural symptoms in patients with bilateral thalamic infarct

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    A novel approach based on diffusion tractography was used here to characterise the cortico-thalamic connectivity in two patients, both presenting with an isolated bilateral infarct in the thalamus, but exhibiting partially different cognitive and behavioural profiles. Both patients (G.P. and R.F.) had a pervasive deficit in episodic memory, but only one of them (R.F.) suffered also from a dysexecutive syndrome. Both patients had an MRI scan at 3T, including a T1-weighted volume. Their lesions were manually segmented. T1-volumes were normalised to standard space, and the same transformations were applied to the lesion masks. Nineteen healthy controls underwent a diffusion-tensor imaging (DTI) scan. Their DTI data were normalised to standard space and averaged. An atlas of Brodmann areas was used to parcellate the prefrontal cortex. Probabilistic tractography was used to assess the probability of connection between each voxel of the thalamus and a set of prefrontal areas. The resulting map of corticothalamic connections was superimposed onto the patients' lesion masks, to assess whether the location of the thalamic lesions in R.F. (but not in G. P.) implied connections with prefrontal areas involved in dysexecutive syndromes. In G.P., the lesion fell within areas of the thalamus poorly connected with prefrontal areas, showing only a modest probability of connection with the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC). Conversely, R.F.'s lesion fell within thalamic areas extensively connected with the ACC bilaterally, with the right dorsolateral prefrontal cortex, and with the left supplementary motor area. Despite a similar, bilateral involvement of the thalamus, the use of connectivity-based segmentation clarified that R.F.'s lesions only were located within nuclei highly connected with the prefrontal cortical areas, thus explaining the patient's frontal syndrome. This study confirms that DTI tractography is a useful tool to examine in vivo the effect of focal lesions on interconnectivity brain patterns

    New leaders' managerial background and the performance of public organizations: The theory of publicness fit

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    This is the author accepted manuscript. The final version is available from Oxford University Press via the DOI in this recordWe develop a theory of the effect of top management succession on the performance of public organizations. The theory is rooted in the fundamental characteristics of an organization's publicness: ownership, funding, and regulation. We construct the concept of publicness fit-the match between the organization and the leader's previous managerial experience. We argue that the effect of publicness fit on performance depends on the balance of adaptation benefits and disruption costs, which in turn depends on the prior performance of an organization. We propose a research agenda to empirically evaluate propositions developed from the theory of publicness fit.Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC

    Testis and Antler Dysgenesis in Sitka Black-Tailed Deer on Kodiak Island, Alaska: Sequela of Environmental Endocrine Disruption?

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    It had been observed that many male Sitka black-tailed deer (Odocoileus hemionus sitkensis) on Kodiak Island, Alaska, had abnormal antlers, were cryptorchid, and presented no evidence of hypospadias. We sought to better understand the problem and investigated 171 male deer for phenotypic aberrations and 12 for detailed testicular histopathology. For the low-lying Aliulik Peninsula (AP), 61 of 94 deer were bilateral cryptorchids (BCOs); 70% of these had abnormal antlers. Elsewhere on the Kodiak Archipelago, only 5 of 65 deer were BCOs. All 11 abdominal testes examined had no spermatogenesis but contained abnormalities including carcinoma in situ–like cells, possible precursors of seminoma; Sertoli cell, Leydig cell, and stromal cell tumors; carcinoma and adenoma of rete testis; and microlithiasis or calcifications. Cysts also were evident within the excurrent ducts. Two of 10 scrotal testes contained similar abnormalities, although spermatogenesis was ongoing. We cannot rule out that these abnormalities are linked sequelae of a mutation(s) in a founder animal, followed by transmission over many years and causing high prevalence only on the AP. However, based on lesions observed, we hypothesize that it is more likely that this testis–antler dysgenesis resulted from continuing exposure of pregnant females to an estrogenic environmental agent(s), thereby transforming testicular cells, affecting development of primordial antler pedicles, and blocking transabdominal descent of fetal testes. A browse (e.g., kelp) favored by deer in this locale might carry the putative estrogenic agent(s)

    Where does Everyday Design Innovation come from?: Case studies in IKEA Product Hacking

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    Background Design is no longer owned only by skilled designers. Product hacking, which has to emerge as a major phenomenon in industrial and consumer products, is an everyday design activity aimed at remaking and remanufacturing existing products that provide new meanings. This paper aims to contribute to identifying design innovation within cases of product hacking as examples of everyday design. Methods Product hacking workshops were conducted to explore the potential of conceptual blending as means to identify innovation in everyday design activity. Results Through a trial and error morphological approach, participants appeared to arrive at Aha! moments that then acted as a catalyst for the identification of a feasible blend possibility. Rather than the explicit operation or application of meaning blends in product hacking, participants relied upon the juxtaposition of existing products as both opportunity and constraint on product combination and meaning change. Conclusions Conceptual meaning blending may have the potential as means to identify and assess innovation in everyday design activity, including product hacking. However, results indicate that meaning blending and their meanings were not an explicit approach to meaning innovation through the blending of existing products. ?? 2021. This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/3.0/), which permits unrestricted educational and non-commercial use, provided the original work is properly cited

    The conceptual and practical ethical dilemmas of using health discussion board posts as research data.

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    Increasing numbers of people living with a long-term health condition are putting personal health information online, including on discussion boards. Many discussion boards contain material of potential use to researchers; however, it is unclear how this information can and should be used by researchers. To date there has been no evaluation of the views of those individuals sharing health information online regarding the use of their shared information for research purposes
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