Murphy Diagrams: Forecast Evaluation of Expected Shortfall

Motivated by the Basel 3 regulations, recent studies have considered joint forecasts of Value-at-Risk and Expected Shortfall. A large family of scoring functions can be used to evaluate forecast performance in this context. However, little intuitive or empirical guidance is currently available, which renders the choice of scoring function awkward in practice. We therefore develop graphical checks (Murphy diagrams) of whether one forecast method dominates another under a relevant class of scoring functions, and propose an associated hypothesis test. We illustrate these tools with simulation examples and an empirical analysis of S&P 500 and DAX returns

Swelling and Mechanical Characterization of Polyelectrolyte Hydrogels as Potential Synthetic Cartilage Substitute Materials

Hydrogels have become an increasingly interesting topic in numerous fields of application. In addition to their use as immobilization matrixes in (bio)catalysis, they are widely used in the medical sector, e.g., in drug delivery systems, contact lenses, biosensors, electrodes, and tissue engineering. Cartilage tissue engineering hydrogels from natural origins, such as collagen, hyaluronic acid, and gelatin, are widely known for their good biocompatibility. However, they often lack stability, reproducibility, and mechanical strength. Synthetic hydrogels, on the other hand, can have the advantage of tunable swelling and mechanical properties, as well as good reproducibility and lower costs. In this study, we investigated the swelling and mechanical properties of synthetic polyelectrolyte hydrogels. The resulting characteristics such as swelling degree, stiffness, stress, as well as stress-relaxation and cyclic loading behavior, were compared to a commercially available biomaterial, the ChondroFiller® liquid, which is already used to treat articular cartilage lesions. Worth mentioning are the observed good reproducibility and high mechanical strength of the synthetic hydrogels. We managed to synthesize hydrogels with a wide range of compressive moduli from 2.5 ± 0.1 to 1708.7 ± 67.7 kPa, which addresses the span of human articular cartilage

Paternal chronic colitis causes epigenetic inheritance of susceptibility to colitis.

Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) arises by unknown environmental triggers in genetically susceptible individuals. Epigenetic regulation of gene expression may integrate internal and external influences and may thereby modulate disease susceptibility. Epigenetic modification may also affect the germ-line and in certain contexts can be inherited to offspring. This study investigates epigenetic alterations consequent to experimental murine colitis induced by dextran sodium sulphate (DSS), and their paternal transmission to offspring. Genome-wide methylome- and transcriptome-profiling of intestinal epithelial cells (IECs) and sperm cells of males of the F0 generation, which received either DSS and consequently developed colitis (F0(DSS)), or non-supplemented tap water (F0(Ctrl)) and hence remained healthy, and of their F1 offspring was performed using reduced representation bisulfite sequencing (RRBS) and RNA-sequencing (RNA-Seq), respectively. Offspring of F0(DSS) males exhibited aberrant methylation and expression patterns of multiple genes, including Igf1r and Nr4a2, which are involved in energy metabolism. Importantly, DSS colitis in F0(DSS) mice was associated with decreased body weight at baseline of their F1 offspring, and these F1 mice exhibited increased susceptibility to DSS-induced colitis compared to offspring from F0(Ctrl) males. This study hence demonstrates epigenetic transmissibility of metabolic and inflammatory traits resulting from experimental colitis.This study was carried out as part of the Research Training Group “Genes, Environment and Inflammation”, supported by the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (RTG 1743/1) of which A.F. is the spokesperson, the European Research Council under the European Community’s Seventh Framework Programme (FP7/2007–2013)/ERC Grant agreement no. 260961 (A.K.), the Austrian Science Fund and Ministry of Science P21530-B18 and START Y446-B18 (A.K.), the Wellcome Trust (investigator award 106260/Z/14/Z) to A.K., the Cambridge Biomedical Research Centre (A.K.), a fellowship from the European Crohn’s and Colitis Organisation (M.T. and T.E.A.) and a DOC fellowship from the Austrian Academy of Sciences (J.K.).This is the final version of the article. It first appeared from Nature Publishing Group via http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/srep3164

Teaching Matters, Volume 2: Essays by the faculty and staff at the University of Maine at Farmington

Essays by the faculty and staff at the University of Maine at Farmington.https://scholarworks.umf.maine.edu/publications/1087/thumbnail.jp

"That never would have occurred to me": a qualitative study of medical students' views of a cultural competence curriculum

BACKGROUND: The evidence is mixed regarding the efficacy of cultural competence curricula in developing learners' knowledge, attitudes and skills. More research is needed to better understand both the strengths and shortcomings of existing curricula from the perspective of learners in order to improve training. METHODS: We conducted three focus groups with medical students in their first year of clinical training to assess their perceptions of the cultural competence curriculum at a public university school of medicine. RESULTS: Students evaluated the informal curriculum as a more important source of learning about cultural competence than the formal curriculum. In terms of bias in both self and others, the cultural competence curriculum increased awareness, but was less effective in teaching specific interventional skills. Students also noted that the cultural competence curriculum did not always sufficiently help them find a balance between group-specific knowledge and respect for individual differences. Despite some concerns as to whether political correctness characterized the cultural competence curriculum, it was also seen as a way to rehumanize the medical education experience. CONCLUSION: Future research needs to pay attention to issues such as perceived relevance, stereotyping, and political correctness in developing cross-cultural training programs

The principle of situated practice in literacy learning: students’ perspectives

O artigo resulta de uma investigação realizada no âmbito de uma iniciativa governamental destinada a melhorar os níveis de literacia nas séries iniciais do ensino fundamental em Portugal. A investigadora estudou as representações dos alunos sobre essa experiência por meio da realização de entrevistas em grupo. Este artigo analisa os dados referentes às representações dos alunos sobre uma das dimensões pedagógicas centrais da aprendizagem da literacia, nomeadamente a constituída pela prática situada. A análise qualitativa revela representações muito positivas sobre a prática que situou a aprendizagem, tendo os alunos expressado opiniões e sentimentos extremamente favoráveis sobre a prática de aprendizagem de literacia que experimentaram. A análise dos dados desvelou ainda que o contexto que situou a aprendizagem foi ativo, lúdico, colaborativo e mediado pelas TIC. Esses resultados fundamentam, do ponto de vista único dos próprios aprendentes, uma redefinição do entendimento atual do princípio da prática situada da literacia nas séries iniciais do ensino fundamental, no sentido do reconhecimento da centralidade da ludicidade nessa aprendizagem.This article derives from research developed in the context of the implementation of a governmental initiative aimed to enhance literacy learning in primary education in Portugal. The researcher studied students’ representations about their learning experience through group interviews. This article focuses on data concerning students’ representations about one of the central pedagogical dimensions of literacy learning, namely situated practice. Qualitative analysis revealed students’ very positive representations about the practice which situated their learning, as they expressed extremely favourable opinions and feelings. Data analysis further unveiled that the context of learning was active, playful, collaborative, and mediated by ICT. Such results provide foundations for a theoretical redefinition of current conceptions of situated practice by evidencing the centrality of playfulness as learning practice in the education of the first grades of primary education. This is an original contribution made from the perspectives of learners themselves(undefined)info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Functional electrical stimulation driven by a brain–computer interface in acute and subacute stroke patients impacts beta power and long-range temporal correlation

Functional electrical stimulation (FES) is a standard rehabilitation approach applied by therapists to aid motor recovery in a paretic limb post-stroke. Information pertaining to the timing of a movement attempt can be obtained from changes in the power of oscillatory electrophysiological activity in motor cortical regions, derived from scalp electroencephalographic (EEG) recordings. The use of a brain–computer interface (BCI), to enable delivery of FES within a tight temporal window with a movement attempt detected in scalp EEG, is associated with greater motor recovery than conventional FES application in patients in the chronic phase post-stroke. We hypothesized that the heightened neural plasticity early post-stroke could further enhance motor recovery and that motor improvements would be accompanied by changes in the motor cortical sensorimotor rhythm after compared with before treatment. Here we assessed clinical outcome and changes in the sensorimotor rhythm in patients following subcortical stroke affecting the non-dominant hemisphere from a study comparing timing of FES delivery using a BCI, with a Sham group, receiving FES with no such temporal relationship. The BCI group showed greater clinical improvement following the treatment, particularly early post-stroke, and a greater decrease in beta oscillatory power and long-range temporal correlation over contralateral (ipsilesional) motor cortex. The electrophysiological changes are consistent with a reduction in compensatory processes and a transition towards a subcritical state when movement is triggered at the time of movement detection based on motor cortical oscillations

Pharyngeal electrical stimulation for neurogenic dysphagia following stroke, traumatic brain injury or other causes: Main results from the PHADER cohort study

BackgroundNeurogenic dysphagia is common and has no definitive treatment. We assessed whether pharyngeal electrical stimulation (PES) is associated with reduced dysphagia.MethodsThe PHAryngeal electrical stimulation for treatment of neurogenic Dysphagia European Registry (PHADER) was a prospective single-arm observational cohort study. Participants were recruited with neurogenic dysphagia (comprising five groups – stroke not needing ventilation; stroke needing ventilation; ventilation acquired; traumatic brain injury; other neurological causes). PES was administered once daily for three days. The primary outcome was the validated dysphagia severity rating scale (DSRS, score best-worst 0–12) at 3 months.FindingsOf 255 enrolled patients from 14 centres in Austria, Germany and UK, 10 failed screening. At baseline, mean (standard deviation) or median [interquartile range]: age 68 (14) years, male 71%, DSRS 11·4 (1·7), time from onset to treatment 32 [44] days; age, time and DSRS differed between diagnostic groups. Insertion of PES catheters was successfully inserted in 239/245 (98%) participants, and was typically easy taking 11·8 min. 9 participants withdrew before the end of treatment. DSRS improved significantly in all dysphagia groups, difference in means (95% confidence intervals, CI) from 0 to 3 months: stroke (n = 79) –6·7 (–7·8, –5·5), ventilated stroke (n = 98) –6·5 (–7·6, –5·5); ventilation acquired (n = 35) –6·6 (–8·4, –4·8); traumatic brain injury (n = 24) -4·5 (–6·6, –2·4). The results for DSRS were mirrored for instrumentally assessed penetration aspiration scale scores. DSRS improved in both supratentorial and infratentorial stroke, with no difference between them (p = 0·32). In previously ventilated participants with tracheotomy, DSRS improved more in participants who could be decannulated (n = 66) –7·5 (–8·6, –6·5) versus not decannulated (n = 33) –2·1 (–3·2, –1·0) (

Guidelines for the use of flow cytometry and cell sorting in immunological studies (third edition)

The third edition of Flow Cytometry Guidelines provides the key aspects to consider when performing flow cytometry experiments and includes comprehensive sections describing phenotypes and functional assays of all major human and murine immune cell subsets. Notably, the Guidelines contain helpful tables highlighting phenotypes and key differences between human and murine cells. Another useful feature of this edition is the flow cytometry analysis of clinical samples with examples of flow cytometry applications in the context of autoimmune diseases, cancers as well as acute and chronic infectious diseases. Furthermore, there are sections detailing tips, tricks and pitfalls to avoid. All sections are written and peer‐reviewed by leading flow cytometry experts and immunologists, making this edition an essential and state‐of‐the‐art handbook for basic and clinical researchers.DFG, 389687267, Kompartimentalisierung, Aufrechterhaltung und Reaktivierung humaner Gedächtnis-T-Lymphozyten aus Knochenmark und peripherem BlutDFG, 80750187, SFB 841: Leberentzündungen: Infektion, Immunregulation und KonsequenzenEC/H2020/800924/EU/International Cancer Research Fellowships - 2/iCARE-2DFG, 252623821, Die Rolle von follikulären T-Helferzellen in T-Helferzell-Differenzierung, Funktion und PlastizitätDFG, 390873048, EXC 2151: ImmunoSensation2 - the immune sensory syste