Identification of symptom domains in ulcerative colitis that occur frequently during flares and are responsive to changes in disease activity

The aim of this study was to determine which symptom domains in ulcerative colitis (UC) are important in the evaluation of disease activity. An important symptom is that which 1) occurs during flares, 2) improves during effective therapy, and 3) resolves during remission. Twenty eight symptom domains were evaluated. Sixty subjects were surveyed, rating each symptom on three criteria with a 100 mm Visual Analog Scale (VAS). Important symptoms were defined a priori as those whose median VAS rating for all 3 criteria was significantly greater than 50. Thirteen of the 28 symptom domains proved to be both frequent in UC flares and responsive to changes in disease activity. Seven of these were novel symptoms derived from UC patient focus groups. In conclusion, development of survey measures of these symptom domains could significantly improve the assessment of disease activity in UC

Protecting quantum entanglement from amplitude damping

Quantum entanglement is a critical resource for quantum information and quantum computation. However, entanglement of a quantum system is subjected to change due to the interaction with the environment. One typical result of the interaction is the amplitude damping that usually results in the reduction of the entanglement. Here we propose a protocol to protect quantum entanglement from the amplitude damping by applying Hadamard and CNOT gates. As opposed to some recently studied methods, the scheme presented here does not require weak measurement in the reversal process, leading to a faster recovery of entanglement. We propose a possible experimental implementation based on linear optical system

Entanglement of Gaussian states using beam splitter

We study an experimental scheme to generate Gaussian two-mode entangled states via beam splitter. Specifically, we consider a nonclassical Gaussian state (squeezed state) and a thermal state as two input modes, and evaluate the degree of entanglement at the output. Experimental conditions to generate entangled outputs are completely identified and the critical thermal noise to destroy entanglement is analytically obtained. By doing so, we discuss the possibility to link the resistance to noise in entanglement generation with the degree of single-mode nonclassicality.Comment: 6 pages, 3 figures, references added (particularly [19]), more detailed discussion

Word naming slows picture naming but does not affect cumulative semantic interference

Two experiments are reported which investigate the effect of processing words prior to naming target pictures. In Experiment 1, participants named (read aloud) sequences of five printed prime words and five target pictures from the same semantic category, and also sequences of five prime words from a different unrelated semantic category to the five related target pictures. Picture and words were interleaved, with two unrelated filler stimuli in between prime and target stimuli (i.e. a lag of 3 between primes and targets). Results showed that across the five target picture naming trials (i.e. across ordinal position of picture), picture naming times increased linearly, replicating the cumulative semantic interference (CSI) effect (e.g., Howard, Nickels, Coltheart, & Cole-Virtue, 2006). Related prime words slowed picture naming, replicating the effects found in paired word prime and picture target studies (e.g., Tree & Hirsh, 2003). However, the naming of the five related prime words did not modify the picture naming CSI effect, with this null result converging with findings from a different word and picture design (e.g., Navarrete, Mahon, & Caramazza, 2010). In Experiment 2, participants categorised the prime word stimuli as manmade versus natural, so that words were more fully processed at a conceptual level. The interaction between word prime relatedness and ordinal position of the named target picture was significant. These results are consistent with adjustments at the conceptual level (Belke, 2013; Roelofs, 2018) which last over several trials at least. By contrast, we conclude that the distinct word-to-picture naming interference effect from Experiment 1 must originate outside of the conceptual level and outside of the mappings between semantics and lexical representations. We discuss the results with reference to recent theoretical accounts of the CSI picture naming effect and word naming models

Pressure to produce = pressure to reduce accident reporting?

Each year, more than 4 million U.S. workers are injured on the job - several thousand die (Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2008). Despite these staggering numbers, research suggests that they are gross underestimates of the true volume of workplace related illnesses and injuries due to accident under-reporting. Although accident under-reporting has been well-documented, less is known regarding why this occurs. The current study suggests that under-reporting may in part be due to high levels of perceived production pressure. Specifically, this study tested the hypotheses that production pressure would be related to more experienced accidents overall and more negative attitudes toward reporting accidents. Further, we expected that production pressure would exacerbate the under-reporting of accidents. Survey data were collected from a sample of 212 copper mining workers located in the southwestern United States. The survey measured employee perceptions regarding production pressure, attitudes toward reporting accidents, perceived consequences of reporting accidents, and actual reporting behaviors (e.g., types and numbers of accidents experienced vs. reported). As predicted, the average number of experienced accidents per employee was significantly higher (M = 2.84) than the number of reported accidents (M =.49). In addition, production pressure was related to more negative reporting attitudes. Individuals who had positive reporting attitudes were injured less frequently; however, when an incident occurred, they were more likely to report it. Finally, higher levels of production pressure were related to greater accident under-reporting. Additionally, employees who perceived high levels of production pressure not only experienced more accidents overall, they also reported fewer of them to the organization. Implications for occupational safety initiatives - particularly in the current economic climate - are discussed, as are methodological challenges of conducting research in this area. © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved

Deficits and inflation; Are monetary and financial institutions worthy to consider or not?

AbstractInstitutions are important to analyze the relationship between deficits and inflation. This study examines whether deficits are inflationary or not in the presence of dependent central bank and fragile financial markets. A panel dataset has been used for eleven Asian countries from 1981 to 2010. Estimation results from system GMM show that deficits are inflationary for selected sample, while inflationary pressure of budget deficits is particularly stronger when financial markets are not fully developed and central banks are not free to follow their goals and objectives

Money Management Knowledge of College Students

This study describes the money management knowledge of college students and identifies the characteristics of students associated with the differences in that knowledge level

Leader-member exchange: Moderating the health and safety outcomes of job insecurity

© 2015 Elsevier Ltd and National Safety Council. Introduction Job insecurity has been repeatedly linked with poor employee health and safety outcomes. Although research on high quality leader-member exchange (LMX) has demonstrated many beneficial effects, no research to date has examined the extent to which positive LMX might attenuate those adverse health and safety-related consequences of job insecurity. The current study extends research in this area by specifically examining the buffering impact of LMX on the relationship between job insecurity and safety knowledge, reported accidents, and physical health conditions. Furthermore, the study also examines whether positive LMX mitigates the typically seen negative impact of job insecurity on supervisor satisfaction. Methods The hypotheses were tested using survey data collected from 212 employees of a mine located in southwestern United States. Results As predicted, job insecurity was related to lower levels of supervisor satisfaction, more health ailments, and more workplace accidents, and was marginally related to lower levels of safety knowledge. Results indicated that LMX significantly attenuated these observed relationships. Conclusions The quality of the dyadic relationship between supervisor and subordinate has a significant impact on the extent to which job insecurity is associated with adverse health and safety outcomes. Practical applications Practical implications for supervisor behavior and developing high quality LMX are discussed in light of today\u27s pervasive job insecurity