Development and Validation of the Alzheimer’s Questionnaire

This series of studies was carried in order to develop and validate the Alzheimer’s Questionnaire (AQ). The underlying rationale for the creation of the AQ was to provide clinicians with a brief and easy-to-use informant-based assessment of symptoms associated with Alzheimer’s disease (AD). Initial studies of the AQ found that it has both high sensitivity and high specificity for differentiating individuals with AD and its prodrome, amnestic mild cognitive impairment (MCI). The AQ’s accuracy in identifying MCI was explored further in an additional study which sought to determine which items on the AQ were best predicted the presence of MCI. Four items were strongly associated with MCI which were: repetition of statements and/or questions [OR = 13.20 (3.02, 57.66)]; trouble knowing the day, date, month, year, and time [OR = 17.97 (2.63, 122.77)]; difficulty managing finances [OR = 11.60 (2.10, 63.99)]; and decreased sense of direction [OR = 5.84(1.09, 31.30)]. Concurrent validity was established through another study which found that the AQ correlated moderately with the MMSE (r = -0.56) and MoCA (r = -0.46) while a strong correlation (r = 0.79) was found with the Clinical Dementia Rating Sum of Boxes (CDR-SOB). Additional work found that the AQ correlated well with formal neuropsychological measures of episodic memory and executive function. Longitudinal analyses found that was AQ was a significant predictor of clinically meaningful decline as measured by the changes in CDR Global Score (OR = 1.20, 95% CI: 1.09, 1.32; p<0.001). In addition, AQ identified clinically meaningful change among MCI cases at a greater rate(24%) than the MMSE (17%). This series of studies demonstrates that the AQ is an accurate instrument that correlates well with known measures of MCI and AD

Bank risk of failure and the too-big-to-fail policy

Banks and banking

Online Isotonic Regression

We consider the online version of the isotonic regression problem. Given a set of linearly ordered points (e.g., on the real line), the learner must predict labels sequentially at adversarially chosen positions and is evaluated by her total squared loss compared against the best isotonic (non-decreasing) function in hindsight. We survey several standard online learning algorithms and show that none of them achieve the optimal regret exponent; in fact, most of them (including Online Gradient Descent, Follow the Leader and Exponential Weights) incur linear regret. We then prove that the Exponential Weights algorithm played over a covering net of isotonic functions has a regret bounded by $O\big(T^{1/3} \log^{2/3}(T)\big)$ and present a matching $\Omega(T^{1/3})$ lower bound on regret. We provide a computationally efficient version of this algorithm. We also analyze the noise-free case, in which the revealed labels are isotonic, and show that the bound can be improved to $O(\log T)$ or even to $O(1)$ (when the labels are revealed in isotonic order). Finally, we extend the analysis beyond squared loss and give bounds for entropic loss and absolute loss.Comment: 25 page

Identifications and SEDs of the detected sources from the AKARI Deep Field South

In order to find counterparts of the detected objects in the AKARI Deep Field South (ADFS) in all available wavelengths, we searched public databases (NED, SIMBAD and others). Checking 500 sources brighter than 0.0482 Jy in the AKARI Wide-S band, we found 114 sources with possible counterparts, among which 78 were known galaxies. We present these sources as well as our first attempt to construct spectral energy distributions (SEDs) for the most secure and most interesting sources among them, taking into account all the known data together with the AKARI measurements in four bands.Comment: 4 pages, 10 figures, To appear in: the proceedings of the conference "AKARI, a light to illuminate the misty Universe", February 16-19 2009, Toky

Selection Of A Filler For Tablets Manufactured With Direct Compression Method Containing Dry Ginger Extract

The preliminary studies of physico-chemical and pharmaco-technological properties of the dry extract of ginger have determined the need for introduction of different groups of excipients for developing a solid dosage form for the treatment of type II diabetes mellitus.Aim. To choose the rational filler in the composition of tablets with ginger obtained by direct compression.Materials and methods. The study object was the dry extract of ginger (DEG) (producer “Megaprom”, Dnepr,Ukraine) and modern excipients for the production of tablets by direct compression: GalenIQ 721 (BENEO-Palatinit Gmb), Flowlac 100 (Meggle Co.), Tablettose 80 (Meggle Co.), Farmaxx (Merck), Microcelac 100 (Meggle Co.), Vivapur 112 and 102 (JRS Pharm), Prosolv HD 90, Prosolv SMCC 50 (JRS Pharm) manufactured in Germany. Pharmaco-technological and physico-chemical properties of the samples were studied according to conventional methods of the State Pharmacopoeia of Ukraine.Results and discussion. According to the results of the crystallographic analysis, the ability to the moisture absorption, resistance to crushing, disintegration time, fluidity indicators, angle of repose and bulk volume the effect of modern excipients on physicochemical and pharmaco-technological properties of the dry extract of ginger has been studied.Conclusions. According to the results of microscopic analysis, it has been found, that the rational fillers are GalenIQ 721, Prosolv HD 90, Prosolv SMCC 50, Vivapur 102 and Vivapur 112, as they provide a uniform system and the necessary resistance to destruction. The study of the kinetics of the moisture absorption has shown that addition of the fillers significantly reduces the increase in moisture compared to the dry extract. The mixture with GalenIQ 721 has the lowest parameters of moisture absorption at a relative air humidity of 45 %, 75 % and 100 %. In accordance with the results of the pharmaco-technological studies, it has been found that addition of GalenIQ 721 leads to improved flowability, disintegration, settling qualities; it indicates the feasibility of its inclusion into the composition of the solid dosage form

Economic Analysis of an Iranian Water Development: The Sefeed Rood Project

This thesis is an evaluation of the methods and assumptions employed by those groups responsible for preparation of the original benefit/cost data describing the Sefeed Rood project. Benefit/cost ratios reported by the French engineering firm, Cotha Sogreah, and Plan Organization in a joint study range from 2:1 to 2.6:1 (6 and 10). A priori these seem suspect since the dam plus necessary canals and diversion works are obviously large and costly and only primary benefits are considered. The question is whether the potential benefits are likely to ever yield a positive return on investment and, if so, how long a pay-off period will be required