Alternative strategies for aggregating prices in the CPI

Consumer price indexes ; Prices

Investigating human Schwann cell phenotypes and outcome measures of muscle reinnervation

Peripheral Nerve Injury (PNI) often causes partial or complete paralysis and/or loss of sensation of the segment of the body involved. Traumatic PNI is a global problem and can result in significant disability and socio-economic impacts. Clinical translation of new therapeutics for the treatment of PNI is challenged by the little information that is known about the cellular and molecular features that underpin human nerve regeneration. Moreover, clinical models and measurements that can quantify the efficacy of new treatments for PNI are not well established. Therefore, this PhD explored injured and healthy human nerve samples liberated from reconstructive nerve procedures to characterise the cellular and molecular features of human peripheral nerve degeneration. Associated with this theme of characterisation of human nerve injury, the recovery of motor units in reinnervated elbow flexor muscles following nerve transfer was quantified using Motor Unit Number Estimation (MUNE). In order to better understand the relationship of MUNE with the biological process of nerve regeneration, an animal model of nerve injury was used to investigate the association between MUNE and histological markers of regeneration. MUNE was found to be a sensitive marker of muscle reinnervation in human and animal models of nerve regeneration. Moreover, MUNE demonstrated a correlation with histological markers of muscle reinnervation. It is known that these changes in the number of motor units are accompanied by changes in muscle volume. Therefore, using the same surgical scenario of nerve transfer to reanimate elbow flexor muscles, this PhD measured the recovery of muscle volume following nerve transfer to reanimate elbow flexor muscles using quantitative Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) techniques. It was found that MRI assessment of muscle volume is a measure that is sensitive to the biological process of nerve regeneration. With further data, this has the capacity to determine the efficacy of new therapeutics for the treatment of PNI and predict the likely functional recovery following PNI. In summary, the findings represent an important step towards understanding the in vivo cellular and molecular events in human nerve degeneration. In addition, MUNE and quantitative MRI techniques were found to represent sensitive and responsive measures of nerve regeneration. With further data, the findings presented here will help new therapeutic options for human nerve injury advance

Quality Improvement in Health Care: A Framework for Price and Output Measurement

The durability of health care treatment, the substantial technical change in health care treatment, and the prevalence of third-party payment interact to create substantial difficulty in measuring the price and output of health care. This paper provides a framework for analyzing the demand for health care taking into account these difficulties. It then suggests how this framework might be used to improve measurement of health care prices and output.

The authors respond: Issues surrounding reliability, quality, and practicality with timed-reading assessments: Expanding on Carter et al.’s (2023) a unitary measure of L2 silent reading fluency accounting for comprehension

Carter et al. (2023) presented empirical evidence in support of a proposed new measure of L2 silent reading fluency. Referencing their method, this article addresses three separate practical issues related to using timed readings (TRs) to foster L2 reading fluency: TR assessment reliability, quality, and practicality. One seeming limitation of Carter et al.’s (2023) method was the relatively low reliability of three separate TR quizzes used in their study on reading fluency. However, considering that the interpretation and use of reliability estimates should be context-dependent, we argue that the standard expectations of 0.8 or higher may be simply unrealistic given the unique constraints surrounding timed readings. Furthermore, reliability is only one facet of a validity argument and intentional changes aimed at increasing reliability may, at times, come at the expense of other important aspects of validity. This article also offers practical advice for constructing effective TR quiz questions and directs the reader to tools for tracking student readers’ reading fluency progress

Hidden Between the Splices: Unearthing Moving Images of Student Protest in Production Element Reels

Historical filmed recordings of demonstrations may live on reels of production elements. However, film can labels and film leader descriptors may not always provide all the information about the moving image content on its related reel. But when instances such as these are discovered, they may greatly benefit researchers. By creating separate records for these instances in digital repositories, and providing value-added descriptors, emphasis can be placed (and instances are made more accessible) on these moments in history that might have otherwise gone unnoticed to present-day researchers

Undergraduate Student Agreement With Reformed Introductory Physics Classes

In this study, I investigate student buy-in , defined as students\u27 proper understanding of and agreement with the class format, for introductory studio physics classes that incorporate lectures, labs, and group problem-solving activities into one interactive environment. I also investigate the ways in which instructors try to gain student buy-in to their class. Research has shown that student resistance to reformed instruction is a barrier to an instructor\u27s use of research-based instructional strategies that are common to the studio class. Expectancy value theory suggests that by gaining student buy-in to the reformed class format, student resistance will decrease thus allowing a more effective class. I created a survey to measure student agreement with their class and another survey to determine the strategies that instructors use to gain student buy-in. I describe the responses to the surveys and use hierarchical models to determine if student agreement predicts their performance in the class and if the instructor strategies have an effect on student agreement. To triangulate these findings, I also interviewed instructors and students. From the surveys, I found that students disagree with the time spent lecturing and the importance and time spent reading outside of class. This is important because student agreement with the time spent in class predicts favorable attitudes about physics and their agreement with the time spent outside of class predicts a higher expected final grade. From the interviews, I discovered that both instructors and students believe that using evidence to justify the class format would be an effective strategy to gain agreement. However, few instructors used evidence due to a lack of prepared materials. Future work should develop materials to support instructors in presenting evidence about studio\u27s effectiveness and investigate the impact on student buy-in and other outcomes

Fast Scheduling of Robot Teams Performing Tasks With Temporospatial Constraints

The application of robotics to traditionally manual manufacturing processes requires careful coordination between human and robotic agents in order to support safe and efficient coordinated work. Tasks must be allocated to agents and sequenced according to temporal and spatial constraints. Also, systems must be capable of responding on-the-fly to disturbances and people working in close physical proximity to robots. In this paper, we present a centralized algorithm, named 'Tercio,' that handles tightly intercoupled temporal and spatial constraints. Our key innovation is a fast, satisficing multi-agent task sequencer inspired by real-time processor scheduling techniques and adapted to leverage a hierarchical problem structure. We use this sequencer in conjunction with a mixed-integer linear program solver and empirically demonstrate the ability to generate near-optimal schedules for real-world problems an order of magnitude larger than those reported in prior art. Finally, we demonstrate the use of our algorithm in a multirobot hardware testbed

A Unitary Measure of L2 Silent Reading Fluency Accounting for Comprehension

This research presents a novel reading fluency (rf) measurement formula that accounts for both reading rate and comprehension. Possible formulas were investigated with 68 participants in a strategic reading course in an IEP at a small Pacific Island university. The selected formula’s scores demonstrated concurrent validity through strong correlation (r[66] = .680, p < .001) with the Adaptive Reading Test (ART), an assessment aligned with ACTFL’s proficiency levels. Furthermore, when ART scores were regressed onto formula scores, formula scores accounted for 49% of the variance in ART scores (R2 = .488, F[1, 66] = 62.88, p < .001); these results were comparable to a model in which comprehension and rate were the independent variables (R2 = .514, F[2, 65] = 34.38, p < .001). The formula appears preferable to currently available alternatives and ensures that high performance in reading rate cannot compensate for low performance in comprehension nor vice versa. An Excel workbook for exploring formula variants and tracking learners’ fluency is provided to readers of Reading in a Foreign Language