800 research outputs found

    Organizational And Economic Characteristics Of Compensations For Temporary Loss Of Capacity To Work

    Get PDF
    The insurance for general diseases with temporary incapacity to work has specific features due to the specifics of the risk it covers. Such diseases are very frequent but usually mild and entail specific consequences, such as reduction or loss of income due to sick leaves. The object of research is the insurance for of general diseases and its subject is the organizational framework and the regulations regarding the benefits for temporary incapacity for work. The aim of this study is to investigate the organizational and economic characteristics of benefits for temporary incapacity for work due to general disease in certain of the European Union and formulate guidelines for organizational development and improvement of the social security system in Bulgaria

    Using a dichoptic moving window presentation technique to investigate binocular advantages during reading

    Get PDF
    Reading comes with a clear binocular advantage, expressed in shorter fixation times and fewer regressions in binocular relative to monocular visual presentations. Little is known, however, about whether the cost associated with monocular viewing derives primarily from the encoding of foveal information or in obtaining a preview benefit from upcoming parafoveal text. In the present sentence reading eye tracking experiment, the authors used a novel dichoptic binocular gaze-contingent moving window technique to selectively manipulate the amount of text made available to the reader both binocularly and monocularly in the fovea and parafovea on a fixation-by-fixation basis. This technique allowed the authors to quantify disruption to reading caused by prevention of binocular fusion during direct fixation of words and parafoveal preprocessing of upcoming text. Sentences were presented (a) binocularly; (b) monocularly; (c) with monocular text to the left of fixation; (d) with monocular text to the right of fixation; or (e) with all words other than the fixated word presented binocularly. A robust binocular advantage occurred for average fixation duration and regressions. Also, while there was a limited cost associated with monocular foveal processing, the restriction of parafoveal processing to monocular information was particularly disruptive. The findings demonstrate the critical importance of a unified binocular input for the efficient preprocessing text to the right of fixation

    Stochastic motion planning and applications to traffic

    Get PDF
    This paper presents a stochastic motion planning algorithm and its application to traffic navigation. The algorithm copes with the uncertainty of road traffic conditions by stochastic modeling of travel delay on road networks. The algorithm determines paths between two points that optimize a cost function of the delay probability distribution. It can be used to find paths that maximize the probability of reaching a destination within a particular travel deadline. For such problems, standard shortest-path algorithms don’t work because the optimal substructure property doesn’t hold. We evaluate our algorithm using both simulations and real-world drives, using delay data gathered from a set of taxis equipped with GPS sensors and a wireless network. Our algorithm can be integrated into on-board navigation systems as well as route-finding Web sites, providing drivers with good paths that meet their desired goals.National Science Foundation (U.S.) (grant EFRI-0710252)National Science Foundation (U.S.) (grant IIS-0426838

    "Chatsubo-Chatsubo-niya futa ga nai" : History and Analysis of Warabeuta and Nursery Rhymes

    Get PDF
    この研究はナーサリーライムとわらべうたの定義と分類についての相違点を紹介し,また日本においてのわらべうたというジャンルの現在の状況について論じている.この論文は先行研究といくつかの公立小学校の観察をもとにわらべうたのジャンルの歴史的な発展と現在の人気低下を追跡している.This paper introduces the diversity of definitions and classification of nursery rhymes and warabeuta and provides an explanation of the current situation surrounding the play genre warabeuta in Japan. It traces the historical development and current decline of the genre and shares observations from several elementary schools in Tokyo

    Some Real Interpolation Methods for Families of Banach Spaces: A Comparison

    Get PDF
    AbstractWe consider certain real interpolation methods for families of Banach spaces. We also define some new such methods obtained by passing to the limit in the constructions of Sparr and Cobos–Peetre. The relations between all these methods are studied. Characterizations of minimal and maximal spaces are obtained. Some concrete examples as well as sharp estimates of the corresponding operator norms are also exhibited

    Facial soft tissue thicknesses in Bulgarian adults: relation to sex, body mass index and bilateral asymmetry

    Get PDF
    Background: The aim of the study is to measure the facial soft tissue thicknesses (STTs) in Bulgarians, to evaluate the relation of the STTs to the nutritional status, sex and bilateral asymmetry, and to examine the correlations between the separate STTs as well as between the STTs and body weight, height, and body mass index (BMI). In the present study, the facial STTs were measured on computed tomography scans of the head of Bulgarian adults. Materials and methods: The STTs were measured at 7 midline and 9 bilateral landmarks. The measurements were performed in the free software InVesalius in the axial and sagittal planes. The mean, standard deviation, minimum and maximum values, median and coefficient of variation were reported for the STT at each landmark according to the sex and BMI category. The BMI, sex and bilateral differences were assessed for statistical significance. Pearson correlation analysis was applied to assess the strength and direction of the relationships between the STTs and body height, weight and BMI, as well as between separate STTs. Results and Conclusions: The facial soft tissues in Bulgarian adults changed in accordance with the nutritional status of the individual and in both sexes all STTs augmented with the increasing BMI. For both normal and overweight BMI categories, males had more soft tissue at the majority of facial points than females, as the only exceptions were observed in the cheek zone, where STTs were thicker in females. Significant bilateral differences were observed in either sex and BMI category. Stronger correlations were established for the STTs in the jaw region and between the cheek and jaw soft tissues. Besides, the correlations between the homologous bilateral landmarks were among the strongest ones

    NGF-ome: its metabotrophic expression. Homage to Rita Levi-Montalcini

    Get PDF
    Nowadays, in the postgenome time, many "-ome" studies have emerged including proteome, transcriptome, interactome, metabolome, adipokinome, connectome. In this vein, the catchall term NGF-ome embodies all the actions of NGF in health and disease. Accordingly, the present Festschrift, also tabula gratulatoria, is to honor and acknowledge the contributions of the distinguished neuroscientist and magistra Rita Levi-Montalcini, the Nobel Prize winner-1986 for the discoverer of NGF. Today, NGF and another neurotrophin, brain-derived neuroptrophic factor (BDNF), are well recognized to mediate multiple biological phenomena, ranging from the neurotrophic through immunotrophic and epitheliotrophic to metabotrophic effects. These latter effects are involved in the maintenance of cardiometabolic homeostasis (glucose and lipid metabolism as well as energy balance, and cardioprotection). Circulating and/or tissue levels of NGF and BDNF are altered in cardiometabolic diseases (atherosclerosis, obesity, type 2 diabetes, metabolic syndrome, and type 3 diabetes/Alzheimer's disease). A hypothesis thus emerged that a metabotrophic deficit due to the reduction of NGF/BDNF availability and/or utilization may be implicated in the pathogenesis of cariometabolic and neurodegenerative diseases. The present challenge is therefore to cultivate a metabotrophic thinking about how we can modulate NGF/BDNF secretion and signaling for the benefit of human cardiometabolic and mood health.Biomedical Reviews 2010; 21: 25-29

    By design : negotiating flexible learning in the built environment discipline

    Full text link
    The term ‘flexible education’ is now firmly entrenched within Australian higher education discourse, yet the term is a contested one imbued with a multiplicity of meanings. This paper describes a process designed to elucidate how the idea of flexible education can be translated into teaching models that are informed by the specific demands of disciplinary contexts. The process uses a flexible learning ‘matching’ tool to articulate the understandings and preferences of students and academics of the Built Environment to bridge the gap between student expectations of flexibility and their teacher’s willingness and ability to provide that flexibility within the limits of the pedagogical context and teaching resources. The findings suggest an informed starting point for educators in the Built Environment and other creative disciplines from which to traverse the complexities inherent in negotiating flexibility in an increasingly digital world
    corecore