The World’s Greatest Detectives: Analyzing the Relationship and Cultural Meaning of Sherlock Holmes and Batman

The characters Sherlock Holmes and Batman represent a Gothic archetype aimed at uncovering societal fears and tensions. The thesis analyzes four Sherlock Holmes stories by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle and four Batman-centered graphic novels from DC Comics. By looking at the two in conjunction with each other, this project develops a more comprehensive understanding of the Gothic detective hero in the historical contexts of Victorian England and modern United States of America. The two characters are first explained in terms of the Gothic and as archetypal figures before being examined in terms of their similar contemporary social contexts. Finally, the project uses the characters as a timeline of social anxiety in order to predict a trajectory for the archetype. The thesis also contemplates the reasons for the popularity and staying power of the characters. Altogether, the two characters reveal more about the readers themselves than any crime committed in the plot

Comparison of the Sharpness of Tungsten Field Emission Tips from Traditional Electrical Characterization to Tip Geometries Imaged by Scanning Electron Microscopy

Using field emission data obtained from 11 etched Tungsten successful field emission tips of radius about 20 to 100 nanometers, FN type linear models were compared. The emission tip radii were determined using an iteration method derived from the modified FN linear equation. In addition, Scanning Electron Microscopy images of 5 successful emitters were obtained. These images were fit to a circular model to estimate the actual radius and compared to empirically predicted radius values. A hyperbolic model was further fit to the images and the circle of similar apex curvature was derived. A method for calculating the electric field for these modelled geometries was suggested and a sample code has been provided for future research

Misidentification subtype of alzheimer's disease psychosis predicts a faster cognitive decline

The presence of psychosis is associated with more rapid decline in Alzheimer's disease (AD), but the impact of paranoid (persecutory delusions) and misidentification (misperceptions and/or hallucinations) subtypes of psychosis on the speed of decline in AD is still unclear. Here we analysed data on Alzheimer's Disease Neuroimaging Initiative (ADNI)2 participants with late mild cognitive impairment or AD and we described individual trajectories of Alzheimer's Disease Assessment Scale-Cognitive Subscale (ADAS-cog) scores using a semi-mechanistic, logistic model, with a mixed effects based approach, which accounted for drop-out, and adjusted for baseline Mini Mental State Examination scores. The covariate model included psychosis subtypes, age, gender, education, medications and Apo-e ε4 genotype. We found that ADAS-cog rate of increase was doubled in misidentification (βr,misid_subtype =0.63, p=0.031) and mixed (both subtypes) ((βr,mixed_subtype =0.70, p=0.003) compared to non-psychotic (or paranoid) subjects suggesting that the misidentification subtype may represent a distinct AD sub-phenotype associated with an accelerated pathological process. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved

Chase-escape on the configuration model

Chase-escape is a competitive growth process in which red particles spread to adjacent empty sites according to a rate-$\lambda$ Poisson process while being chased and consumed by blue particles according to a rate-$1$ Poisson process. Given a growing sequence of finite graphs, the critical rate $\lambda_c$ is the largest value of $\lambda$ for which red fails to reach a positive fraction of the vertices with high probability. We provide a conjecturally sharp lower bound and an implicit upper bound on $\lambda_c$ for supercritical random graphs sampled from the configuration model with independent and identically distributed degrees with finite second moment. We additionally show that the expected number of sites occupied by red undergoes a phase transition and identify the location of this transition.Comment: 13 page

Examining the nature of interprofessional interventions designed to promote patient safety : a narrative review

Purpose: This narrative review aimed to scope the patient safety literature to identify interprofessional intervention approaches, sources of evidence and reported outcomes. Data sources: Two major databases (MEDLINE and CINAHL) were searched from 2005 to 2015. Study selection: A total of 1552 abstracts were initially identified. After screening these abstracts, 129 full papers were obtained. Further screening resulted in a total of 89 papers included in this review. Data extraction: The following information was extracted from each included paper: details on the patient safety intervention, study methods employed and outcomes reported. Results of data synthesis: It was found that the bulk of the included studies was undertaken in a North American acute care context. Most often, studies involved qualified professionals from nursing and medicine collaborating in hospitals and medical centres. Nearly half the studies reported in this review employed educational interventions, such as TeamSTEPPS, aimed at enhancing practitioners' competence of delivering safe patient care. Nearly a third of studies involved practice-based interventions (e.g. checklists) aimed at improving the delivery of safe care. Most of the studies used a quasi-experimental design and typically gathered survey data. The majority reported outcomes related to changes in professionals' attitudes, knowledge and skills. There were, however, fewer studies reporting changes in practitioners' safety behaviours, organizational practices or patient benefit. Conclusion: The use of different interprofessional interventions are key activities involved in promoting safe patient care practices. However, further work is needed to strengthen these interventions and their evaluations

An In-shoe Temperature Measurement System for Studying Diabetic Foot Ulceration Etiology: Preliminary Results with Healthy Participants

AbstractDiabetes is a major public health challenge on a global scale but our scientific understanding of diabetic foot ulceration is limited. A recent systematic review concluded that an increase in skin temperature is predictive of foot ulceration. In-shoe temperature measurement could be a useful tool for studying the etiology of diabetic foot ulceration, we present such a device and preliminary results of its use with 14 healthy participants. Our results show that temperature rise with walking mainly depends on the speed, F(2,190)=3.75, p=0.025, the effect of foot location is mild F(3,1279)=1.69, p=0.169, and there is no difference between the two feet F(1,1279)=0.937, p=0.749. We conclude that such systems are feasible but there are measurement issues to be addressed before they can be utilized further

Association Between False Memories and Delusions in Alzheimer Disease

IMPORTANCE: Understanding the mechanisms of delusion formation in Alzheimer disease (AD) could inform the development of therapeutic interventions. It has been suggested that delusions arise as a consequence of false memories. OBJECTIVE: To investigate whether delusions in AD are associated with false recognition, and whether higher rates of false recognition and the presence of delusions are associated with lower regional brain volumes in the same brain regions. DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS: Since the Alzheimer's Disease Neuroimaging Initiative (ADNI) launched in 2004, it has amassed an archive of longitudinal behavioral and biomarker data. This cross-sectional study used data downloaded in 2020 from ADNI participants with an AD diagnosis at baseline or follow-up. Data analysis was performed between June 24, 2020, and September 21, 2021. EXPOSURE: Enrollment in the ADNI. MAIN OUTCOMES AND MEASURES: The main outcomes included false recognition, measured with the 13-item Alzheimer's Disease Assessment Scale-Cognitive Subscale (ADAS-Cog 13) and the Rey Auditory Verbal Learning Test (RAVLT) and volume of brain regions corrected for total intracranial volume. Behavioral data were compared for individuals with delusions in AD and those without using independent-samples t tests or Mann-Whitney nonparametric tests. Significant findings were further explored using binary logistic regression modeling. For neuroimaging data region of interest analyses using t tests, Poisson regression modeling or binary logistic regression modeling and further exploratory, whole-brain voxel-based morphometry analyses were carried out to explore the association between regional brain volume and false recognition or presence of delusions. RESULTS: Of the 2248 individuals in the ADNI database, 728 met the inclusion criteria and were included in this study. There were 317 (43.5%) women and 411 (56.5%) men. Their mean (SD) age was 74.8 (7.4) years. The 42 participants with delusions at baseline had higher rates of false recognition on the ADAS-Cog 13 (median score, 3; IQR, 1 to 6) compared with the 549 control participants (median score, 2; IQR, 0 to 4; U = 9398.5; P = .04). False recognition was not associated with the presence of delusions when confounding variables were included in binary logistic regression models. An ADAS-Cog 13 false recognition score was inversely associated with left hippocampal volume (odds ratio [OR], 0.91 [95% CI, 0.88-0.94], P < .001), right hippocampal volume (0.94 [0.92-0.97], P < .001), left entorhinal cortex volume (0.94 [0.91-0.97], P < .001), left parahippocampal gyrus volume (0.93 [0.91-0.96], P < .001), and left fusiform gyrus volume (0.97 [0.96-0.99], P < .001). There was no overlap between locations associated with false recognition and those associated with delusions. CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE: In this cross-sectional study, false memories were not associated with the presence of delusions after accounting for confounding variables, and no indication for overlap of neural networks for false memories and delusions was observed on volumetric neuroimaging. These findings suggest that delusions in AD do not arise as a direct consequence of misremembering, lending weight to ongoing attempts to delineate specific therapeutic targets for treatment of psychosis

A review of independent living adaptations

This study will explore and test potential changes to the structural and delivery mechanisms for independent living adaptations. This is in order to move towards the Welsh Government goal of ensuring that adaptations can be delivered more speedily to those who need them. In doing so, it will help reduce inherent inequalities in the current system by ensuring joined up solutions, prevention and early intervention activity. This Review was commissioned in the light of some £35 million being spent annually by local authorities in Wales on Disabled Facilities Grants (DFGs) and the Welsh Government’s own spending of approximately £8 million on Physical Adaptations Grants (PAG) for social tenants. The Review was carried out between May and November 2014 and addressed three aims: mapping the current system performance Indicators testing the feasibility of options for change

APC-targeted proinsulin expression inactivates insulin-specific memory CD8+ T cells in NOD mice

Type 1 diabetes (T1D) results from T-cell-mediated autoimmune destruction of pancreatic β cells. Effector T-cell responses emerge early in disease development and expand as disease progresses. Following β-cell destruction, a long-lived T-cell memory is generated that represents a barrier to islet transplantation and other cellular insulin-replacement therapies. Development of effective immunotherapies that control or ablate β-cell destructive effector and memory T-cell responses has the potential to prevent disease progression and recurrence. Targeting antigen expression to antigen-presenting cells inactivates cognate CD8+ effector and memory T-cell responses and has therapeutic potential. Here we investigated this in the context of insulin-specific responses in the non-obese diabetic mouse where genetic immune tolerance defects could impact on therapeutic tolerance induction. Insulin-specific CD8+ memory T cells transferred to mice expressing proinsulin in antigen-presenting cells proliferated in response to transgenically expressed proinsulin and the majority were rapidly deleted. A small proportion of transferred insulin-specific Tmem remained undeleted and these were antigen-unresponsive, exhibited reduced T cell receptor (TCR) expression and H-2Kd/insB15-23 tetramer binding and expressed co-inhibitory molecules. Expression of proinsulin in antigen-presenting cells also abolished the diabetogenic capacity of CD8+ effector T cells. Therefore, destructive insulin-specific CD8+ T cells are effectively inactivated by enforced proinsulin expression despite tolerance defects that exist in diabetes-prone NOD mice. These findings have important implications in developing immunotherapeutic approaches to T1D and other T-cell-mediated autoimmune diseases