A duck with four legs: Investigating the structure of conceptual knowledge using picture drawing in semantic dementia

In Study 1, six patients with semantic dementia were asked to produce drawings of concrete concepts from dictation of their names. The drawings were characterised by a loss of distinctive features. In the artefact domain, this feature loss resulted in representations that were increasingly box-like. In the living domain, as well as distinctive features being lost, there was a tendency for patients to include incorrect features that resulted in more familiar and "prototypical" representations. A second study included two further conditions in the drawing assessment: immediate and delayed copying of line drawings of concrete concepts. Analysis of the drawings produced by three patients with semantic dementia confirmed that overall performance was significantly influenced by the task condition (immediate delayed) and severity of disease. The rate of intruding features, but not of omitted ones, was influenced by the domain of the item, with a greater proportion of intrusions in the living than in the nonliving domain. There was also a significant effect of feature distinctiveness on the proportions of these error types: Intruded features were most likely to come from the pool of properties that are shared across domain

Organisational Branding, A Strategic Tool for Engineering Customer Satisfaction in Service Industry: A Study of Selected Banks

Effective brand strategies cannot be developed without the customers in mind, hence the need to examine how brand strategies affect the behaviours of these customers to yield a good result. The objective of this study is to evaluate the impact of organisational branding on the levels of customer patronage. A descriptive and survey design was adopted for the study. The population for this study consist of customers from Wema and Zenith bank within Lagos metropolis. The questionnaire was used in eliciting information from respondents, which contained two sections. Two research questions and hypotheses were raised and tested. The data collected was analysed using Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS version 20.0), for frequency distribution. Further analysis was carried out using linear regression and correlation analysis. From the findings made in the study, there is a significant role played by brand identity in meeting customer expectation and there is a significant effect of brand culture on customer satisfaction. It was recommended that management should be conscious of their peculiar corporate identity once established in order to capitalize on their strengths and opportunities, as well as improve on their weaknesses and address their threats in good time and Managers should strive to create a peculiar brand culture in line with their given brand identity, as the creation of a strong brand culture will enable the staff of the organisation to deliver quality service for good customer satisfaction

Effect of angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitor and angiotensin receptor blocker initiation on organ support-free days in patients hospitalized with COVID-19

IMPORTANCE Overactivation of the renin-angiotensin system (RAS) may contribute to poor clinical outcomes in patients with COVID-19. Objective To determine whether angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitor or angiotensin receptor blocker (ARB) initiation improves outcomes in patients hospitalized for COVID-19. DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS In an ongoing, adaptive platform randomized clinical trial, 721 critically ill and 58 non–critically ill hospitalized adults were randomized to receive an RAS inhibitor or control between March 16, 2021, and February 25, 2022, at 69 sites in 7 countries (final follow-up on June 1, 2022). INTERVENTIONS Patients were randomized to receive open-label initiation of an ACE inhibitor (n = 257), ARB (n = 248), ARB in combination with DMX-200 (a chemokine receptor-2 inhibitor; n = 10), or no RAS inhibitor (control; n = 264) for up to 10 days. MAIN OUTCOMES AND MEASURES The primary outcome was organ support–free days, a composite of hospital survival and days alive without cardiovascular or respiratory organ support through 21 days. The primary analysis was a bayesian cumulative logistic model. Odds ratios (ORs) greater than 1 represent improved outcomes. RESULTS On February 25, 2022, enrollment was discontinued due to safety concerns. Among 679 critically ill patients with available primary outcome data, the median age was 56 years and 239 participants (35.2%) were women. Median (IQR) organ support–free days among critically ill patients was 10 (–1 to 16) in the ACE inhibitor group (n = 231), 8 (–1 to 17) in the ARB group (n = 217), and 12 (0 to 17) in the control group (n = 231) (median adjusted odds ratios of 0.77 [95% bayesian credible interval, 0.58-1.06] for improvement for ACE inhibitor and 0.76 [95% credible interval, 0.56-1.05] for ARB compared with control). The posterior probabilities that ACE inhibitors and ARBs worsened organ support–free days compared with control were 94.9% and 95.4%, respectively. Hospital survival occurred in 166 of 231 critically ill participants (71.9%) in the ACE inhibitor group, 152 of 217 (70.0%) in the ARB group, and 182 of 231 (78.8%) in the control group (posterior probabilities that ACE inhibitor and ARB worsened hospital survival compared with control were 95.3% and 98.1%, respectively). CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE In this trial, among critically ill adults with COVID-19, initiation of an ACE inhibitor or ARB did not improve, and likely worsened, clinical outcomes. TRIAL REGISTRATION ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT0273570

Life on the edge: supporting collaboration in location-based experiences

We study a collaborative location-based game in which groups of 'lions' hunt together on a virtual savannah that is overlaid on an open playing field. The game implements a straight-forward approach to location-based triggering in which players must be in the same spatial locale in order to share information and act together. Comparison of video recordings of physical play with system recordings of game events reveals subtle and complex interactions between highly dynamic player behavior and the underlying technology. While players exhibit a fluid approach to group formation, the system embodies a more rigid view, leading to difficulties with sharing context and coordinating actions, most notably when groups of players span virtual locale boundaries or initiate actions while on the move. We propose techniques for extending locales to support more flexible grouping and also discuss the broader implications of our findings for location-based applications in genera

Cardiac involvement in cystic fibrosis evaluated using cardiopulmonary magnetic resonance

Cystic fibrosis (CF) transmembrane conductance regulator is expressed in myocardium, but cardiac involvement in CF remains poorly understood. The recent development of a combined cardiopulmonary magnetic resonance imaging technology allows for a simultaneous interrogation of cardiac and pulmonary structure and function. The aim of this study was to investigate myocardial manifestations in adults with CF, both in a stable state and during an acute respiratory exacerbation, and to investigate the relationship between cardiac and pulmonary disease. Healthy adult volunteers (n = 12) and adults with CF (n = 10) were studied using a multiparametric cardiopulmonary magnetic resonance protocol. CF patients were scanned during an acute respiratory exacerbation and re-scanned when stable. Stable CF was associated with left ventricular dilatation and hypertrophy (LVH; left ventricular mass: CF 59 ± 9 g/m(2) vs. control 50 ± 8 g/m(2); p = 0.028). LVH was predominantly driven by extracellular myocardial matrix expansion (extracellular matrix mass: CF 27.5 ± 3.4 g vs. control 23.6 ± 5.2 g; p = 0.006; extracellular volume [ECV]: CF 27.6 [24.7–29.8]% vs. control 24.8 [22.9–26.0]%; p = 0.030). Acute CF was associated with an acute reduction in left ventricular function (ejection fraction: acute 57 ± 3% vs. stable 61 ± 5%; p = 0.025) and there was a suggestion of myocardial oedema. Myocardial oedema severity was strongly associated with the severity of airflow limitation (r = − 0.726, p = 0.017). Multiparametric cardiopulmonary magnetic resonance technology allows for a simultaneous interrogation of cardiac and pulmonary structure and function. Stable CF is associated with adverse myocardial remodelling, including left ventricular systolic dilatation and hypertrophy, driven by myocardial fibrosis. CF exacerbation is associated with acute myocardial contractile dysfunction. There is also a suggestion of myocardial oedema in the acute period which is related to pulmonary disease severity. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s10554-021-02496-6

Muslims must embrace our values: a critical analysis of the debate on Muslim integration in France, Germany, and the UK

The continuing difficulty of integrating immigrants, especially Muslims, has led many European political leaders to question the merits of multiculturalism and to promote more commitment towards national values and social cohesion. This thesis aims to examine how these national discourses are interconnected and why they have an exclusionary character. Starting from this point, I draw on a theoretical approach based on a model of mediatised convergence in the European public sphere. Secondly, I reconstruct through a critical discourse analysis, the national debates that have emerged across Europe. I then identify commonalities, by looking into the strategies through which these discourses are articulated. Thirdly, I investigate through content analysis, how press coverage has amplified and reinforced this debate. The cross-national comparison demonstrates a shared concern for how multicultural policies have passively tolerated and encouraged Muslim immigrants to live in self-segregated and isolated communities. This nexus between securitisation and multiculturalism targets first and second generation of Muslims who are assumed, because of their religious and cultural identity, to have authoritarian customs and illiberal values. Conversely, embracing those secular and liberal values that characterise the European ethos is exemplified as the best practice to deal with a correct and safe integration. However, this strategy to reduce integration towards a process of assimilation to majority norms and values risks creating further exclusion, rather than enhancing social cohesion and political belonging. The analysis of national press coverage confirms a shared way of thinking and talking about integration. Despite the political specificity of each national debate, simultaneous coverage across Europe develops reciprocal discursive references on how to achieve community cohesion and manage the migration of Muslims. It can be claimed, therefore, that the more discourses converge across national public spheres, the more they are perceived as stable and consensual. Hence, convergence is a crucial factor to be considered because it allows us to define the boundaries of the European public sphere. However, the study of this transnational debate is crucial not only for scholars of media and communication, but also of European policies and immigration, as this debate involves a larger discussion on how to manage the complexity of relationships between immigrant minorities and the majority in Europe