The Webquality Analyser: Benchmarking Industry Websites

The structure and layout of various websites across a wide spectrum of service industries was analysed using the WebQuality Analyser (WQA). The WQA incorporated forty five critical success elements delivered by quality on-line websites. These success elements covered information technology (IT) and marketing-services related sectors, and were further divided into five key drivers encapsulating each sector. Each sector driver was then divided into four or five customer-enabler features (covering structure and function), each with several feature components. A present / absent approach determined each component. A seven-point, Likert scale encapsulated the relative presence of the features of each driver. Although it houses both measurable and subjective components, the WQA offers a useful means to compare relevant websites, and to understand the differences with respect to one’s competitors. Further investigation of the specific on-line driver ratings demonstrated where key competitive advantage may reside. This benchmarking tool defined website strengths and weaknesses thereby allowing for corrections to the website structure of the specific business. This paper introduces the WQA, and reports on the marketing-services sector of this new benchmarking tool

The Brain, Cognitive Enhancement Devices, and European Regulation

From the Introduction: Exciting advances in neuroscience have given rise to devices—now being sold worldwide—which hold the promise of enhancing human cognition. This concerns Maslen et al.—authors of the article, The Regulation of Cognitive Enhancement Devices: Extending the Medical Model—because there are unaddressed possible harms from such equipment. Cognitive enhancement devices (CEDs) are currently entering the European market without special regulations. Their unique ability to influence the brain in potentially deleterious ways is not being accounted for by the law, exposing consumers to risk. In arguing for such regulation, Maslen et al. present risk analyses of certain devices that interact with the brain. They then propose CED-specific additions to existing European medical device regulation. First, they recommend a positive list of CEDs to be regulated. Second, they offer a three-tiered framework for categorizing CEDs, determining market approval, and what level of government scrutiny they receive based on risks and benefits. The authors’ assessment, while demonstrating legitimate concerns, presents a flawed analysis of CEDs and is ultimately unnecessary. We disagree with their definition of CEDs and classifications for certain devices. Moreover, we believe that the regulatory gap Maslen et al. seek to address is not as profound as they portray. Steps are underway to fill this gap in the immediate future, obviating the need for their proposal. Finally, we argue that the authors incorrectly balance risk and benefit when determining CED market approval

Stimulation of the Prefrontal Cortex Reduces Intentions to Commit Aggression: A Randomized, Double-Blind, Placebo-Controlled, Stratified, Parallel-Group Trial

Although prefrontal brain impairments are one of the best-replicated brain imaging findings in relation to aggression, little is known about the causal role of this brain region. This study tests whether stimulating the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex using transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) reduces the likelihood of engaging in aggressive acts, and the mechanism underlying this relationship. In a double-blind, stratified, placebo-controlled, parallel-group, randomized trial, 81 human adults (36 males, 45 females) were randomly assigned to an active (N = 39) or placebo (N = 42) condition, and then followed up 1 d after the experiment session. Intentions to commit aggressive acts and behavioral aggression were assessed using hypothetical vignettes and a behavioral task, respectively. The secondary outcome was the perception of the moral wrongfulness of the aggressive acts. Compared with the sham controls, participants who received anodal stimulation reported being less likely to commit physical and sexual assault (p \u3c 0.01). They also judged aggressive acts as more morally wrong (p \u3c 0.05). Perceptions of greater moral wrongfulness regarding the aggressive acts accounted for 31% of the total effect of tDCS on intentions to commit aggression. Results provide experimental evidence that increasing activity in the prefrontal cortex can reduce intentions to commit aggression and enhance perceptions of the moral wrongfulness of the aggressive acts. Findings shed light on the biological underpinnings of aggression and theoretically have the potential to inform future interventions for aggression and violence

Cooperative role of antibodies against heat-labile toxin and the EtpA adhesin in preventing toxin delivery and intestinal colonization by enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli

Enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli (ETEC) is an important cause of diarrheal disease in developing countries, where it is responsible for hundreds of thousands of deaths each year. Vaccine development for ETEC has been hindered by the heterogeneity of known molecular targets and the lack of broad-based sustained protection afforded by existing vaccine strategies. In an effort to explore the potential role of novel antigens in ETEC vaccines, we examined the ability of antibodies directed against the ETEC heat-labile toxin (LT) and the recently described EtpA adhesin to prevent intestinal colonization in vivo and toxin delivery to epithelial cells in vitro. We demonstrate that EtpA is required for the optimal delivery of LT and that antibodies against this adhesin play at least an additive role in preventing delivery of LT to target intestinal cells when combined with antibodies against either the A or B subunits of the toxin. Moreover, vaccination with a combination of LT and EtpA significantly impaired intestinal colonization. Together, these results suggest that the incorporation of recently identified molecules such as EtpA could be used to enhance current approaches to ETEC vaccine development

Optical investigation of thermoelectric topological crystalline insulator Pb0.77_{0.77}Sn0.23_{0.23}Se

Pb$_{0.77}$Sn$_{0.23}$Se is a novel alloy of two promising thermoelectric materials PbSe and SnSe that exhibits a temperature dependent band inversion below 300 K. Recent work has shown that this band inversion also coincides with a trivial to nontrivial topological phase transition. To understand how the properties critical to thermoelectric efficiency are affected by the band inversion, we measured the broadband optical response of Pb$_{0.77}$Sn$_{0.23}$Se as a function of temperature. We find clear optical evidence of the band inversion at $160\pm15$ K, and use the extended Drude model to accurately determine a $T^{3/2}$ dependence of the bulk carrier lifetime, associated with electron-acoustic phonon scattering. Due to the high bulk carrier doping level, no discriminating signatures of the topological surface states are found, although their presence cannot be excluded from our data.Comment: 11 pages, 6 figure