'A Better Way to Measure Choices' Discrete Choice Experiment and Conjoint Analysis Studies in Nephrology: A Literature Review

Discrete choice experiments (DCE) and conjoint analysis (CA) are increasingly used to address health policy issues. This is because the DCE and CA approaches have theoretical foundations in the characteristics theory of demand, which assumes goods, services, or healthcare provision, can be valued in terms of their characteristics (or attributes). As a result, such analysis is grounded in economic theory, lending theoretical validity to this approach. With DCEs, respondents are also assumed to act in a utility-maximising manner and make choices contingent upon the levels of attributes in DCE scenarios. Therefore, choice data can be analysed using econometric methods compatible with random utility theory (RUT) or random regret minimisation (RRM) theory. This means they have additional foundations in economic theory. In contrast, analyses described as CAs are sometimes compatible with RUT or RRM, but by definition they do not have to be. In this paper we review the CA/DCE evidence relating to nephrology. The CA/DCE approach is then compared with other approaches used to provide either quality of life information or preference information relating to nephrology. We conclude by providing an assessment of the value of undertaking CA or DCE analysis in nephrology, comparing the application of CA/DCEs in nephrology with other methodological approaches.</p

The Challenge of Finding Where SOD Gets Zinc : Identifying Novel Techniques to Recombinantly Express Metallothionein

Presentation entitled : The Challenge of Finding Where SOD Gets Zinc: Identifying Novel Techniques to Recombinantly Express Metallothionein / by Nick B. West, Joseph Beckman and Daniel SudakinAmyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) is a neurodegenerative disease where paralysis of the body is the result of motor neuron function loss. A potential cause of ALS is the loss of zinc from Superoxide Dismutase (SOD). SOD’s cellular responsibility is to enzymatically react with the superoxide anion forming oxygen and the less hazardous chemical species of hydrogen peroxide. In order for SOD to be stable and fully functional it must be bound to both copper and zinc. When SOD undergoes a variety of mutations, the specifically folded protein is more susceptible to lose the zinc atom. Research has shown the loss of zinc from SOD can activate SOD to create toxic intermediates that can stimulate motor neuron cell programmed death and ALS onset. The source and exact processes by which SOD receives its zinc atom has yet to be fully described. A potential family of proteins responsible for SOD’s zinc are the group known as the Metallothionein’s. Metallothionein’s are a family of metalloenzymes critical to regulating cellular zinc concentration levels. The combination of low molecular weight and the high amount of cysteine residues makes this protein exceptionally difficult to analyze in vitro and in vivo. Using recombinant DNA experimental techniques the Metallothionein isoform 2 gene was successfully inserted into the pTYB11 plasmid using restriction endonucleases EcoRI and SapI. Attempted expression of Metallothionein using the expression strain, BL21(DE3) pLysS showed unsuccessful induction of Metallothionein expression. However, utilizing the Shuffle T7 expression system provided some evidence that metallothionein isoform 2 was expressed. Thus, our present results seem to hint at an easier form of expressing Metallothionein in bacterial cells, but inherent flaws in the efficiency of the protein’s expression still exist

Staying ‘Covid-safe’ : proposals for embedding behaviours that protect against Covid-19 transmission in the UK

LB received grants from ESRC and from Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government, during the conduct of the study.Objectives The Scientific Pandemic Insights group on Behaviours (SPI-B) as part of England's Scientific Advisory Group on Emergencies (SAGE), were commissioned by the UK Cabinet Office to identify strategies to embed infection control behaviours to minimize Covid-19 transmission in the long term. Methods With minimal direct evidence available, three sources of information were used to develop a set of proposals: (1) a scoping review of literature on sustaining behaviour change, (2) a review of key principles used in risk and safety management, and (3) prior reports and reviews on behaviour change from SPI-B. The information was collated and refined through discussion with SPI-B and SAGE colleagues to finalize the proposals. Results Embedding infection control behaviours in the long-term will require changes to the financial, social, and physical infrastructure so that people in all sections of society have the capability, opportunity, and motivation needed to underpin those behaviours. This will involve building Covid-safe educational programmes, regulating to ensure minimum standards of safety in public spaces and workspaces, using communications and social marketing to develop a Covid-safe culture and identity, and providing resources so that all sections of society can build Covid-safe behaviours into their daily lives. Conclusions Embedding 'Covid-safe' behaviours into people's everyday routines will require a co-ordinated programme to shape the financial, physical, and social infrastructure in the United Kingdom. Education, regulation, communications, and social marketing, and provision of resources will be required to ensure that all sections of society have the capability, opportunity, and motivation to enact the behaviours long term.Publisher PDFPeer reviewe

DiME and AGVIS A Distributed Messaging Environment and Geographical Visualizer for Large-scale Power System Simulation

This paper introduces the messaging environment and the geographical visualization tool of the CURENT Large-scale Testbed (LTB) that can be used for large-scale power system closed-loop simulation. First, Distributed Messaging Environment (DiME) implements an asynchronous shared workspace to enable high-concurrent data exchange. Second, Another Grid Visualizer (AGVis) is presented as a geovisualization tool that facilitates the visualization of real-time power system simulation. Third, case studies show the use of DiME and AGVis. The results demonstrate that, with the modular structure, the LTB is capable of not only federal use for real-time, large-scale power system simulation, but also independent use for customized power system research.Comment: 5 pages, 7 figures, conferenc

Curriculum Design with Systematic Analysis, Interdisciplinary Collaboration, and Research

As the instructional design of courses and learning activities become a normal practice of professional development for teachers and faculty members, curriculum design has risen to tag the expertise of instructional design professionals. These curriculum design projects demand a high level of collaborative efforts to look into discipline-specific accreditation standards, to analyze existing resources including course catalogues and technology infrastructure, to update emerging pedagogy and technology, and to evaluate diverse teaching team and student compositions. This presentation will share the practical knowledge gained through several curriculum design projects from the perspectives of systematic analysis, interdisciplinary collaboration, and research

Fractional Quantum Mechanics

A path integral approach to quantum physics has been developed. Fractional path integrals over the paths of the L\'evy flights are defined. It is shown that if the fractality of the Brownian trajectories leads to standard quantum and statistical mechanics, then the fractality of the L\'evy paths leads to fractional quantum mechanics and fractional statistical mechanics. The fractional quantum and statistical mechanics have been developed via our fractional path integral approach. A fractional generalization of the Schr\"odinger equation has been found. A relationship between the energy and the momentum of the nonrelativistic quantum-mechanical particle has been established. The equation for the fractional plane wave function has been obtained. We have derived a free particle quantum-mechanical kernel using Fox's H function. A fractional generalization of the Heisenberg uncertainty relation has been established. Fractional statistical mechanics has been developed via the path integral approach. A fractional generalization of the motion equation for the density matrix has been found. The density matrix of a free particle has been expressed in terms of the Fox's H function. We also discuss the relationships between fractional and the well-known Feynman path integral approaches to quantum and statistical mechanics.Comment: 27 page

Study of accuracy and selectivity of a hydrogel-based sensor array by Design of Experiments (DOE)

Reliable continuous sensors are salient to achieving advanced Process Analytical Technologies in the bioproduction industry. Sensors provide information on key parameters in a bioreactor such as physical variables (temperature, pressure, speed of stirrer), chemical variables (pH, pO2, pCO2, nutrients, metabolites), and biological variables (biomass, cell metabolism).1-2 Simultaneously, chemometric analysis using multivariate data analysis, bioprocess modeling, and design of experiments (DOE) have become important in developing advanced biosensors because of the need to clean the complex raw data from biosensors to provide repeatable, robust, and reliable information.3-4 In this work, the first step of the chemometric analysis process, DOE was performed with a prototype biosensor developed to simultaneously monitor glucose, lactate, pH, and osmolarity to understand the accuracy and selectivity of this sensor. Please click Additional Files below to see the full abstract

A Design Guide for Open Online Courses

This guide is a comprehensive summary of how we went about creating Citizen Maths, an open online maths course and service. The guide shares our design principles and the techniques we used to put them into practice. Our aim is to provide – with the appropriate ‘translation’ – a resource that will be useful to to other teams who are developing online education initiatives

Simulating Ionising Radiation in Gazebo for Robotic Nuclear Inspection Challenges

From MDPI via Jisc Publications RouterHistory: accepted 2021-07-02, pub-electronic 2021-07-07Publication status: PublishedFunder: UK Research and Innovation; Grant(s): EP/P018505/1, EP/R026084/1Funder: Royal Academy of Engineering; Grant(s): CiET1819\13The utilisation of robots in hazardous nuclear environments has potential to reduce risk to humans. However, historical use has been largely limited to specific missions rather than broader industry-wide adoption. Testing and verification of robotics in realistic scenarios is key to gaining stakeholder confidence but hindered by limited access to facilities that contain radioactive materials. Simulations offer an alternative to testing with actual radioactive sources, provided they can readily describe the behaviour of robotic systems and ionising radiation within the same environment. This work presents a quick and easy way to generate simulated but realistic deployment scenarios and environments which include ionising radiation, developed to work within the popular robot operating system compatible Gazebo physics simulator. Generated environments can be evolved over time, randomly or user-defined, to simulate the effects of degradation, corrosion or to alter features of certain objects. Interaction of gamma radiation sources within the environment, as well as the response of simulated detectors attached to mobile robots, is verified against the MCNP6 Monte Carlo radiation transport code. The benefits these tools provide are highlighted by inclusion of three real-world nuclear sector environments, providing the robotics community with opportunities to assess the capabilities of robotic systems and autonomous functionalities