A Magnetic Distance Sensor with High Precision

A magnetic distance sensor working at very low frequency has been developed to measure distances up to 1 m. The principle is similar to that of the 3-D magnetic tracker, but the system is optimized to minimize the error in distance for static measurements. The system is not affected by conductive objects. The uncertainty caused by noise and interference is below 2 mm, even in a noisy environment. The measurement time of 3 min can be decreased to 1 min, depending on the amplitude of the interferences and the required accuracy. After applying corrections, systematic error of 5 mm was achieved by using a calibration model. The system is scalable up to 20 m range

Fragmenting densely mineralised acellular protrusions from articular calcified cartilage: a role in osteoarthritis?

Fragmenting densely mineralised acellular protrusions from articular calcified cartilage: a role in osteoarthritis? A. Boyde a, G.R. Davis a, D. Mills a, T. Zikmund a, V.L. Adams b, L.R. Ranganath b, N. Jeffery b, J.A. Gallagher b a Dental Physical Sciences, Oral Growth and Development, Barts and The London School of Medicine and Dentistry, Queen Mary University of London, London, UK b Department of Musculoskeletal Biology, Institute of Ageing and Chronic Disease, University of Liverpool, Liverpool, UK Objectives High density mineralised protrusions (HDMP) from the tidemark mineralising front into hyaline articular cartilage (HAC) were first discovered in Thoroughbred racehorse fetlock joints and later in Icelandic horse hock joints. If these fragment, they could make a significant contribution to joint destruction in osteoarthritis. We looked for them in human material. Methods Whole femoral heads removed at operation for joint replacement or from dissection room cadavers were studied by MRI DESS at 0.23mm resolution and 26 micron resolution high contrast x-ray microtomography (XMT), then sectioned and embedded in PMMA, and block faces polished and the blocks re-imaged with 6 micron resolution XMT. Tissue mineralisation density was imaged qualitatively by backscattered electron SEM (BSE SEM) at 20kV using uncoated samples at 50Pa chamber pressure to achieve charge neutralisation. HAC histology was studied by BSE SEM after staining block faces with ammonium triiodide solution. Block surfaces were sequentially repolished and restained. Results Figure: 3D rendering of 6 micron voxel resolution XMT data set showing HDMP complex projecting above subchondral bone plate. Human femoral head removed at arthroplasty. We found examples of HDMP in HAC in human hips. Their 3D shapes are complex and may show cutting blade forms. Their mineral content (a) exceeds that of articular calcified cartilage (ACC), otherwise the densest tissue in the joint and (b) is not uniform. The mineral phase morphology frequently shows the agglomeration of many fine particles into larger concretions. Cracks within them are frequent. Dense fragments may be found within damaged HAC. Conclusions HDMP arise via the extrusion of an uncharacterised matrix into clefts in HAC. Little evidence of their existence remains after tissue has been decalcified with usual histological protocols. Their formation may be an extension of a normal but poorly recognised crack self-healing mechanism found in bone and ACC. They are surrounded by HAC, are dense and brittle and show innumerable fault lines within them. We provide evidence that they break in vivo by being able to find matching fragments in HAC. We conclude that these hard and sharp particles contribute to the shredding destruction of HAC. The osteoarthritis research community should be aware of their existence so that the frequency and possible clinical significance can be assessed in the future. Larger HDMP can be detected with the best MRI imaging

A Matter of Perspective: Choosing for Others Differs from Choosing for Yourself in Making Treatment Decisions

Many people display omission bias in medical decision making, accepting the risk of passive nonintervention rather than actively choosing interventions (such as vaccinations) that result in lower levels of risk. OBJECTIVE : Testing whether people's preferences for active interventions would increase when deciding for others versus for themselves. RESEARCH DESIGN : Survey participants imagined themselves in 1 of 4 roles: patient, physician treating a single patient, medical director creating treatment guidelines, or parent deciding for a child. All read 2 short scenarios about vaccinations for a deadly flu and treatments for a slow-growing cancer. PARTICIPANTS : Two thousand three hundred and ninety-nine people drawn from a demographically stratified internet sample. MEASURES : Chosen or recommended treatments. We also measured participants' emotional response to our task. RESULTS : Preferences for risk-reducing active treatments were significantly stronger for participants imagining themselves as medical professionals than for those imagining themselves as patients (vaccination: 73% [physician] & 63% [medical director] vs 48% [patient], P s<.001; chemotherapy: 68% & 68% vs 60%, P s<.012). Similar results were observed for the parental role (vaccination: 57% vs 48%, P =.003; chemotherapy: 72% vs 60%, P <.001). Reported emotional reactions were stronger in the responsible medical professional and parental roles yet were also independently associated with treatment choice, with higher scores associated with reduced omission tendencies (OR=1.15 for both regressions, P s<.01). CONCLUSIONS : Treatment preferences may be substantially influenced by a decision-making role. As certain roles appear to reinforce “big picture” thinking about difficult risk tradeoffs, physicians and patients should consider re-framing treatment decisions to gain new, and hopefully beneficial, perspectives.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/72417/1/j.1525-1497.2006.00410.x.pd

Physical Activity Advertisements That Feature Daily Well-Being Improve Autonomy and Body Image in Overweight Women but Not Men

The reasons for exercising that are featured in health communications brand exercise and socialize individuals about why they should be physically active. Discovering which reasons for exercising are associated with high-quality motivation and behavioral regulation is essential to promoting physical activity and weight control that can be sustained over time. This study investigates whether framing physical activity in advertisements featuring distinct types of goals differentially influences body image and behavioral regulations based on self-determination theory among overweight and obese individuals. Using a three-arm randomized trial, overweight and obese women and men (aged 40–60 yr, n = 1690) read one of three ads framing physical activity as a way to achieve (1) better health, (2) weight loss, or (3) daily well-being. Framing effects were estimated in an ANOVA model with pairwise comparisons using the Bonferroni correction. This study showed that there are immediate framing effects on physical activity behavioral regulations and body image from reading a one-page advertisement about physical activity and that gender and BMI moderate these effects. Framing physical activity as a way to enhance daily well-being positively influenced participants' perceptions about the experience of being physically active and enhanced body image among overweight women, but not men. The experiment had less impact among the obese study participants compared to those who were overweight. These findings support a growing body of research suggesting that, compared to weight loss, framing physical activity for daily well-being is a better gain-frame message for overweight women in midlife

Performance-based building and innovation: Balancing client and industry needs

One reason for the interest in performance-based building is that it is commonly advocated as a powerful way of enhancing innovation performance by articulating building performance outcomes, and by offering relevant procurement actors the discretion to innovate to meet these performance requirements more effectively and/or efficiently. The paper argues that the current approach to performance-based building assumes that relevant actors have the capacity, ability and motivation to innovate from a business perspective. It is proposed that the prevailing conceptualization of PBB is too restrictive and should be broadened explicitly to accommodate the required business logic that must be in place before actors will innovate. The relevant performance-based building and innovation literature is synthesized to support the assertion. The paper concludes with an innovation-focused definition of performance-based building

The role of perceived benefits and costs in patients’ medical decisions

Background  Many decisions can be understood in terms of actors’ valuations of benefits and costs. The article investigates whether this is also true of patient medical decision making. It aims to investigate (i) the importance patients attach to various reasons for and against nine medical decisions; (ii) how well the importance attached to benefits and costs predicts action or inaction; and (iii) how such valuations are related to decision confidence. Methods  In a national random digit dial telephone survey of U.S. adults, patients rated the importance of various reasons for and against medical decisions they had made or talked to a health‐care provider about during the past 2 years. Participants were 2575 English‐speaking adults age 40 and older. Data were analysed by means of logistic regressions predicting action/inaction and linear regressions predicting confidence. Results  Aggregating individual reasons into those that may be regarded as benefits and those that may be regarded as costs, and weighting them by their importance to the patient, shows the expected relationship to action. Perceived benefits and costs are also significantly related to the confidence patients report about their decision. Conclusion  The factors patients say are important in their medical decisions reflect a subjective weighing of benefits and costs and predict action/inaction although they do not necessarily indicate that patients are well informed. The greater the difference between the importance attached to benefits and costs, the greater patients’ confidence in their decision.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/102701/1/hex739.pd

The role of severity perceptions and beliefs in natural infections in Shanghai parents’ vaccine decision-making: a qualitative study

Abstract Background China has reduced incidence of vaccine-preventable diseases through its Expanded Program on Immunization (EPI). Vaccines outside of the EPI are not provided for free by the government, however. This study explored how the stated importance of different disease and vaccine-related attributes interacted with beliefs about the immune system of a child to affect Chinese parents’ decision to obtain a non-EPI vaccine. Methods Mothers and fathers of young children at immunization clinics in Shanghai, China, were interviewed about vaccine decision-making and what attributes of a disease were important when making this decision. An inductive thematic analysis explored their beliefs about disease attributes and how these related to vaccination decisions. Results Among the 34 interviews, severity of the disease—particularly in causing long-term disability—was the most commonly cited factor influencing a parent’s decision to get a vaccine for their child. Many parents believed that natural infection was preferable to vaccination, as long as disease was not severe, and many were concerned that imported vaccines were inadequate for Chinese children’s physical constitutions. All these beliefs could influence the decision to vaccinate. Conclusions Many parents do not appear to understand how and why vaccines can support development of a healthy immune system. Because severity emerged as parents’ overriding concern when making decisions about vaccines, marketing for a childhood vaccine could focus on the severe condition that a vaccine can protect against.https://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/144525/1/12889_2018_Article_5734.pd

Crossâ Sectional Psychological and Demographic Associations of Zika Knowledge and Conspiracy Beliefs Before and After Local Zika Transmission

Perceptions of infectious diseases are important predictors of whether people engage in diseaseâ specific preventive behaviors. Having accurate beliefs about a given infectious disease has been found to be a necessary condition for engaging in appropriate preventive behaviors during an infectious disease outbreak, while endorsing conspiracy beliefs can inhibit preventive behaviors. Despite their seemingly opposing natures, knowledge and conspiracy beliefs may share some of the same psychological motivations, including a relationship with perceived risk and selfâ efficacy (i.e., control). The 2015â 2016 Zika epidemic provided an opportunity to explore this. The current research provides some exploratory tests of this topic derived from two studies with similar measures, but different primary outcomes: one study that included knowledge of Zika as a key outcome and one that included conspiracy beliefs about Zika as a key outcome. Both studies involved crossâ sectional data collections that occurred during the same two periods of the Zika outbreak: one data collection prior to the first cases of local Zika transmission in the United States (Marchâ May 2016) and one just after the first cases of local transmission (Julyâ August). Using ordinal logistic and linear regression analyses of data from two time points in both studies, the authors show an increase in relationship strength between greater perceived risk and selfâ efficacy with both increased knowledge and increased conspiracy beliefs after local Zika transmission in the United States. Although these results highlight that similar psychological motivations may lead to Zika knowledge and conspiracy beliefs, there was a divergence in demographic association.Peer Reviewedhttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/153206/1/risa13369_am.pdfhttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/153206/2/risa13369.pd