Fluoroquinolones and tendon disorders

Since the 'thalidomide disaster' in 1961, there is extensive national and intemationallegisiation for the registration and monitoring of drugs. The current drug approval process in most developed countries includes pre-clinical animal testing followed by three phases of clinical testing during which the efficacy and safety of drugs are detennined. Despite this process, however, not all drug effects are known at the moment of marketing approval. For most indications less than 3,000 patients are exposed to a drug during the pre-registration phase. This implies that an adverse reaction can only be detected with 95% certainty if the occurrence is at least 1 per 1,000 patients and the background incidence is zero. After regulatory approval, however, millions of people will use the drug with the possibility that less common unknown adverse drug reactions can emerge. In order to enable continuous reassessment of the benefit/risk ratio of a specific drug in the post-marketing phase, it is necessary to continuously monitor utilisation and effects of drugs after their approval

Modeling of Responses and Response Times with the Package cirt

In computerized testing, the test takers' responses as well as their response times on the items are recorded. The relationship between response times and response accuracies is complex and varies over levels of observation. For example, it takes the form of a tradeoff between speed and accuracy at the level of a fixed person but may become a positive correlation for a population of test takers. In order to explore such relationships and test hypotheses about them, a conjoint model is proposed. Item responses are modeled by a two-parameter normal-ogive IRT model and response times by a lognormal model. The two models are combined using a hierarchical framework based on the fact that response times and responses are nested within individuals. All parameters can be estimated simultaneously using an MCMC estimation approach. A R-package for the MCMC algorithm is presented and explained.

In the dark – designing navigation for a haptic theatre experience

We describe the ongoing work of a collaborative theatre project, in which blind and sighted members of an interdisciplinary team are working on the creation of an immersive and accessible theatre experience. The theatre experience is set in pitch dark, and uses audio and haptic ubiquitous technologies to guide both blind and sighted members of the audience. During two sessions which explored the use of enactive navigation in the dark space, participants were able to locate areas of interest within the dark, using enactive explorative navigation, and some participants described this as a ‘dense’ experience

Modeling of Responses and Response Times with the Package cirt

In computerized testing, the test takers' responses as well as their response times on the items are recorded. The relationship between response times and response accuracies is complex and varies over levels of observation. For example, it takes the form of a tradeoff between speed and accuracy at the level of a fixed person but may become a positive correlation for a population of test takers. In order to explore such relationships and test hypotheses about them, a conjoint model is proposed. Item responses are modeled by a two-parameter normal-ogive IRT model and response times by a lognormal model. The two models are combined using a hierarchical framework based on the fact that response times and responses are nested within individuals. All parameters can be estimated simultaneously using an MCMC estimation approach. A R-package for the MCMC algorithm is presented and explained

Using Federated Learning and Channel State Information-Based Sensing for Scalable and Realistic At-Home Healthcare

This paper explores the use of federated learning in a realistic household employing existing infrastructure to add new devices and locations by rotating the role of the transmitter among smart devices in a multi-person scenario. Current solutions employ channel state information-based sensing for health care monitoring in various ways to propagate knowledge efficiently; however, these solutions often consider (i) ideally placed devices in (ii) single-participant scenarios and (iii) do not consider the different roles of these devices in a network. Data is collected from four smart devices in a household, assuming three participants, one of which is monitored and the other two function as noise, are assigned to perform activities to replicate a realistic household scenario. Insights are provided on using federated learning in realistic at-home health care when adding a new activity location and client devices, both transmitter-only and full communication devices. Results indicate new devices and locations can quickly be adopted with less data by the federated model without intensive retraining, even in multi-person environments, when doing extensive pre-training

Chilling results: how explicit warm glow appeals fail to boost pro-environmental behaviour

We conducted a large-scale online experiment to examine whether climate change messaging can induce emotions and motivate pro-environmental action. We study how exposure to explicit positive (‘warm glow’) and negative (‘cold prickle’) emotional appeals as well as a traditional social norm communication affects pro-environmental action. We find that a simple call to take action to mitigate climate change is at least as affective as social norm message framing and emotional appeals. Our results highlight the difficulty of designing messaging interventions that effectively harness emotional incentives to promote pro-environmental action. Messages that explicitly emphasise the personal emotional benefits of contributing to environmental causes or the adverse emotional effects of not doing so seem to fall short of motivating pro-environmental effort. Our findings underscore the need for caution when incorporating emotive appeals into policy interventions

M & L Jaargang 29/4

Geert Van der Linden - Een oude knar op krukken: de restauratie van een beschermde lindeboom in Avekapelle. [An old geezer with crutches. The restoration on the Avekapelle graveyard of a common lime tree listed for protection.]In het West-Vlaamse Avekapelle staat één van de oudste lindebomen van Vlaanderen. Op ruim vierhonderdjarige leeftijd vertoont hij echter enige ouderdomskwalen. Maar gelukkig laat Vlaanderen zijn meervoudige honderdjarige linde niet in de steek, getuige hiervan een ondersteunend staketsel. Waarom eeuwenoude lindes ook onze steun verdienen wordt door Geert Van der Linden uitgebreid toegelicht in een goed gedocumenteerde bijdrage over een vorm van ouderenzorg bij bomen.Paul Van den Bremt en Regi De Meirsman - De Stroopers in het vizier! [Sighting the poachers.]In de periferie van onze cultuur kan men soms merkwaardige waarnemingen doen: dit beweren althans twee landschapsonderzoekers, Paul Van den Bremt en Regi De Meirsman. Ze nemen ons mee naar het noordoosten van het Waasland, op de grens met Nederland, in een gebied met de ietwat zonderlinge naam de Stroopers. Ze laten er ons in het mythische Koningsforeest, een voormalig jachtgebied van de graven van Vlaanderen, kennismaken met een landschap dat ooit het terrein was van forestiers, jagers, valkeniers en vogelvangers. Ze vestigen onze aandacht op boomheiligen en wolven, in dezelfde wildernisse waar vroegere onderzoekers al sporen zochten en vonden van den vos Reynaerde. Aan de hand van archiefstukken en oude kaarten belanden ze bij de nauwelijks zichtbare restanten van de Parmavaart. Een roemrucht militair, de hertog van Parma, liet hier immers in de 16de eeuw een vaarweg aanleggen voor zijn hardnekkige militaire campagne die zou leiden tot de val van Antwerpen. Raadsels zijn in deze bijdrage nooit ver weg in de vreemde wereld van konijnenbergen, warandes en alvinnenSummar

Effect of processing on the microstructure and composition of Bambara groundnut (Vigna subterranea (L.) Verdc.) seeds, flour and protein isolates

Pre-processing treatments are generally employed to circumvent negating effects, such as the hard-to-cook and hard-to-mill properties, associated with legume seeds. Several studies have investigated the effects of soaking and roasting on the macroscopic qualities of Bambara groundnut (Vigna subterranea (L.) Verdc.) [BGN] seeds, yet knowledge is lacking on the effects of these treatments on the microstructural and molecular properties of the seeds and resulting fractions (i.e. flour and protein isolates). Size-exclusion chromatography coupled with light scattering results have shown that roasting induces thermal aggregation in BGN proteins, resulting in the formation of insoluble aggregates. To that end, the molecular composition of the roasted and soaked-roasted samples were comparable, yet different to the control (untreated seeds), whereas the samples which were subjected to soaking compared favourably to the control. The morphology of the seeds were also well characterized by microscopic techniques, including a confocal imaging technique which appears novel for legume seeds, revealing cotyledon cells with several starch granules embedded in a matrix of protein bodies. The findings of this study provide valuable insights on the microstructural and molecular compositional changes occurring in BGN seeds and fractions when subjected to soaking and/or roasting, which could be linked to some macroscopic properties as previously reported.</p

Functional electrical stimulation for foot drop in multiple sclerosis: a systematic review and meta-analysis of the effect on gait speed

Objective: To review the efficacy of functional electrical stimulation (FES) used for foot drop in people with multiple sclerosis (pwMS) on gait speed in short and long walking performance tests. Data sources: Five databases (Cochrane Library, CINAHL, Embase, MEDLINE, Pubmed) and reference lists were searched. Study selection: Studies of both observational and experimental design where gait speed data in pwMS could be extracted were included. Data extraction: Data were independently extracted and recorded. Methodological quality was assessed using the Effective Public Health Practice Project (EPHPP) tool. Data synthesis: Nineteen studies (described in 20 articles) recruiting 490 pwMS were identified and rated moderate or weak, with none gaining a strong rating. All studies rated weak for blinding. Initial and ongoing orthotic and therapeutic effects were assessed with regards to the impact of FES on gait speed in short and long walking tests. Meta-analyses of the short walk tests revealed a significant initial orthotic effect (t = 2.14, p = 0.016) with a mean increase in gait speed of 0.05 meters per second (m/s) and ongoing orthotic effect (t = 2.81, p = 0.003) with a mean increase of 0.08m/s. There were no initial or ongoing effect on gait speed in long walk tests and no therapeutic effect on gait speed in either short or long walk tests. Conclusions: FES used for foot drop has a positive initial and ongoing effect on gait speed in short walking tests. Further fully-powered randomized controlled trials comparing FES with alternative treatments are required

Haptic Reassurance in the Pitch Black for an Immersive Theatre Experience

An immersive theatre experience was designed to raise awareness and question perceptions of ‘blindness’, through enabling both sighted and blind members to experience a similar reality. A multimodal experience was created, comprising ambient sounds and narratives – heard through headphones – and an assortment of themed tactile objects, intended to be felt. In addition, audience members were each provided with a novel haptic device that was designed to enhance their discovery of a pitch-black space. An in the wild study of the cultural experience showed how blind and sighted audience members had different ‘felt’ experiences, but that neither was a lesser one. Furthermore, the haptic device was found to encourage enactive exploration and provide reassurance of the environment for both sighted and blind people, rather than acting simply as a navigation guide. We discuss the potential of using haptic feedback to create cultural experiences for both blind and sighted people; rethinking current utilitarian framing of it as assistive technology