Design effect and interviewer effects: Evidence from the Spanish ESS3-2006 Data

In 2007 the first Quality Enhancement Meeting on sampling in the European SocialSurvey (ESS) took place. The discussion focused on design effects and inteviewereffects in face-to-face interviews. Following the recomendations of this meeting theSpanish ESS team studied the impact of interviewers as a new element in the designeffect in the response s variance using the information of the correspondent SampleDesign Data Files. Hierarchical multilevel and cross-classified multilevel analysis areconducted in order to estimate the amount of responses variation due to PSU and tointerviewers for different questions in the survey. Factor such as the age of theinterviewer, gender, workload, training and experience and respondent characteristicssuch as age, gender, renuance to participate and their possible interactions are alsoincluded in the analysis of some specific questions like trust in politicians and trustin legal system . Some recomendations related to future sampling designs and thecontents of the briefing sessions are derived from this initial research.

O Estereótipo na Publicidade em Cabo verde Estudo de Caso das Publicidades produzidas pela Design Comunicação e Imagem (DECO)

O presente trabalho monográfico intitulado “O estereótipo na publicidade em Cabo Verde – Estudo de Caso das Publicidades Produzida pela Design Comunicação e Imagem”, enquadra-se no âmbito do curso de licenciatura em Ciências da Comunicação, vertente Publicidade realizado pela universidade Jean Piaget de Cabo Verde. O presente trabalho visa apresentar as noções conceptuais do estereótipo e a sua dinâmica na publicidade e argumentar sobre alguns efeitos que este elemento pode promover no discurso publicitário. Assim, propôs-se como estudo de caso as publicidades criadas pela empresa DECO: O objectivo é, essencialmente, caracterizar a publicidade que se faz em Cabo Verde, verificando se os publicitários cabo-verdianos estão a explorar os recursos de que dispõem, designadamente os valores, os estilos de vida, estereótipos, etc., para chegar aos seus consumidores. Com a realização deste trabalho, chegou-se a conclusão que, o estereótipo faz parte da vida do homem para o bem ou para o mal. Sem a sua presença seria muito complicado perceber ou descodificar alguns fenómenos que acontecem na sociedade. O estereótipo ajuda na compreensão de informações que a primeira seria complexo de interpretar, tornando-a fácil.

Optimum Redundant Array Configurations for Earth Observation Aperture Synthesis Microwave Radiometers

Two-dimensional aperture synthesis radiometry is the technologyselected for ESA's SMOS mission to provide high resolution L-bandradiometric imagery. The array topology is a Y-shaped structure. Theposition and number of redundant elements to minimise instrumentdegradation in case of element failure(s) are studied.

Array-CGH in patients with a clinical diagnosis of Kabuki syndrome: identification of two cases with terminal 2q37 deletion and no other recurrent rearrangement

Background: Kabuki syndrome (KS) is a multiple congenital anomaly syndrome characterized by specific facial features, mild to moderate mental retardation, postnatal growth delay, skeletal abnormalities, and unusual dermatoglyphic patterns with prominent fingertip pads. A 3.5 Mb duplication at 8p23.1-p22 was once reported as a specific alteration in KS but has not been confirmed in other patients. The molecular basis of KS remains unknown. Methods: We have studied 16 Spanish patients with a clinical diagnosis of KS or KS-like to search for genomic imbalances using genome-wide array technologies. All putative rearrangements were confirmed by FISH, microsatellite markers and/or MLPA assays, which also determined whether the imbalance was de novo or inherited. Results: No duplication at 8p23.1-p22 was observed in our patients. We detected complex rearrangements involving 2q in two patients with Kabuki-like features: 1) a de novo inverted duplication of 11 Mb with a 4.5 Mb terminal deletion, and 2) a de novo 7.2 Mb-terminal deletion in a patient with an additional de novo 0.5 Mb interstitial deletion in 16p. Additional copy number variations (CNV), either inherited or reported in normal controls, were identified and interpreted as polymorphic variants. No specific CNV was significantly increased in the KS group. Conclusion: Our results further confirmed that genomic duplications of 8p23 region are not a common cause of KS and failed to detect other recurrent rearrangement causing this disorder. The detection of two patients with 2q37 deletions suggests that there is a phenotypic overlap between the two conditions, and screening this region in the Kabuki-like patients should be considered.

Design of new promoters and of a dual-bioreporter based on cross-activation by the two regulatory proteins XylR and HbpR.

The HbpR protein is the sigma54-dependent transcription activator for 2-hydroxybiphenyl degradation in Pseudomonas azelaica. The ability of HbpR and XylR, which share 35% amino acid sequence identity, to cross-activate the PhbpC and Pu promoters was investigated by determining HbpR- or XylR-mediated luciferase expression and by DNA binding assays. XylR measurably activated the PhbpC promoter in the presence of the effector m-xylene, both in Escherichia coli and Pseudomonas putida. HbpR weakly stimulated the Pu promoter in E. coli but not in P. azelaica. Poor HbpR-dependent activation from Pu was caused by a weak binding to the operator region. To create promoters efficiently activated by both regulators, the HbpR binding sites on PhbpC were gradually changed into the XylR binding sites of Pu by site-directed mutagenesis. Inducible luciferase expression from mutated promoters was tested in E. coli on a two plasmid system, and from mono copy gene fusions in P. azelaica and P. putida. Some mutants were efficiently activated by both HbpR and XylR, showing that promoters can be created which are permissive for both regulators. Others achieved a higher XylR-dependent transcription than from Pu itself. Mutants were also obtained which displayed a tenfold lower uninduced expression level by HbpR than the wild-type PhbpC, while keeping the same maximal induction level. On the basis of these results, a dual-responsive bioreporter strain of P. azelaica was created, containing both XylR and HbpR, and activating luciferase expression from the same single promoter independently with m-xylene and 2-hydroxybiphenyl.

A double-quadrature radiofrequency coil design for proton-decoupled carbon-13 magnetic resonance spectroscopy in humans at 7T

Purpose Carbon-13 magnetic resonance spectroscopy (13C-MRS) is challenging because of the inherent low sensitivity of 13C detection and the need for radiofrequency transmission at the 1H frequency while receiving the 13C signal, the latter requiring electrical decoupling of the 13C and 1H radiofrequency channels. In this study, we added traps to the 13C coil to construct a quadrature-13C/quadrature-1H surface coil, with sufficient isolation between channels to allow simultaneous operation at both frequencies without compromise in coil performance. Methods Isolation between channels was evaluated on the bench by measuring all coupling parameters. The quadrature mode of the quadrature-13C coil was assessed using in vitro 23Na gradient echo images. The signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) was measured on the glycogen and glucose resonances by 13C-MRS in vitro, compared with that obtained with a linear-13C/quadrature-1H coil, and validated by 13C-MRS in vivo in the human calf at 7T. Results Isolation between channels was better than â^'30 dB. The 23Na gradient echo images indicate a region where the field is strongly circularly polarized. The quadrature coil provided an SNR enhancement over a linear coil of 1.4, in vitro and in vivo. Conclusion It is feasible to construct a double-quadrature 13C-1H surface coil for proton decoupled sensitivity enhanced 13C-NMR spectroscopy in humans at 7T. Magn Reson Med, 2014. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Performance evaluation of MPEG-4 Video encoder on Adres

Actualment un típic embedded system (ex. telèfon mòbil) requereix alta qualitat per portar a terme tasques com codificar/descodificar a temps real; han de consumir poc energia per funcionar hores o dies utilitzant bateries lleugeres; han de ser el suficientment flexibles per integrar múltiples aplicacions i estàndards en un sol aparell; han de ser dissenyats i verificats en un període de temps curt tot i l’augment de la complexitat. Els dissenyadors lluiten contra aquestes adversitats, que demanen noves innovacions en arquitectures i metodologies de disseny. Coarse-grained reconfigurable architectures (CGRAs) estan emergent com a candidats potencials per superar totes aquestes dificultats. Diferents tipus d’arquitectures han estat presentades en els últims anys. L’alta granularitat redueix molt el retard, l’àrea, el consum i el temps de configuració comparant amb les FPGAs. D’altra banda, en comparació amb els tradicionals processadors coarse-grained programables, els alts recursos computacionals els permet d’assolir un alt nivell de paral•lelisme i eficiència. No obstant, els CGRAs existents no estant sent aplicats principalment per les grans dificultats en la programació per arquitectures complexes. ADRES és una nova CGRA dissenyada per I’Interuniversity Micro-Electronics Center (IMEC). Combina un processador very-long instruction word (VLIW) i un coarse-grained array per tenir dues opcions diferents en un mateix dispositiu físic. Entre els seus avantatges destaquen l’alta qualitat, poca redundància en les comunicacions i la facilitat de programació. Finalment ADRES és un patró enlloc d’una arquitectura concreta. Amb l’ajuda del compilador DRESC (Dynamically Reconfigurable Embedded System Compile), és possible trobar millors arquitectures o arquitectures específiques segons l’aplicació. Aquest treball presenta la implementació d’un codificador MPEG-4 per l’ADRES. Mostra l’evolució del codi per obtenir una bona implementació per una arquitectura donada. També es presenten les característiques principals d’ADRES i el seu compilador (DRESC). Els objectius són de reduir al màxim el nombre de cicles (temps) per implementar el codificador de MPEG-4 i veure les diferents dificultats de treballar en l’entorn ADRES. Els resultats mostren que els cícles es redueixen en un 67% comparant el codi inicial i final en el mode VLIW i un 84% comparant el codi inicial en VLIW i el final en mode CGA.

Traducción técnica del capítulo III del libro Advanced Data Warehouse design: from conventional to spatial and temporal applications

The proposal to work on this final project came after several discussions held with Dr. Elzbieta Malinowski Gadja, who in 2008 published the book entitled Advanced Data Warehouse Design: From Conventional to Spatial and Temporal Applications (Data-Centric Systems and Applications). The project was carried out under the technical supervision of Dr. Malinowski and the direct beneficiary was the University of Costa Rica (UCR) where Dr. Malinowski is a professor at the Department of Computer Science and Informatics. The purpose of this project was twofold: First, to translate chapter III of said book with the intention of generating educational material for the use of the UCR and, second, to venture in the field of technical translation related to data warehouse. For the first component, the goal was to generate a final product that would eventually serve as an educational tool for the post-graduate courses of the UCR. For the second component, this project allowed me to acquire new skills and put into practice techniques that have helped me not only to perfom better in my current job as an Assistant Translator of the Inter-American BAnk (IDB), but also to use them in similar projects. The process was lenggthy and required torough research and constant communication with the author. The investigation focused on the search of terms and definitions to prepare the glossary, which was the basis to start the translation project. The translation process itself was carried out by phases, so that comments and corrections by the author could be taken into account in subsequent stages. Later, based on the glossary and the translated text, illustrations had been created in the Visio software were translated. In addition to the technical revision by the author, professor Carme Mangiron was in charge of revising the non-technical text. The result was a high-quality document that is currently used as reference and study material by the Department of Computer Science and Informatics of Costa Rica.

Application of a support system to the design of wastewater treatment plants

This paper presents a case study that explores the advantages that can be derived from the use of a design support system during the design of wastewater treatment plants (WWTP). With this objective in mind a simplified but plausible WWTP design case study has been generated with KBDS, a computer-based support system that maintains a historical record of the design process. The study shows how, by employing such a historical record, it is possible to: (1) rank different design proposals responding to a design problem; (2) study the influence of changing the weight of the arguments used in the selection of the most adequate proposal; (3) take advantage of keywords to assist the designer in the search of specific items within the historical records; (4) evaluate automatically thecompliance of alternative design proposals with respect to the design objectives; (5) verify the validity of previous decisions after the modification of the current constraints or specifications; (6) re-use the design records when upgrading an existing WWTP or when designing similar facilities; (7) generate documentation of the decision making process; and (8) associate a variety of documents as annotations to any component in the design history. The paper also shows one possible future role of design support systems as they outgrow their current reactive role as repositories of historical information and start to proactively support the generation of new knowledge during the design process

An improved trap design for decoupling multinuclear RF coils.

PURPOSE: Multinuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy and imaging require a radiofrequency probe capable of transmitting and receiving at the proton and non-proton frequencies. To minimize coupling between probe elements tuned to different frequencies, LC (inductor-capacitor) traps blocking current at the (1) H frequency can be inserted in non-proton elements. This work compares LC traps with LCC traps, a modified design incorporating an additional capacitor, enabling control of the trap reactance at the low frequency while maintaining (1) H blocking. METHODS: Losses introduced by both types of trap were analysed using circuit models. Radiofrequency coils incorporating a series of LC and LCC traps were then built and evaluated at the bench. LCC trap performance was then confirmed using (1) H and (13) C measurements in a 7T human scanner. RESULTS: LC and LCC traps both effectively block interaction between non-proton and proton coils at the proton frequency. LCC traps were found to introduce a sensitivity reduction of 5±2%, which was less than half of that caused by LC traps. CONCLUSION: Sensitivity of non-proton coils is critical. The improved trap design, incorporating one extra capacitor, significantly reduces losses introduced by the trap in the non-proton coil. Magn Reson Med 72:584-590, 2014. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Electroencephalography (EEG) for neurological prognostication after cardiac arrest and targeted temperature management; rationale and study design.

BACKGROUND: Electroencephalography (EEG) is widely used to assess neurological prognosis in patients who are comatose after cardiac arrest, but its value is limited by varying definitions of pathological patterns and by inter-rater variability. The American Clinical Neurophysiology Society (ACNS) has recently proposed a standardized EEG-terminology for critical care to address these limitations. METHODS/DESIGN: In the TTM-trial, 399 post cardiac arrest patients who remained comatose after rewarming underwent a routine EEG. The presence of clinical seizures, use of sedatives and antiepileptic drugs during the EEG-registration were prospectively documented. DISCUSSION: A well-defined terminology for interpreting post cardiac arrest EEGs is critical for the use of EEG as a prognostic tool. TRIAL REGISTRATION: The TTM-trial is registered at ClinicalTrials.gov (NCT01020916).

Angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibition improves vascular function in rheumatoid arthritis.

BACKGROUND: The excess in cardiovascular risk in patients with rheumatoid arthritis provides a strong rationale for early therapeutical interventions. In view of the similarities between atherosclerosis and rheumatoid arthritis and the proven benefit of angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors in atherosclerotic vascular disease, it was the aim of the present study to delineate the impact of ramipril on endothelial function as well as on markers of inflammation and oxidative stress in patients with rheumatoid arthritis. METHODS AND RESULTS: Eleven patients with rheumatoid arthritis were included in this randomized, double-blind, crossover study to receive ramipril in an uptitration design (2.5 to 10 mg) for 8 weeks followed by placebo, or vice versa, on top of standard antiinflammatory therapy. Endothelial function assessed by flow-mediated dilation of the brachial artery, markers of inflammation and oxidative stress, and disease activity were investigated at baseline and after each treatment period. Endothelial function assessed by flow-mediated dilation increased from 2.85+/-1.49% to 4.00+/-1.81% (P=0.017) after 8 weeks of therapy with ramipril but did not change with placebo (from 2.85+/-1.49% to 2.84+/-2.47%; P=0.88). Although systolic blood pressure and heart rate remained unaltered, diastolic blood pressure decreased slightly from 78+/-7 to 74+/-6 mm Hg (P=0.03). Tumor necrosis factor-alpha showed a significant inverse correlation with flow-mediated dilation (r=-0.408, P=0.02), and CD40 significantly decreased after ramipril therapy (P=0.049). CONCLUSIONS: Angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibition with 10 mg/d ramipril for 8 weeks on top of current antiinflammatory treatment markedly improved endothelial function in patients with rheumatoid arthritis. This finding suggests that angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibition may provide a novel strategy to prevent cardiovascular events in these patients.

The effects of dominance, regular inbreeding and sampling design on Q(ST), an estimator of population differentiation for quantitative traits.

To test whether quantitative traits are under directional or homogenizing selection, it is common practice to compare population differentiation estimates at molecular markers (F(ST)) and quantitative traits (Q(ST)). If the trait is neutral and its determinism is additive, then theory predicts that Q(ST) = F(ST), while Q(ST) > F(ST) is predicted under directional selection for different local optima, and Q(ST) < F(ST) is predicted under homogenizing selection. However, nonadditive effects can alter these predictions. Here, we investigate the influence of dominance on the relation between Q(ST) and F(ST) for neutral traits. Using analytical results and computer simulations, we show that dominance generally deflates Q(ST) relative to F(ST). Under inbreeding, the effect of dominance vanishes, and we show that for selfing species, a better estimate of Q(ST) is obtained from selfed families than from half-sib families. We also compare several sampling designs and find that it is always best to sample many populations (>20) with few families (five) rather than few populations with many families. Provided that estimates of Q(ST) are derived from individuals originating from many populations, we conclude that the pattern Q(ST) > F(ST), and hence the inference of directional selection for different local optima, is robust to the effect of nonadditive gene actions.