On stability in nonsequential MIMO QFT designs

This paper reexamines the stability of uncertain closed-loop systems resulting from the nonsequential (NS) MIMO QFT design methodology. By combining the effect of satisfying both the robust stability and robust performance specifications in a NS MIMO QFT design, a proof for the stability of the uncertain closed-loop system is derived. The stability theorem proves that, subject to the satisfaction of a critical necessary and sufficient condition, the original NS MIMO QFT design methodology will provide a robustly stable closed-loop system. This necessary and sufficient condition provides a useful existence test for a successful NS MIMO QFT design. The results expose the salient features of the NS MIMO QFT design methodology. Two 2 x 2 MIMO design examples are presented to illustrate the key features of the stability, theorem.

Temperature changes in dental pulp associated with use of power grinding equipment on equine teeth

Objective To quantify the temperature changes in the dental pulp associated with equine dental procedures using power grinding equipment. Design A matrix experimental design with replication on the same sample was followed to allow the following independent variables to be assessed: horse age (young or old), tooth type (premolar or molar), powered grinding instrument (rotating disc or die grinder), grinding time (15 or 20 seconds) and the presence or absence of water coolant. Procedure Sound premolar and molar teeth from a 6-year-old horse and a 15-year-old horse, which had been removed postmortem, were sectioned parallel to the occlusal plane to allow placement of a miniature thermocouple at the level of the dental pulp. The maximum temperature increase, the time taken to reach this maximum and the cooling time were measured (n=10 in each study). The teeth were placed in a vice and the instrument used on the tooth as per clinical situation. Results Significant differences were recorded for horse age (P < 0.001), instrument type (P < 0.001), grinding time (P < 0.001) and presence or absence of coolant (P < 0.001). There was no significant difference for tooth type. Conclusion Thermal insult to the dental pulp from the use of power instruments poses a significant risk to the tooth. This risk can be reduced or eliminated by appropriate selection of treatment time and by the use of water irrigation as a coolant. The increased dentine thickness in older horses appears to mitigate against thermal injury from frictional heat.

Analysis of the effect of transverse modes on free-space optical interconnect performance

Vertical-cavity surface-emitting lasers (VCSELs) and microlenses can be used to implement free space optical interconnects (FSOIs) which do not suffer from the bandwidth limitations inherent in metallic interconnects. A comprehensive link equation describing the effects of both optical and electrical noise is introduced. We have evaluated FSOI performance by examining the following metrics: the space-bandwidth product (SBP), describing the density of channels and aggregate bandwidth that can be achieved, and the carrier-to-noise ratio (CNR), which represents the relative strength of the carrier signal. The mode expansion method (MEM) was used to account for the primary cause of optical noise: laser beam diffraction. While the literature commonly assumes an ideal single-mode laser beam, we consider the experimentally determined multimodal structure of a VCSEL beam in our calculations. It was found that maximum achievable interconnect length and density for a given CNR was significantly reduced when the higher order transverse modes were present in Simulations. However, the Simulations demonstrate that free-space optical interconnects are still a suitable solution for the communications bottleneck, despite the adverse effects introduced by transverse modes.

Genetic Influences on Exercise Participation in 37.051 Twin Pairs from Seven Countries

Background A sedentary lifestyle remains a major threat to health in contemporary societies. To get more insight in the relative contribution of genetic and environmental influences on individual differences in exercise participation, twin samples from seven countries participating in the GenomEUtwin project were used. Methodology Self-reported data on leisure time exercise behavior from Australia, Denmark, Finland, Norway, the Netherlands, Sweden and United Kingdom were used to create a comparable index of exercise participation in each country (60 minutes weekly at a minimum intensity of four metabolic equivalents). Principal Findings Modest geographical variation in exercise participation was revealed in 85,198 subjects, aged 19–40 years. Modeling of monozygotic and dizygotic twin resemblance showed that genetic effects play an important role in explaining individual differences in exercise participation in each country. Shared environmental effects played no role except for Norwegian males. Heritability of exercise participation in males and females was similar and ranged from 48% to 71% (excluding Norwegian males). Conclusions Genetic variation is important in individual exercise behavior and may involve genes influencing the acute mood effects of exercise, high exercise ability, high weight loss ability, and personality. This collaborative study suggests that attempts to find genes influencing exercise participation can pool exercise data across multiple countries and different instruments

Comparative cost-effectiveness of policy instruments for reducing the global burden of alcohol, tobacco and illicit drug use

Alcohol, tobacco and illicit drug use together pose a formidable challenge to international public health. Building on earlier estimates of the demonstrated burden of alcohol, tobacco and illicit drug use at the global level, this review aims to consider the comparative cost-effectiveness of evidence-based interventions for reducing the global burden of disease from these three risk factors. Although the number of published cost-effectiveness studies in the addictions field is now extensive ( reviewed briefly here) there are a series of practical problems in using them for sector-wide decision making, including methodological heterogeneity, differences in analytical reference point and the specificity of findings to a particular context. In response to these limitations, a more generalised form of cost-effectiveness analysis (CEA) is proposed, which enables like-with-like comparisons of the relative efficiency of preventive or individual-based strategies to be made, not only within but also across diseases or their risk factors. The application of generalised CEA to a range of personal and non-personal interventions for reducing the burden of addictive substances is described. While such a development avoids many of the obstacles that have plagued earlier attempts and in so doing opens up new opportunities to address important policy questions, there remain a number of caveats to population-level analysis of this kind, particularly when conducted at the global level. These issues are the subject of the final section of this review.

The views of corporate managers on the current state of, and future prospects for, social reporting in Bangladesh: an engagement based study

Purpose – This paper seeks to respond to recent calls for more engagement-based studies of corporate social reporting (CSR) practice by examining the views of corporate managers on the current state of, and future prospects for, social reporting in Bangladesh. Design/methodology/approach – The paper uses a series of interviews with senior managers from 23 Bangladeshi companies representing the multinational, domestic private and public sectors. Findings – Key findings are that the main motivation behind current reporting practice lies in a desire on the part of corporate management to manage powerful stakeholder groups, whilst perceived pressure from external forces, notably parent companies' instructions and demands from international buyers, is driving the process forward. In the latter context it appears that adoption of international social accounting standards and codes is likely to become more prevalent in the future. Reservations are expressed as to whether such a passive compliance strategy is likely to achieve much in the way of real changes in corporate behaviour, particularly when Western developed standards and codes are imposed without consideration of local cultural, economic and social factors. Indeed, such imposition could be regarded as little more than an example of the erection of non-tariff trade barriers rather than representing any meaningful move towards empowering indigenous stakeholder groups. Originality/value – The paper contributes to the literature on CSR in developing countries where there is a distinct lack of engagement-based published studies.

Breast cancer teams:the impact of constitution, new cancer workload and methods of operation on their effectiveness

National guidance and clinical guidelines recommended multidisciplinary teams (MDTs) for cancer services in order to bring specialists in relevant disciplines together, ensure clinical decisions are fully informed, and to coordinate care effectively. However, the effectiveness of cancer teams was not previously evaluated systematically. A random sample of 72 breast cancer teams in England was studied (548 members in six core disciplines), stratified by region and caseload. Information about team constitution, processes, effectiveness, clinical performance, and members' mental well-being was gathered using appropriate instruments. Two input variables, team workload (P=0.009) and the proportion of breast care nurses (P=0.003), positively predicted overall clinical performance in multivariate analysis using a two-stage regression model. There were significant correlations between individual team inputs, team composition variables, and clinical performance. Some disciplines consistently perceived their team's effectiveness differently from the mean. Teams with shared leadership of their clinical decision-making were most effective. The mental well-being of team members appeared significantly better than in previous studies of cancer clinicians, the NHS, and the general population. This study established that team composition, working methods, and workloads are related to measures of effectiveness, including the quality of clinical care. © 2003 Cancer Research UK.

Quality of life instruments in studies of menorrhagia: a systematic review

BACKGROUND: The use of quality of life (QoL) instruments in menorrhagia research is increasing but there is concern that not enough emphasis is placed on patient-focus in these measurements, i.e. on issues which are of importance to patients and reflect their experiences and concerns (clinical face validity). The objective was to assess the quality of QoL instruments in studies of menorrhagia. STUDY DESIGN: A systematic review of published research. Papers were identified through MEDLINE (1966-April 2000), EMBASE (1980-April 2000), Science Citation Index (1981-April 2000), Social Science Citation Index (1981-April 2000), CINAHL (1982-1999) and PsychLIT (1966-1999), and by manual searching of bibliographies of known primary and review articles. Studies were selected if they assessed women with menorrhagia for life quality, either developing QoL instruments or applying them as an outcome measure. Selected studies were assessed for quality of their QoL instruments, using a 17 items checklist including 10 items for clinical face validity (issues of relevance to patients' expectations and concerns) and 7 items for measurement properties (such as reliability, responsiveness, etc.). RESULTS: A total of 19 articles, 8 on instrument development and 11 on application, were included in the review. The generic Short Form 36 Health Survey Questionnaire (SF36) was used in 12/19 (63%) studies. Only two studies developed new specific QoL instruments for menorrhagia but they complied with 7/17 (41%) and 10/17 (59%) of the quality criteria. Quality assessment showed that only 7/19 (37%) studies complied with more than half the criteria for face validity whereas 17/19 (90%) studies complied with more than half of the criteria for measurement properties (P = 0.0001). CONCLUSION: Among existing QoL instruments, there is good compliance with the quality criteria for measurement properties but not with those for clinical face validity. There is a need to develop methodologically sound disease specific QoL instruments in menorrhagia focussing both on face validity and measurement properties.

Study of management decision making by ward sisters in a hospital and the effects on decision making after the implementation of a decision support sytem

This thesis considers management decision making at the ward level in hospitals especially by ward sisters, and the effectiveness of the intervention of a decision support system. Nursing practice theories were related to organisation and management theories in order to conceptualise a decision making framework for nurse manpower planning and deployment at the ward level. Decision and systems theories were explored to understand the concepts of decision making and the realities of power in an organisation. In essence, the hypothesis was concerned with changes in patterns of decision making that could occur with the intervention of a decision support system and that the degree of change would be governed by a set of `difficulty' factors within wards in a hospital. During the course of the study, a classification of ward management decision making was created, together with the development and validation of measuring instruments to test the research hypothesis. The decision support system used was rigorously evaluated to test whether benefits did accrue from its implementation. Quantitative results from sample wards together with qualitative information collected, were used to test this hypothesis and the outcomes postulated were supported by these findings. The main conclusion from this research is that a more rational approach to management decision making is feasible, using information from a decision support system. However, wards and ward sisters that need the most assistance, where the `difficulty' factors in the organisation are highest, benefit the least from this type of system. Organisational reviews are needed on these identified wards, involving managers and doctors, to reduce the levels of un-coordinated activities and disruption.

The influence of political, economic and passenger market factors on international civil aviation

Civil aviation plays an essential role in maintaining international communications. Many extraneous factors influence the daily operations of the air transport industry. This thesis begins by investigating the major categories of so­ called "external interests" in civil aviation. These are shown to have played a significant part in ensuring the need for international agreement over the adoption of regulating principles. The combination and interaction of the various influences has produced a particular type of regulatory environment in which all commercial air services have to operate. The need for such regulation and the extreme difficulty experienced in trying to define universally acceptable methods of supervision is discussed. It is shown how opportunity for the development of on-scheduled air services was created by default on the part of the European Governments.The concept of so-called "scheduled" and "non-scheduled" sectors" is considered and it is suggested that growth of the inclusive tour industry resulted from inappropriate categorisation of the air services involved. The means by which development opportunities were created for inclusive tour operations is considered and the work then investigates the importance of British air transport policy in their exploitation. The politics of British civil aviation in the post-war years is the subject of detailed examination and the process by which Independent airlines were encouraged to develop inclusive tours, is identified. This theme is expanded to demonstrate the vital contribution of British air transport policy in the restructuring of the international industry. The subsequent involvement of the United States is shown to have been directed specifically towards the satisfaction of domestic issues. British objectives, however, are considered to have been more generally concerned with improving the tariff structure. The unique opportunities for British experimentation with international fares are seen to have major influence in forcing the pace of tariff rationalisation.

Did the World Bank drive tariff reforms in Eastern Africa?

This paper explores tariff reform in Ethiopia, Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda between the early 1990s and early 2000s. Tariffs were reformed in an across the board manner consistent with implementing World Bank programs: the average tariff was reduced and the dispersion of tariffs was compressed, with the highest tariffs being eliminated. There is limited evidence of political economy influences on the cross sector pattern of tariffs and reforms, except for a tendency to offer greater protection to larger manufacturing sectors in all countries except Uganda. The technocratic reforms have diluted relative protection and political economy influences in all the four countries.

The UK obesity epidemic:new steering instruments for a new public policy problematic?

Since the 1980s UK government enthusiasm for market reforms has reconfigured the nature and scope of public services. Initially the marketisation of public services changed how public services were provided, increasingly market reforms and pro business policies have also modified the formation and understanding of public policy problematics and how they ought to be resolved. This is particularly noticeable when markets work imperfectly or even fail. UK governments have shown their reluctance to employ regulatory instruments to change the behaviour of companies preferring instead to make use of softer interventions, by focusing on providing advice for consumers and urging individuals to act responsibly. The dilemmas of this approach are explored by discussing the UK's former Labour government's (1997–2010) response to the increase in the incidence of obesity and related health complications.

Quality of life instruments in studies of menorrhagia: a systematic review

BACKGROUND: The use of quality of life (QoL) instruments in menorrhagia research is increasing but there is concern that not enough emphasis is placed on patient-focus in these measurements, i.e. on issues which are of importance to patients and reflect their experiences and concerns (clinical face validity). The objective was to assess the quality of QoL instruments in studies of menorrhagia. STUDY DESIGN: A systematic review of published research. Papers were identified through MEDLINE (1966-April 2000), EMBASE (1980-April 2000), Science Citation Index (1981-April 2000), Social Science Citation Index (1981-April 2000), CINAHL (1982-1999) and PsychLIT (1966-1999), and by manual searching of bibliographies of known primary and review articles. Studies were selected if they assessed women with menorrhagia for life quality, either developing QoL instruments or applying them as an outcome measure. Selected studies were assessed for quality of their QoL instruments, using a 17 items checklist including 10 items for clinical face validity (issues of relevance to patients' expectations and concerns) and 7 items for measurement properties (such as reliability, responsiveness, etc.). RESULTS: A total of 19 articles, 8 on instrument development and 11 on application, were included in the review. The generic Short Form 36 Health Survey Questionnaire (SF36) was used in 12/19 (63%) studies. Only two studies developed new specific QoL instruments for menorrhagia but they complied with 7/17 (41%) and 10/17 (59%) of the quality criteria. Quality assessment showed that only 7/19 (37%) studies complied with more than half the criteria for face validity whereas 17/19 (90%) studies complied with more than half of the criteria for measurement properties (P = 0.0001). CONCLUSION: Among existing QoL instruments, there is good compliance with the quality criteria for measurement properties but not with those for clinical face validity. There is a need to develop methodologically sound disease specific QoL instruments in menorrhagia focussing both on face validity and measurement properties.

Optimising market share and profit margin:SMDP-based tariff pricing under the smart grid paradigm

Smart grid technologies have given rise to a liberalised and decentralised electricity market, enabling energy providers and retailers to have a better understanding of the demand side and its response to pricing signals. This paper puts forward a reinforcement-learning-powered tool aiding an electricity retailer to define the tariff prices it offers, in a bid to optimise its retail strategy. In a competitive market, an energy retailer aims to simultaneously increase the number of contracted customers and its profit margin. We have abstracted the problem of deciding on a tariff price as faced by a retailer, as a semi-Markov decision problem (SMDP). A hierarchical reinforcement learning approach, MaxQ value function decomposition, is applied to solve the SMDP through interactions with the market. To evaluate our trading strategy, we developed a retailer agent (termed AstonTAC) that uses the proposed SMDP framework to act in an open multi-agent simulation environment, the Power Trading Agent Competition (Power TAC). An evaluation and analysis of the 2013 Power TAC finals show that AstonTAC successfully selects sell prices that attract as many customers as necessary to maximise the profit margin. Moreover, during the competition, AstonTAC was the only retailer agent performing well across all retail market settings.