Search results for "Variable"
showing 10 items of 1674 documents
Comparing oculomotor efficiency and visual attention between drivers and non-drivers through the Adult Developmental Eye Movement (ADEM) test: A visu…
2021
Objective The objective of this study was to assess and compare drivers’ and non-drivers’ outcomes in the Adult Developmental Eye Movement test (ADEM), a visual-verbal test that measures the time needed to read series of numbers in both a vertical and horizontal reading pattern. A set of driving parameters (i.e., experience, risk exposure, and day and night perceived difficulty) and demographic variables (i.e., age, gender, and academic level) were considered as potential predictors of the test performance. Methods For this cross-sectional study, 302 healthy subjects (age range 20 to 86 years old) completed a self-reported questionnaire aimed at retrieving data on the independent variables…
Morphological investigation of the deep pineal of the rat.
1980
The results presented here reveal that in adult Sprague-Dawley and Wistar rats the pineal gland represents a complex rather than a single organ. Regularly one can distinguish (i) pineal tissue in the intercommissural region as a deep pineal, (ii) a superficial pineal, which represents the major part of the pineal complex, and (iii) nearly always a parenchymal stalk of variable length. The volume of the deep pineal with the adjacent parenchymal stalk exhibits great interindividual variation. It amounts to 127 +/- 39 X 10(5) mum3 (mean +/- standard deviation). The histological appearance of the deep and superficial pineal tissue is fairly similar. The intrinsic cells of the deep and superfici…
Generation and characterization of three monoclonal IgM antiphospholipid antibodies recognizing different phospholipid antigens.
2005
Antiphospholipid antibodies (APLs) might be involved in the pathogenesis of the antiphospholipid syndrome (APS). This study analyzes the structural characteristics of monoclonal APLs derived from patients with this disease. Patient-derived B cells were immortalized using Epstein-Barr virus transformation and subsequent fusion to the myeloma cell line CB-F7. APL-producing hybridomas were cloned to obtain cell lines producing monoclonal APL. DNA encoding the variable region of heavy and light chains of the antibodies was sequenced and analyzed regarding their usage within the V-gene family and the existence of somatic hypermutation. Binding patterns of APL to various phospholipids and beta-2-…
A framework for identifying the adaptations responsible for differences in pegboard times between middle-aged and older adults
2017
Time to complete two tests of manual dexterity, the 9-hole Peg Test and Grooved Pegboard Test, increases with advancing age. However, the adaptations responsible for the differences in pegboard times betweenmiddle-aged and older adults are largely unknown. Potential mechanisms include neuromuscular characteristics, cognitive function, and cutaneous sensation. To provide a tractable framework to address these gaps in knowledge, the purpose of the current study was to identify the latent variables underlying age-associated differences in time to complete the 9-hole and grooved pegboard tests. The approach involved an independent component analysis that identified associations between the two …
Climatic variables in Takotsubo cardiomyopathy: role of temperature
2017
Background Recent studies documented a seasonal (summer) and circadian (morning) temporal distribution of takotsubo cardiomyopathy (TTC). Aim The aim of our study was to investigate whether there is a relationship among season, temperature and the occurrence of TTC. A second aim of our study was the comparison of climatic variables in Takotsubo cardiomyopathy versus acute myocardial infarction (AMI). Methods We enrolled consecutive patients with TTC in three Italian centres and, for comparison consecutive patients with AMI. The frequency of TTC and AMI patients according to month, season and quartiles of temperature (I quartile: 9.8–15-, II quartile: 15–19-, III quartile: 19–25- and IV quar…
DXYS156: a multi-purpose short tandem repeat locus for determination of sex, paternal and maternal geographic origins and DNA fingerprinting
2002
In forensic science and in legal medicine Y chromosomal typing is indispensable for sex determination, for paternity testing in the absence of the father and for distinguishing males in multiple rape cases. Another potential application is the estimation of paternal geographic origin or family name from a crime stain to narrow down the range of suspects and thus reduce costs of mass screenings. However, Y typing alone cannot provide a sufficiently resolved DNA fingerprint as required for court convictions. Thus, there is a dilemma whether or not to sacrifice valuable material for the sake of extensive Y chromosomal investigations when stain DNA is limited (typically allowing only few PCR am…
Investigating Bidirectional Links Between the Quality of Teacher-Child Relationships and Children’s Interest and Pre‐Academic Skills in Literacy and …
2020
This study investigated bidirectional links between the quality of teacher–child relationships and children's interest and pre‐academic skills in literacy and math. Furthermore, differences in the patterns of bidirectionality between boys and girls were explored. Participants were 461 Finnish kindergarteners (6‐year‐olds) and their teachers (n = 48). Teachers reported their closeness and conflict with each child twice throughout the kindergarten year. Children rated their interest in literacy and math, and were tested on their pre‐academic skills. Cross‐lagged path models indicated that teacher‐perceived conflict predicted lower interest and pre‐academic skills in both literacy and math. Re…
A multi-criteria approach for the group assessment of an academic course: A case study
2015
The present paper aims at proposing a structured methodology to evaluate the results of an academic training course addressed to postgraduate students. The evaluation process intends to identify the efficacy of an education course bymeans of acomparison between the general objectives and the results expected by the students. Since the evaluated aspects by the students, detected by means of questionnaires, are both quantitative and qualitative, the proposed methodology is based on the analytic hierarchy process (AHP). In order to facilitate the evaluation process, answers have been modelled by means of linguistic variables. In particular, different evaluation scales have been used and each on…
Strictly convex variable cost does not imply U-shaped average cost
2016
Abstract We show that strictly convex variable costs do not imply U-shaped average costs and provide a sufficient condition for U-shaped average costs. As an application we study endogenous entry when firms have market power and they have decreasing average cost but increasing marginal cost.
Effect of Software on CSP Performance
2009
In order to verify how (if at all) CSP's investments in software affect their business performance, the relationship between (i) CSP's spending on software and (ii) its key performance indicators (KPIs) is considered below. The investments in software are represented by internal, external, and total software spending a year or two years prior to the KPI values, while the KPIs include average revenue per user (ARPU), revenue, net income, EBIDTA, and change in revenue (as an indicator of company growth). Besides, Opex and Capex along with R&D expenses are used as control variables. We use the data collected for the years 2004–2007 (revenue, net income, EBITDA, market capitalization, R&D, CAPE…