Wideband and UWB antennas for wireless applications. A comprehensive review

A comprehensive review concerning the geometry, the manufacturing technologies, the materials, and the numerical techniques, adopted for the analysis and design of wideband and ultrawideband (UWB) antennas for wireless applications, is presented. Planar, printed, dielectric, and wearable antennas, achievable on laminate (rigid and flexible), and textile dielectric substrates are taken into account. The performances of small, low-profile, and dielectric resonator antennas are illustrated paying particular attention to the application areas concerning portable devices (mobile phones, tablets, glasses, laptops, wearable computers, etc.) and radio base stations. This information provides a guidance to the selection of the different antenna geometries in terms of bandwidth, gain, field polarization, time-domain response, dimensions, and materials useful for their realization and integration in modern communication systems

Children's basic memory processes, stress and maltreatment

Building upon methods and research utilized with normative populations, we examine extant assumptions regarding the effects of child maltreatment on memory. The effects of stress on basic memory processes is examined, and potential neurobiological changes relevant to memory development are examined. The impact of maltreatment-related sequelae (including dissociation and depression) on basic memory processes as well as false memories and suggestibility are also outlined. Although there is a clear need for additional research, the investigations that do exist reveal that maltreated children's basic memory processes are not reliably different from that of other, nonmaltreated children

A Dance in the Palatina Library of Parma

El Baile de quien más ama forma parte del importante fondo de textos teatrales españoles de la colección cc*iv 28033 de la Biblioteca Palatina de Parma. Este estudio prentende dar a conocer un baile del Siglo de Oro anónimo y prácticamente desconocido, y sobre todo colocar la obrita en el contexto del baile como género literario, poniendo de relieve los rasgos constantes del género que la pieza de Parma presenta. Particular atención se reserva a la forma métrica del textoThe “Baile de quien más ama” is part of the important collection of Spanish dramatic texts (cc *iv 28033) guarded in Biblioteca Palatina of Parma. Its analysis pretends to make know an anonymous and unknown Golden Age text, placing it in the context of the baile as literary genre, pointing out its constant characteristics which this short dramatic text presents. Special attention is reserved to the metric form

A microeconometric analysis of risk aversion and the decision to self-insure

This study estimates a von Neumann-Morgenstern utility function using market data and microeconometric methods. We investigate the decision whether to purchase insurance against the risk of telephone line trouble in the home. Using the choices of approximately 10,000 residential customers, we determine the shape of the utility function and the degree of risk aversion. We find that risk aversion varies systematically in the population and varies with the level of income and that the observed choice behavior is consistent with expected utility maximization

The Use and Misuse of Surveys in Economic Analysis: Natural Resource Damage Assessment Under CERCLA

This paper examines problems with the admissibility of contingent use methodology surveys in natural resource damage assessment cases under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act of 1980 (CERCLA), as well as the propriety of their use in formulating public policy. Using a contingent use survey conducted in conjunction with the New Bedford Harbor Superfund case and two follow-up surveys, a number of errors and biases associated with contingent use methodology surveys are isolated and analyzed

Measuring social desirability amongst men with intellectual disabilities: The psychometric properties of the Self- and Other-Deception Questionnaire—Intellectual Disabilities

Background Social desirability has been construed as either inaccurately attributing positive characteristics to oneself (self-deception), or inaccurately denying that one possesses undesirable characteristics to others (other-deception or impression management). These conceptualisations of social desirability have not been considered in relation to people with intellectual disabilities (IDs), but they are important constructs to consider when undertaking a psychological assessment of an individual, especially within forensic contexts. Therefore, we revised two existing measures of self- and other-deception and considered their psychometric properties. Methods Thirty-two men with mild IDs and 28 men without IDs completed the Self- and Other-Deception Questionnaires—Intellectual Disabilities (SDQ-ID and ODQ-ID) on two occasions, two weeks apart. Results Men with IDs scored significantly higher on the SDQ-ID and the ODQ-ID than men without IDs. However, these differences disappeared when Full Scale IQ, Verbal IQ and Performance IQ were controlled in relation to the SDQ-ID, and partially disappeared in relation to the ODQ-ID. The SDQ-ID and the ODQ-ID had substantial internal consistency in relation to men with IDs (k = 0.82 and 0.84 respectively). The test-retest reliability of the SDQ-ID was good (ri = 0.68), while the test-retest reliability of the ODQ-ID was moderate (ri = 0.56), for men with IDs. The SDQ-ID had moderate (k = 0.60) and the ODQ-ID had substantial (k = 0.70) internal consistency in relation to men without IDs, while the test-retest reliability of the SDQ-ID was excellent (ri = 0.87) as was the case for the ODQ-ID (ri = 0.85). Conclusions The SDQ-ID and the ODQ-ID have satisfactory psychometric properties in relation to men with and without IDs. Future research using these instruments is propose

On Using Active Learning and Self-Training when Mining Performance Discussions on Stack Overflow

Abundant data is the key to successful machine learning. However, supervised learning requires annotated data that are often hard to obtain. In a classification task with limited resources, Active Learning (AL) promises to guide annotators to examples that bring the most value for a classifier. AL can be successfully combined with self-training, i.e., extending a training set with the unlabelled examples for which a classifier is the most certain. We report our experiences on using AL in a systematic manner to train an SVM classifier for Stack Overflow posts discussing performance of software components. We show that the training examples deemed as the most valuable to the classifier are also the most difficult for humans to annotate. Despite carefully evolved annotation criteria, we report low inter-rater agreement, but we also propose mitigation strategies. Finally, based on one annotator's work, we show that self-training can improve the classification accuracy. We conclude the paper by discussing implication for future text miners aspiring to use AL and self-training.Comment: Preprint of paper accepted for the Proc. of the 21st International Conference on Evaluation and Assessment in Software Engineering, 201

VP164 Applying health technology assessment to pharmacy: the Italian-Medicine-Use-Review-Health Technology Assessment

There is a lack of Health-Technology-Assessment (HTA) tools in pharmacy practice and the collection of real-world-evidence (RWE) in community pharmacy to populate longer-term-disease-progression-modelling (1). This project is looking at the development and application of a novel Patient-Reported-Outcome- Measure (PROM) in community pharmacy that can enable: the evaluation of the quality of care delivered from the patient perspective in terms of economic impact, patient health outcomes and ‘utilities’; the collection of RWE and evaluate long-term effect of care; to provide different stakeholders with unique evidence-based information that help formulate health policies in community pharmacy that are safe, effective, patient-focused and cost-effective, balancing access to innovation and cost containment. Evidence from the Italian-Medicine-Use-Review (I-MUR) trial (2) showed that the I-MUR intervention provided by community pharmacists to asthma patients is effective, cost-saving and cost-effective (3). The trial allowed to model a framework (I-MUR-HTA) that would enable to routinely deliver the intervention, but also collect and analyse PROM data on its clinical-effectiveness, quality-of-life and cost-effectiveness. I-MUR-HTA was discussed within three expert-panel discussions including policy-makers, commissioners, academics, healthcare-professionals and patient-representatives in Italy, United Kingdom and Europe. Current plan include testing the use of the tool in the real world environment. Evidence collected from the panel discussions confirmed that I-MUR-HTA evidence-based information is relevant to meet current National-Health-Care-System plans and this is what is needed to support the evaluation of innovative effective and cost-effective health policies and promote their implementation across nations. Current Italian law on pharmacy services provides the appropriate institutional framework to regulate the introduction of I-MUR-HTA across the territory. Its implementation is underway and a real-world pilot is planned to take place in Italy. I-MUR-HTA appears to be an innovative tool to promote active patient involvement into policy-decision-making and pharmacy-service

Health Care Financing Reforms in Italy: Projects of Jefferson\u27s Center for Research in Medical Education and Health Care

No abstract available