text:
Boko Haram is battle for 2015, says Chukwumerije
A NEW twist was added to the Boko Haram debate yesterday, with Senator Uche Chukwumerije, saying it is the result of the North's bid for power in 2015.
In his view, President Goodluck Jonathan's emergence is linked to the illegal activities of the Niger Delta militants. The Yoruba used the Oodua Peoples Congress (OPC) agitation to win the Presidency, he said.
Boko Haram (Western education is a sin) has claimed responsibility for the various bombings across the North, including the August 26 suicide bombing at the United Nations House in Abuja.
Despite efforts to pacify them, members of the group have remained intransigent.
Chukwumerije, representing Abia North, is worried about what he calls the politicisation of militancy in some parts of the country aimed at achieving political objective.
The Senator expressed his views yesterday in a paper he presented at the 2011 Igbo Day Lecture at the Women Development Centre (WDC) in Abakaliki, capital of Ebonyi State.
He urged the Igbo socio-political group Ohanaeze Ndigbo, to devise a means of constructive engagement with the youth, who, he said, should stop behaving like somebody stung by a bee and flees at a mere hum of a house fly.
Chukwumerije said: "The issue of militancy in the Niger Delta has yielded them (the Southsouth) the presidency. If you watch what is going on now, the politicised illegal activities of Boko Haram are a proper determination to win the second round of presidential election in 2015".
He accused other ethnic groups of using similar organizations, such as the Movement for the Actualisation of the Sovereign State of Biafra (MASSOB), to win the presidency.
He cited the OPC, the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND) and other youth groups in the Niger Delta as vehicles used by the Yoruba and the Niger Delta to win power.
The Abia senator urged Ndigbo to support MASSOB as a veritable youth group that will work towards achieving the cause of Igbo presidency.
Chukwumerije noted that the structure in Nigeria does not support the development of Igbo land after 40 years of Nigeria's civil war, citing the example of failed promises of successive administrations to build the second Niger Bridge.
He said since the war ended, the Igbo have been marginalised socially and economically while they continue to cry foul without anybody listening to them.
The Senator warned that Ohanaeze Ndigbo and the Igbo language will soon die, if no drastic measure is taken urgently to salvage the situation.
Other speakers, such as Mrs Loretta Aniagolu and Prof. Okoro Ijeoma, urged Ndigbo unity and the revival of Igbo language as the vehicle for cultural rejuvenation.
Mrs Aniagolu advocated a regional economy and sanction system against erring political office holders from the zone. She called on the five governors of the Southeast to rebuild the bad roads without waiting indefinitely for the Federal Government.
Prof. Ijeoma said the Igbo cherish kingship based on merit and character. He warned against allowing the Igbo language to die. "Destroy a language, destroy a people," he said.
The lecture was attended by many Igbo, including Ebonyi State Governor Martin Elechi and Ohanaeze President-General Amb. Ralph Uwechue. The other Southeast governors were represented.
The lecture was a prelude to the main Igbo Day Celebration holding today at Abakaliki Township Stadium, Ebonyi State.
Rate this article
'Some Nigerians live like slaves in US'
Bukola Oriola, a Nigerian journalist was a victim of human trafficking in United States. For two years, she was isolated and endured all forms of ... Full story


text:
VIEWS: 60 PAGES: 8 CATEGORY: Computers & Internet POSTED ON: 6/12/2010 Public Domain
(IJCSIS) International Journal of Computer Science and Information Security, Vol. 8, No. 2, 2010 AccSearch: A Specialized Search Engine for Traffic Analysis K. Renganathan B. Amutha Computer Science and Engineering Department Computer Science and Engineering Department SRM University SRM University India India email@example.com email@example.com Abstract— AccSearch is a specialized web search engine to URL result for any queries pertaining to the road accident provide information about road accidents within Chennai, details within the Chennai city. It is aimed to provide a high India and assist the traffic authorities, police, NGOs, dependency to the user. It covers the entire accident data lawyers, students and statistical bureaus. The people who which occurred in the four National Highways around Chennai. are in need of road accident information for various It will provide information about the accident occurred in the reasons are very much struggling to collect the correct day and night around the highways. This information is used information under a single search. Special purpose search to do the historical collection of data. This traffic search engines are designed to work on a particular domain engine can be later connected to the all purpose search engines which fill the gap where an all purpose search engine to add up the searching power and efficiency. lacks. As the existing search engines cannot do the traffic search alone well for several reasons, we have designed a Markov chain algorithm is used to improve the performance search algorithm using Markov chain, to provide the and speed up. Markov chains are well known for the search information in a faster manner. The mathematical performance tuning and prediction. proof of our modified Markov chain algorithm shows that the speed and efficiency seems to be better in comparison Adding the information with the available information on with the existing search algorithms. As Markov chain can the internet is the fruit of this work. By providing some more be used for prediction purposes, our search engine information with the already available information some concentrates on one particular domain which is traffic sectors will be highly benefited. Those include Police, NGOs, analysis it will result in exact responses to the user queries Statistical Bureaus and Universities to name a few. It will and will lead to a greater amount of user satisfaction. provide a greater benefit to the society. Keywords; AccSearch; road traffic; accident;Markov A. Literature Survey / Related Works chain;accident prediction; Sergey Brin and Lawrence Page, "The Anatomy of Large- Scale Hyper textual Web Search Engine" addressed the issue I. INTRODUCTION of developing a large scale search engine such as google but Road accidents are the major problem in many countries. It failed to address the issue of specialized search[1]Sunny Lam, is a very series problem in the highways of India. Internet is "The Overview of Web Search Engines," addressed the issue grown very large. As it is very large and the information is of how the search engines find information in the Web and scattered all around the world, search engines are the only how they rank the pages according to the given query. It helps medium through which the information can be accessed. But people perform Web searching easily and effectively. But it the relevancy of the search result is the major problem in not address the issue of not getting the required information search engines. Though popular search engines like Google even after search[2]. perform well through their quality of page ranking algorithms still it is true that many questions remains unanswered up to Robert Steele, "Techniques for Specialized Search Engines" their expected relevancy. Special purpose search engines are addresses the issue of the need for specialized search those search engines which attempt to answer those questions engine.[3]Z Xiang, K. Wober, DR. Fesenmaier, which are not answered or cannot be answered by an all "Representation of the Online Tourism Domain in Search purpose search engines. Engines," Addresses the issue of increasing the search results in tourism domain using techniques.But failed to provide the This project is an effort to create a comprehensive special lack of important information related to tourism on the web[4]. purpose search engine which will support with accurate Z Xiang, Bing Pan, K. Wober, DR. Fesenmaier, "Developing responses with maximum possible relevancy till the very last SMART- Search : A Search Engine to Support the Long Tail in 264 http://sites.google.com/site/ijcsis/ ISSN 1947-5500 (IJCSIS) International Journal of Computer Science and Information Security, Vol. 8, No. 2, 2010 Destination Marketing," address the issue of effective after the model has been built[18].Pachaivannan Partheeban, organizing over the internet to support travel information Elangovan Arunbabu, Ranganathan Rani Hemamalini, "Road search. It didn't address the issue of how to increase the Accident Cost Prediction Model Using Systems Dynamics availability of travel information[5]. Approach," addressed the issue of reducing the cost of accident using developing model using systems dynamic approach. But Karl W Wober, "Domain Specific Search Engines," addresses not addresses that will it really lead to accurate cost the techniques involved in domain specific search. But doesn't prediction[19]. address the issue of how to implement the domain specific search engine[6].YAN Hongfei, LI Jingjing, ZHU Jiaji, PENG Bo, "Tianwang Search Engine at TREC 2005: Terabyte I. NEED FOR A SPECIALIZED SEARCH ENGINE Track," address the issue of large amount of data transfer. It does not address the issue of improving the search results[7]. All purpose search engines are very broad and deemed to Jermy Ginsberg, Mathew H. Mohebbi, Rajan S. Patel, cover almost all domains in the world. Though this quality is Lynnette Brammer, Mark S. Smolinski & Larry Brilliant an advantage it includes some inabilities too. The main factors "Detecting influenza epidemics using search engine query which influence any search engine and create the specialized data," address the issue of detecting influenza using the query need are found and listed as below: data.It does not discuss about how avoid such epidemics using that data[8].Gang Luo, Chunqiang, Hao Yang, Xing Wei, Specialization "MedSearch : A Specialized Search Engine for Medical Availability of Information Information," addresses the issue of how to help layman in Responsibility medical search but not addresses the issue of relevancy among Time elapsed the medical information results[9]. A. Specialization Jianhan Zhu, Jun Hong, and John G. Hughes, "Using Markov Though all purpose search engines support specialization of Chains for Link Prediction in Adaptive Web Sites," addresses information in response to the user queries, but they are the navigation problems in adaptive web sites. But it does not mainly meant for generalization of information. Curious address link prediction from the past state to future state[10]. search engines use the user queries which are unanswered or Junghoo Cho, Hector Gracia Molina, Lawrence Page, not properly answered with expected relevancy to enhance "Efficient Crawling through URL Ordering," addresses the their system to answer well in feature. But at that point of time issue of in what order the crawler should visit URLs. But not when user expects the right answer to his specialized queries addressed the issue of taking care of the missed URLs which he won't be able to get. are not came in order of the crawler[11]. B. Availability of Information Junghoo Cho, Hector Gracia Molina, "The evolution of the All purpose search engines gather information from all Web and Implications of an Incremental Crawler,"addresses around the web. It has tons of information to serve the users. It the issue of incrementally updating the index. But not will answer the maximum of the user queries. But it won't be addressed the issue of updating the indexes randomly able to answer all the queries. Because it doesn't possess the [12]Junghoo Cho, Hector Gracia Molina, "Parallel Crawlers," information by its own. These search engines will struggle in address the issue of managing the indexing of ever growing answering queries which requests in depth details within a web. It doesn't give the complete guidelines to construct particular domain. parallel crawlers[13].Sanjay Kumar Singh, Ashish Misra, "Road Accident Analysis : A Case Study of Patna City," C. Responsibility addresses the issue of Road accidents in Patna city. But not All purpose search engine tries through all the means to addressed any road safety measures[14].G D Jacobs, Amy respond well for the user query and as well as update its Aeron Thomas, "A Review of Global Road Accident information repository well to keep it fit for this activity. But it Fatalities," addresses the issue of deaths and injuries during bears no responsibility to answer the queries positively. Hence, accidents. But not addressed how public and private sector can it is not sure for the user that his queries will be answered. It act to prevent these injuries[15]. will be a trial and error process for him. All purpose search engines works with probability not with accuracy in this Ramasamy. N, "Accident Analysis of Chennai City," aspect. Some search engine may handle some searches with addressed the issue of accident analysis of Chennai city. But most probably high relevancy and for some other searches not addressed how to avoid such accidents in future[16].Dinesh with less probability. This makes the user difficult to rely on Mohan, "Social Cost of Road Traffic Crashes in India," such kind of search engines. addressed the issue of cost of injuries and deaths. But not addresses how to eliminate those unwanted cost[17].P.Pramada D. Time elapsed VALLI, "Road Accident Models for Large Metropolitan Cities Time elapsed in searching is the major factor which affect of India," addressed the issue of preventing accidents by road the interest of the user. When the time elapsed is more, it will accident model. But not addresses how to avoid accidents even 265 http://sites.google.com/site/ijcsis/ ISSN 1947-5500 (IJCSIS) International Journal of Computer Science and Information Security, Vol. 8, No. 2, 2010 create a greater amount of dissatisfaction in users. It has been VT5 – Two wheelers found that the users are spending hours or sometime days in VT6 – Three wheelers searching some essential information among the web. After VT7 – Others [bye cycle, bullock cart etc.,] getting dissatisfied by their prolonged search they use to try some other means to get that information i.e., making a series Type of accidents: of phone calls, trying in yellow pages, physically going to the concerned place to get that information etc. Hence, the efforts F1 – Fatal (Death) made to reduce this time elapsed will bring a giant leap in the F2 – Grievous Injury development of the advanced search engines. F3 – Minor Injury F4 – Non Injury The specialized search engine is aimed to address the above factors which are not addressed by the all purpose search Time of accidents: engines. Firstly it will concentrate on one domain and will have sufficient collection of information to answer all sorts of Peak hours: queries in that particular domain. As it is assured to answer all the queries within that domain the user can fully rely on it. tp1 – 8:30 AM to 9:30 AM Hence, it creates the full dependability to the user. The tp2 – 5 PM to 6:30 PM specialized search engine AccSearch will contain all needed information local to its domain. It will ensure the availability of Normal hours: all the essential information. It bears the responsibility for the information availability. It makes the user queries will be tn1 – 10 AM to 5 PM answered with full relevancy. It reduces the time elapsed in searching by the user. It will answer the very first query itself tn2 – 7 PM to 8 AM (Cargo) with full relevancy(whereas normally it needs many queries to B. The Process Flow of Accident Analysis obtain an information in an all purpose search engine). At maximum level he may need to try with very few queries. Finally he can finish off his search in few minutes instead of Traffic long time hassles. It has been found that there are regular users Authority to search engine and they need to search for information for their day to day activities. We identified the target users for AccSearch. They are Police, NGOs, Statistical Bureaus, Lawyers, Students to name a few. There will be bundle of global users too. Once it attained perfection on its domain it Highways in will be made to crawl the whole www so that it will work Chennai specialized on its domain and generalized on all-purpose search Vehicles on II. MODIFIED MARKOV CHAIN ALGORITHM FOR ACCSEARCH the Road A. Assumptions Four or Six Two or Three wheelers wheelers Types of vehicles : VT1, VT2, VT3, VT4, VT5, VT6, VT7 Select Type of Vehicle Types of accidents: F1, F2, F3,F4 Time of accidents: tn1, tn2, tp1,tp2 Other Number of accidents : Ni Vehicles Search engine : S1, S0 Number of Number of Number of Accidents in Accidents in Accidents in Types of vehicles: a year a year a year VT1 – Government Bus VT2 – Private Bus Classification Classification Classification VT3 – Truck/Lorry of Accidents of Accidents of Accidents VT4 – Car/Jeep/Taxi/Tempo Accident Analysis VT1 VT2 VT3 VT4 VT5 VT6 VT7 266 http://sites.google.com/site/ijcsis/ ISSN 1947-5500 (IJCSIS) International Journal of Computer Science and Information Security, Vol. 8, No. 2, 2010 The equations which are the result of the accident analysis Else If are given below. Each element in an equation represents the percentage of the type of accident occurred with respect to the S1.Vehicle = VT6 total number of accidents by a particular vehicle type. & S1.Time = tp1 & tp2 VT1 21.69F1 + 0.39F2 + 51.67F3 + 26.23F4 Type.Accident = S0.[7.92F1 + 0.93F2 + 80.18F3 + 10.95F4] VT2 16.43F1 + 0.68F2 + 48.63F3 + 34.24F4 VT3 19.74F1 + 0.31F2 + 42.63F3 + 37.3F4 Else If VT4 7.27F1 + 1.07F2 + 58.37F3 + 33.27F4 S1.Vehicle = VT7 VT5 11.31F1 + 1.38F2 + 81.14F3 + 6.15F4 & S1.Time = tp1 & tp2 VT6 7.92F1 + 0.93F2 + 80.18F3 + 10.95F4 VT7 32.46F1 + 1.15F2 + 47.53F3 + 18.84F4 Type.Accident = S0.[32.46F1 +1.15F2 + 47.53F3 + 18.84F4] As the vehicle types VT1 and VT2 are similar types (Bus) End If and the VT2 is available in only negligible amount and its effect on the accidents is very low these two types can be merged. III. MATHEMATICAL MODEL OF THE ALGORITHM VT1 & VT2 19.6F1 + 0.535F2 + 50.15F3 + 30.235F4 The transition matrix has been constructed using these available results. C. Algorithm Now the algorithm may be expressed as follows: V1 VT1 & VT2 19.6F1+0.535F2 + 50.15F3 + 30.235F4 V2 VT3 19.74F1 + 0.31F2 + 42.63F3 + 37.3F4 If S1.Vehicle = VT1 & VT2 V3 VT4 7.27F1 + 1.07F2 + 58.37F3 + 33.27F4 & S1.Time = tp1 & tp2 V4 VT5&VT6&VT717.23F1 +1.153F2+69.617F3+ 11.98F4 Type.Accident = S0.[19.6F1+0.535F2+ 50.15F3 +30.235F4] A. Transition Matrix Else If V1 V2 V3 V4 S1.Vehicle = VT3 F1 .196 .1974 .0727 .1727 & S1.Time = tn2 F2 .00535 .0031 .0107 .01153 T = Type.Accident = S0.[19.74F1 + 0.31F2 + 42.63F3 + 37.3F4] .5015 .4263 .5837 .69617 F3 Else If .30235 .373 .3327 .1198 F4 S1.Vehicle = VT4 & S1.Time = tp1 & tp2 Type.Accident = S0.[ 7.27F1 + 1.07F2 + 58.37F3 + 33.27F4] The above traffic prediction analysis expressed in terms of transition matrix shows that the row represents fatality factors Else If in correspondence with the vehicle classification. S1.Vehicle = VT5 In the same manner the columns of the matrix shows that & according to the vehicle types the percentage of fatality S1.Time = tp1 & tp2 occurred. As this is a real time classification which have been made in the Chennai city in the year 2008. Type.Accident = S0.[ 11.31F1 + 1.38F2 + 81.14F3 + 6.15F4] 267 http://sites.google.com/site/ijcsis/ ISSN 1947-5500 (IJCSIS) International Journal of Computer Science and Information Security, Vol. 8, No. 2, 2010 IV. EXPERIMENTAL VALIDATION AND RESULTS Predictions for V3 Predictions for V1 0.7 0.7 0.6 0.6 0.5 0.5 0.4 0.4 0.3 0.3 0.2 0.2 0.1 0.1 6E-16 F1 F2 F3 F4 6E-16 -0.1 F1 F2 F3 F4 -0.1 V3 (2010) V3 (2011) V3 (2012) V1 (2010) V1 (2011) V1 (2012) V3 (2013) V3 (2008) V1 (2013) V1 (2008) Predictions for V4 Predictions for V2 0.7 0.7 0.6 0.6 0.5 0.5 0.4 0.4 0.3 0.3 0.2 0.2 0.1 0.1 6E-16 F1 F2 F3 F4 6E-16 -0.1 F1 F2 F3 F4 V2 (2010) V2 (2011) V2 (2012) -0.1 V2 (2013) V2 (2008) V4 (2010) V4 (2011) V4 (2012) V4 (2013) V4 (2008) 268 http://sites.google.com/site/ijcsis/ ISSN 1947-5500 (IJCSIS) International Journal of Computer Science and Information Security, Vol. 8, No. 2, 2010 that 2011-2013 are nearby values and 2008 and 2010 are Predictions for V1 distinct values. The values of 2011-2013 are 26.58%, 27.18%, and 27.09% respectively. The values of 2010 and 2008 are Predictions of F1 of 2010 – 2013are less when compared to 30.25% and 11.98%. 2008 whereas 2008 shows a value of 19.6% but 2010-2013 are found as 9.07%, 10.93%, 11.49% and 11.52% respectively. In predictions of F2 2008 shows a lower value that is 0.53% whereas 2010-2013 shows higher value i.e, V. CONCLUSION AND FUTURE WORKS 0.99%,1%, 1.02%, and 1.03% respectively. In the predictions of F3 2010, 2012 and 2013 shows the higher values and the This paper presents AccSearch, a specialized web search remaining shows the lower value. The values for 2010-2013 engine for road accident information retrieval. It will aid the are 60.38%, 60.37 and 60.51 respectively. Similarly for 2011 user group consisting of police, NGOs, statistical bureaus, and 2008 the values are 58.61% and 50.15%. Predictions of F4 lawyers, students and others who may require road accident states that the value of 2008 is somewhat raised and 2010- information for their day to day activities. AccSearch is 2013 are somewhat lowered. The values are 26.43%, 26.37%, designed to be a scalable search engine. The primary goal is to 27.11% and 27.24% respectively whereas the 2008 value is provide a very high relevancy in search results. 30.23%. In future this search engine will be enhanced as a semantic Predictions for V2 search engine by creating ontology for this domain. Predictions of F1 of 2011-2013 are showing nearby values where 11.53%, 11.45%, and 11.45% respectively whereas the values of 2010 and 2008 are different those are, 13.47% and ACKNOWLEDGMENT 19.74% respectively. Predictions of F2 shows that the values of This paper kindly acknowledges the Traffic Police, 2010 -2013are almost similar, those are 0.99%, 1.01%, 1.02%, Chennai,Tamil Nadu,India with whose support was very vital and 1.02%. But 2008 shows 0.31%. Predictions of F3 shows and acknowledges the institution where the idea was nurtured. that 2010 , 2012 and 2013 shows almost similar values those are 60.88%, 60.88% and 60.16%. The values of 2011and 2008 showing distinct such as 59.94% and 42.63%. Predictions of REFERENCES F4 shows that 2010-2013shows almost similar values those are 24.74%, 27.66%, 26.9%, and 27.1%. [1]. Sergey Brin and Lawrence Page, "The Anatomy of Large-Scale Hypertextual Web Search Engine", Computer Predictions for V3 Networks 30(1-7): 107-117, 1998. [2]. Sunny Lam, "The Overview of Web Search Engines," Predictions of F1states that 2010-2013 have almost similar O. Waterloo – University of Waterloo, 2001. values that is 11.63%, 11.44%, 11.5%, and 11.46% [3]. Robert Steele, "Techniques for Specialized Search respectively whereas 2008 represents 7.27%. Predictions of F2 Engines," Proceedings of Internet Computing, 2001. is showing that 2011-2013 are same and 2010 is almost same [4]. Z Xiang, K. Wober, DR. Fesenmaier, "Representation that is 1.02 for 2011-2013 , 1.05 for 2010 and 1.07 for 2013. of the Online TourismDomain in Search Engines," 47(2) Predictions of F3 states that values of 2010-2013 are almost 137 Journal of Travel Research, 2008 same those are, 61.33%, 60.18%, 60.25%, and 60.16%. For [5]. Z Xiang, Bing Pan, K. Wober, DR. Fesenmaier, 2008 it is 58.37%. Predictions of F4 states that the values of "Developing SMART- Search : A Search Engine to 2010-2013 are almost same those are 26%, 27.43%, 27.07% Support the Long Tail in Destination Marketing," and 27.09% respectively. But the value of 2008 bears 33.27%. www.ota.cofc.edu. [6]. Karl W Wober, "Domain Specific Search Engines," Wallingford, UK : CABI , 2006, Predictions of V4 www.tourism.wu.wien.ac.at. [7]. YAN Hongfei, LI Jingjing, ZHU Jiaji, PENG Bo, Predictions of F1 states that the values of 2011-2013 are "Tianwang Search Engine at TREC 2005: Terabyte almost similar values say 11.75%, 11.39%, and 11.49%. The Track," Network and Distribution System Laboratory, year 2010 which is 10.74%. 2008 shows a value 17.27%. School of Electronic Engineering and Computer Science, Predictions of F2 states that the values of 2012 and 2013 are Peking University Beijing, China. similar and 2011 is almost similar, 1.02%, 1.02% and 1.03%. [8]. Jermy Ginsberg, Mathew H. Mohebbi, Rajan S. Patel, 2010 shows 9.8% and 2008 shows 1.153%. Predictions of F3 Lynnette Brammer, Mark S. Smolinski & Larry Brilliant states that 2011-2013 and 2008 have almost similar values "Detecting influenza epidemics using search engine these have 60.79%, 59.99%, 60.25%, and 69.617% whereas query data," Nature, vol. 457, 19 February 2009. 2010 shows a lower value 58.13%. Predictions of F4 shows 269 http://sites.google.com/site/ijcsis/ ISSN 1947-5500 (IJCSIS) International Journal of Computer Science and Information Security, Vol. 8, No. 2, 2010 [9]. Gang Luo, Chunqiang, Hao Yang, Xing Wei, Fatal is shown as (2005: 584) (2006 : 627) (2007 : 583) "MedSearch : A Specialized Search Engine for Medical (2008:612)(2009:609) Information," IBM Research Journal, RC24205, March 6 Non fatal is shown as (2005:4427) (2006 :4657) (2007: 4277) 2007. (2008:5774)(2009:4575) [10]. Jianhan Zhu, Jun Hong, and John G. Hughes, "Using Where the total number of accidents of these categories are: 5177 Markov Chains for Link Prediction in Adaptive Web Sites," Soft-Ware 2002, LNCS 2311, pp 60 – 73, Springer-Verlog 2002. 2. Among the various vehicle types two wheelers is the more prone to [11]. Junghoo Cho, Hector Gracia Molina, Lawrence Page, accidents of fatal category. Lorrys are of the second categories "Efficient Crawling through URL Ordering," slightly less prone to accidents and so on. [12]. Proceedings of Seventh International Web 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 Two wheeler 154 174 159 191 191 Conference (WWW 98), 1998. Lorry 108 120 113 104 103 [13]. Junghoo Cho, Hector Gracia Molina, "The evolution MTC Bus 71 74 66 79 74 of the Web and Implications of an Incremental Crawler," Car 60 72 75 75 77 Department of Computer Science, Stanford University, Van 63 57 59 52 38 Stanford, CA 94305, USA. Auto 48 48 40 41 36 UKV 35 37 36 46 40 [14]. Junghoo Cho, Hector Gracia Molina, "Parallel Others 20 12 5 4 12 Crawlers," Department of Computer Science, Stanford Private bus 14 22 15 22 19 University, Stanford, CA 94305, USA. Govt. bus 10 7 5 15 9 [15]. Sanjay Kumar Singh, Ashish Misra, "Road Accident Analysis : A Case Study of Patna City," Urbon Transport 3. Similarly vehicle types are classified based on non fatal injuries Journal 2(2): 60-85, 2001. on accidents [16]. G D Jacobs, Amy Aeron Thomas, "A Review of Global Road Accident Fatalities," RoSPA Road Safety 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 Congress, Plymouth, UK , 3-7 March 2000, at Two wheeler 1501 1370 1373 1517 1438 http://www.transport-links.org. Car 903 966 1065 1694 1229 [17]. Ramasamy. N, "Accident Analysis of Chennai City," Auto 720 695 669 664 493 Lorry 473 425 375 654 456 Working Paper 3, Centre for Road Safety, Central Van 433 384 359 590 442 Institute for Road Safety, Pune 2001. MTC Bus 184 202 274 334 285 [18]. Dinesh Mohan, "Social Cost of Road Traffic Crashes Private Bus 63 59 61 129 68 in India," Proceedings : First Safe Community Others 59 55 21 59 50 Conference on Cost of Injury, pp 33-38, Viborg, UKV 44 47 40 46 62 Jeep 29 23 22 26 29 Denmark, October 2002. Govt. bus 18 16 18 38 23 [19]. P.Pramada VALLI, "Road Accident Models for Large Metropolitan Cities of India," IATSS Research, Vol.29, No.1, 2005. [20]. Pachaivannan Partheeban, Elangovan Arunbabu, Ranganathan Rani Hemamalini, "Road Accident Cost Prediction Model Using Systems Dynamics Approach," ISSN 1648-4142 print / ISSN 1648 – 3480 online 2008, 4.Number of deaths as per the victim and as per the death: at www.transport.vgtu.it 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 [21]. "Road Safety Policy," Road Safety Book, Home, PEDESTRAIN 220 247 222 231 242 Prohibition and Excise Department, Government of Tamil Nadu April 2007. MCRIDER 148 200 211 236 202 CYCLIST 74 65 51 48 50 [22]. Leslie Hogben, Matrices,Digraphs,Markov Chains & MCPRIDER 45 35 41 36 43 OTHERS 16 11 12 7 14 Their Use by Google , Bay Area Mathematical AUTODRIVER 11 6 9 7 4 Adventures, Iowa State University and American AUTOOCCUPANT 9 17 13 7 7 Institute of Mathematics, February 27, 2008. ANNEXURE: 1. Among the total number of accidents fatal accidents are low in numbers and the non-fatal are high in numbers. A sample trend is shown below: 270 http://sites.google.com/site/ijcsis/ ISSN 1947-5500 (IJCSIS) International Journal of Computer Science and Information Security, Vol. 8, No. 2, 2010 5.Number of injuries as per the victim 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 MCRIDER 1741 1785 1907 1927 1743 PEDESTRAIN 1418 1335 1297 1373 1270 10. Number of fatal injuries based on the road: MCRIDER 1741 1785 1907 1927 1743 ROAD 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 CYCLIST 493 407 347 347 241 100FeetRoad 55 38 34 43 43 AUTOOCCUPANT 314 251 301 275 208 OMR Road 38 35 33 52 44 AUTODRIVER 204 178 180 183 150 ECR Road 47 51 30 28 40 STANDPER 172 147 185 170 129 AnnaSalai 35 42 32 38 33 CAROCCUPANT 91 83 104 146 107 ArcotRoad 23 17 16 26 16 CARDRIVER 102 83 97 121 120 200FeetRoad 14 24 15 16 15 LORRYDRIVER 24 15 19 16 15 ThiruvotriyurHighRoad 18 0 0 0 103 VANOCCUPANT 51 23 25 31 29 SPRoad 11 6 9 11 8 VANDRIVER 33 28 19 23 19 Tharamani Road 9 7 13 8 6 VelacherryMainRoad 8 14 14 18 11 6. Number of fatal injuries as per the age for fatal male: SNChettyStreet 10 12 4 11 8 AGE 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 EnnoreExpressRoad 5 9 8 12 12 15 to 29 130 149 182 169 11 DurgabaiDeshmulkRoad 5 6 6 4 4 NewAvadiRoad 4 6 11 6 4 30 to 44 131 139 117 141 116 PoonamalleeHighRoad 0 9 3 2 4 45 to 59 127 147 107 132 127 ABOVE60 88 89 83 81 99 BELOW14 16 15 12 7 11 7. Number of non-fatal injuries as per the age of male: AGE 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 15 to 29 1387 1364 1440 1398 1217 30 to 44 1254 1180 1170 1241 1044 45 to 59 793 695 765 783 713 ABOVE60 258 255 282 287 272 BELOW14 219 196 213 193 184 8. Number of fatal injuries as per the age of female: AGE 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 45to59 32 33 18 25 127 ABOVE60 28 21 28 41 29 30to44 20 18 23 13 17 15to29 17 18 17 12 16 BELOW14 7 10 10 6 6 9. Number of non-fatal injuries as per the age of female: AGE 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 30to44 306 283 289 291 286 15to29 287 253 242 278 210 45to59 229 200 255 240 215 ABOVE60 128 129 130 165 137 BELOW14 101 101 86 96 102 271 http://sites.google.com/site/ijcsis/ ISSN 1947-5500
Pages to are hidden for
"AccSearch: A Specialized Search Engine for Traffic Analysis - PDF"Please download to view full document

subset: commoncrawl


text:
synthetic abrasives
Mechanics of abrasion
Abrasives generally rely upon a difference in hardness between the abrasive and the material being worked upon, the abrasive being the harder of the two substances. However, this is not necessary as any two solid materials that repeatedly rub against each other will tend to wear each other away (such as softer shoe soles wearing away wooden or stone steps over decades or centuries or glaciers abrading stone valleys).
Typically, materials used as abrasives are either hard minerals (rated at 7 or above on the Mohs scale of mineral hardness) or are synthetic stones, some of which may be chemically and physically identical to naturally occurring minerals but which cannot be called minerals as they did not arise naturally (while useful for comparative purposes, the Mohs scale is of limited value to materials engineers as it is an arbitrary, ordinal, irregular scale). Diamond, a common abrasive, occurs both naturally and is industrially produced, as is corundum, which occurs naturally but which is nowadays more commonly manufactured from bauxite.[1] However, even softer minerals like calcium carbonate are used as abrasives, such as "polishing agents" in toothpaste.
These minerals are either crushed or are already of a sufficiently small size (anywhere from macroscopic grains as large as about two millimeters to microscopic grains about 0.001 millimeters in diameter) to permit their use as an abrasive. These grains, commonly called grit, have rough edges, often terminating in points which will decrease the surface area in contact and increase the localized contact pressure. The abrasive and the material to be worked are brought into contact while in relative motion to each other. Force applied through the grains causes fragments of the worked material to break away while simultaneously smoothing the abrasive grain and/or causing the grain to work loose from the rest of the abrasive.
Some factors which will affect how quickly a substance is abraded include:
- Difference in hardness between the two substances: a much harder abrasive will cut faster and deeper
- Grain size (grit size): larger grains will cut faster as they also cut deeper
- Adhesion between grains, between grains and backing, between grains and matrix: determines how quickly grains are lost from the abrasive and how soon fresh grains, if present, are exposed
- Contact force: more force will cause faster abrasion
- Loading: worn abrasive and cast off work material tends to fill spaces between abrasive grains so reducing cutting efficiency while increasing friction
- Use of lubricant/coolant/metalworking fluid: Can carry away swarf (preventing loading), transport heat (which may affect the physical properties of the workpiece or the abrasive), decrease friction (with the substrate or matrix), suspend worn work material and abrasives allowing for a finer finish, conduct stress to the workpiece.
Abrasive minerals
Abrasives may be classified as either natural or synthetic. When discussing sharpening stones, natural stones have long been considered superior but advances in material technology are seeing this distinction become less distinct. Many synthetic abrasives are effectively identical to a natural mineral, differing only in that the synthetic mineral has been manufactured rather than been mined. Impurities in the natural mineral may make it less effective.
Some naturally-occurring abrasives are:
- Calcite (calcium carbonate)
- Emery (impure corundum)
- Diamond dust (synthetic diamonds are used extensively)
- Novaculite
- Pumice dust
- Rouge
- Sand
Some abrasive minerals (such as zirconia alumina) occur naturally but are sufficiently rare or sufficiently more difficult/costly to obtain such that a synthetic stone is used industrially. These and other artificial abrasives include:
- Borazon (cubic boron nitride or CBN)
- Ceramic
- Corundum (alumina or aluminum oxide)
- Dry ice
- Glass powder
- Silicon carbide (carborundum)
- Zirconia alumina
Manufactured abrasives
Abrasives are shaped for various purposes. Natural abrasives are often sold as dressed stones, usually in the form of a rectangular block. Both natural and synthetic abrasives are commonly available in a wide variety of shapes, often coming as bonded or coated abrasives, including blocks, belts, discs, wheels, sheets, rods and loose grains.
Bonded abrasives
A bonded abrasive is composed of an abrasive material contained within a matrix, although very fine aluminum oxide abrasive may comprise sintered material. This matrix is called a binder and is often a clay, a resin, a glass or a rubber. This mixture of binder and abrasive is typically shaped into blocks, sticks, or wheels. The most usual abrasive used is aluminum oxide. Also common are silicon carbide, tungsten carbide and garnet. Artificial sharpening stones are often a bonded abrasive and are readily available as a two sided block, each side being a different grade of grit.
Grinding wheels are cylinders that are rotated at high speed. While once worked with a foot pedal or hand crank, the introduction of electric motors has made it necessary to construct the wheel to withstand greater radial stress to prevent the wheel flying apart as it spins. Similar issues arise with cutting wheels which are often structurally reinforced with impregnated fibers. High relative speed between abrasive and workpiece often makes necessary the use of a lubricant of some kind. Traditionally they were called coolants as they were used to prevent frictional heat build up which could damage the workpiece (such as ruining the temper of a blade). Some research suggests that the heat transport property of a lubricant is less important when dealing with metals as the metal will quickly conduct heat from the work surface. More important are their effects upon lessening tensile stresses while increasing some compressive stresses and reducing "thermal and mechanical stresses during chip formation." [2]
Various shapes are also used as heads on rotary tools used in precision work, such as scale modeling.
Bonded abrasives need to be trued and dressed after they are used. Dressing is cleaning the waste material (swarf and loose abrasive) from the surface and exposing fresh grit. Depending upon the abrasive and how it was used, dressing may involve the abrasive being simply placed under running water and brushed with a stiff brush for a soft stone or the abrasive being ground against another abrasive, such as aluminum oxide used to dress a grinding wheel.
Truing is restoring the abrasive to its original surface shape. Wheels and stones tend to wear unevenly, leaving the cutting surface no longer flat (said to be "dished out" if it is meant to be a flat stone) or no longer the same diameter across the cutting face. This will lead to uneven abrasion and other difficulties.
Coated abrasives
A coated abrasive comprises an abrasive fixed to a backing material such as paper, cloth, rubber, resin, polyester or even metal, many of which are flexible. Sandpaper is a very common coated abrasive. Coated abrasives are commonly the same minerals as are used for bonded abrasives. A bonding agent (often some sort of adhesive or resin) is applied to the backing to provide a flat surface to which the grit is then subsequently adhered. A woven backing may also use a filler agent (again, often a resin) to provide additional resilience.
Coated abrasives may be shaped for use in rotary and orbital sanders, for wrapping around sanding blocks, as handpads, as closed loops for use on belt grinders, as striking surfaces on matchboxes, on diamond plates and diamond steels. Diamond tools, though for cutting, are often abrasive in nature.
Other abrasives and their uses
Sand, glass beads, metal pellets and dry ice may all be used for a process called sandblasting (or similar, such as the use of glass beads which is "bead blasting"). Dry ice will sublimate meaning that there is no residual abrasive left afterwards.
Cutting compound used on automotive paint is an example of an abrasive suspended in a liquid, paste or wax, as are some polishing liquids for silverware and optical media. The liquid, paste or wax acts as a binding agent that keeps the abrasive attached to the cloth which is used to as a backing to move the abrasive across the workpiece. On cars in particular, wax may serve as both a protective agent by preventing exposure of the paint of metal to air and also act as an optical filler to make scratches less noticeable. Toothpaste contains calcium carbonate or silica as a "polishing agent" to remove plaque and other matter from teeth as the hardness of calcium carbonate is less than that of tooth enamel but more than that of the contaminating agent.
Very fine rouge powder was commonly used for grinding glass, being somewhat replaced by modern ceramics, and is still used in jewelry-making for a highly reflective finish.
Cleaning products may also contain abrasives suspended in a paste or cream. They are chosen to be reasonably safe on some linoleum, tile, metal or stone surfaces. However, many laminate surfaces and ceramic topped stoves are easily damaged by these abrasive compounds. Even ceramic/pottery tableware or cookware can damage these surfaces, particularly the bottom of the tableware which is often unglazed in part or in whole and acts as simply another bonded abrasive.[3]
Metal pots and stoves are often scoured with abrasive cleaners, typically in the form of the aforementioned cream or paste or of steel wool.
Human skin is also subjected to abrasion in the form of exfoliation. Abrasives for this can be much softer and more exotic than for other purposes and may include things like almond and oatmeal. Dermabrasion and microdermabrasion are now rather commonplace cosmetic procedures which use mineral abrasives.
Scratched compact discs and DVDs may sometimes be repaired through buffing with a very fine compound, the principle being that a multitude of small scratches will be more optically transparent than a single large scratch. However, this does take some skill and will eventually cause the protective coating of the disc to be entirely eroded (especially if the original scratch is deep), after which the data surface will be destroyed if abrasion continues.
Choice of abrasive
The shape, size and nature of the workpiece and the desired finish will influence the choice of the abrasive used. A bonded abrasive grind wheel may be used to commercially sharpen a knife (producing a hollow grind), but an individual may then sharpen the same knife with a natural sharpening stone or a even flexible coated abrasive (like a sandpaper) stuck to a soft, non-slip surface to make achieving a convex grind easier. Similarly, a brass mirror may be cut with a bonded abrasive, have its surface flattened with a coated abrasive to achieve a basic shape, and then have finer grades of abrasive successively appied culminating in a wax paste impregnated with rouge to leave a sort of "grainless finish" called, in this case, a "mirror finish."
Also, different shapes of adhesive may make it harder to abrade certain areas of the workpiece. Health hazards can arise from any dust produced (which may be ameliorated through the use of a lubricant) which could lead to silicosis (when the abrasive or workpiece is a silicate) and the choice of any lubricant. Besides water, oils are the most common lubricants. These may present inhalation hazards, contact hazards and, as friction necessarily produces heat, flammable material hazards.[4]
An abrasive which is too hard or too coarse can remove too much material or leave undesired scratch marks. Besides being unsightly, scratching can have other, more serious effects. Excessive abrasion or the presence of scratches may:
- diminish or destroy usefulness (as in the case of scratched optics and compact discs or a dull knife);
- trap dirt, water, or other material;
- increase surface area (permitting greater chemical reactivity such as increased rusting which is also affected by matter caught in scratches);
- erode or penetrate a coating (such as a paint or a chemical or wear resistant coating);
- overly quickly cause an object to wear away (such as a blade or a gemstone);
- increase friction (as in jeweled bearings and pistons).
A finer or softer abrasive will tend to leave much finer scratch marks which may even be invisible to the naked eye (a "grainless finish"); a softer abrasive may not even significantly abrade a certain object. A softer or finer abrasive will take longer to cut as tends to cut less deeply than a coarser, harder material. Also, the softer abrasive may become less effective more quickly as the abrasive is itself abraded. This allows fine abrasives to be used in the polishing of metal and lenses where the series of increasingly fine scratches tends to take on a much more shiny or reflective appearance or greater transparency. Very fine abrasives may be used to coat the strop for razors, however, the purpose of stropping is not to abrade material but to straighten the burr on an edge.
Different chemical or structural modifications may be made to alter the cutting properties of the abrasive.[5]
Other very important considerations are price and availability. Diamond, for a long time considered the hardest substance in existence, is actually softer than fullerite and even harder aggregated diamond nanorods, both of which have been synthesized in laboratories but no commercial process has yet been developed. Diamond itself is expensive due to scarcity in nature and the cost of synthesizing it. Bauxite is a very common ore which, along with corundum's reasonably high hardness, contributes to corundum's status as a common, inexpensive abrasive.
Thought must be given to the desired task about using an appropriately hard abrasive. At one end, using an excessively hard abrasive wastes money by wearing it down when a cheaper, less hard abrasive would suffice. At the other end, if too soft, abrasion does not take place in a timely fashion, effectively wasting the abrasive as well as any accruing costs associated with loss of time.
Other instances of abrasion
Aside from the aforementioned uses of shaping and finishing, abrasives may also be used to prepare surfaces for application of some sort of paint of adhesive. An excessively smooth surface may prevent paint and adhesives from adhering as strongly as an irregular surface could allow. Inflatable tire repair kits (which, on bicycles particularly, are actually patches for the inner tube rather than the tire) require use of an abrasive so that the self-vulcanising cement will stick strongly.
Inadvertently, people who use knives on glass or metal cutting boards are abrading their knife blades. The pressure at the knife edge can easily create microscopic (or even macroscopic) cuts in the board. This cut is a ready source of abrasive material as well as a channel full of this abrasive through which the edge slides. For this reason—without regard for the health benefits—wooden boards are much more desirable. A similar occurrence arises with glass-cutters. Glass-cutters are have circular blades that are designed to roll not slide. They should never retrace an already effected cut.
Undesired abrasion may result from the presence of carbon in internal combustion engines. While smaller particles are readily transported by the lubrication system, larger carbon particles may abrade components with close tolerances. The carbon arises from the excessive heating of engine oil or from incomplete combustion. This soot may contain fullerenes which are noted for their extreme hardness—and small size and limited quantity which would tend to limit their effect.
Spend a minute to Register in a few simple steps, for complete access to the Social Learning Platform with Community Learning Features and Learning Resources.
If you are part of the Learning Community already, Login now!


text:
£1.1m study to reduce cognitive problems in people with MS(26/03/15)
Experts in Nottingham are leading a major new study into how people with multiple sclerosis (MS) could overcome problems with attention and memory associated to their condition.
The Cognitive Rehabilitation for Attention and Memory in people with Multiple Sclerosis (CRAMMS) trial will evaluate the effectiveness of new strategies to improve and compensate for these difficulties and aims to improve the quality of life for the patient.
The trial is being led by Nadina Lincoln, Professor of Clinical Psychology in the Division of Rehabilitation and Ageing at The University of Nottingham and Dr Roshan das Nair, consultant clinical psychologist at Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust and honorary Associate Professor in the University's Division of Rehabilitation and Ageing.
Funded by the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) Health Technology Assessment (HTA) programme, the trial will begin recruiting participants later this month.
Professor Lincoln said: "The purpose of our research is to help people with multiple sclerosis boost their everyday memory so they can get on with their lives and do the things that people take for granted, for example remembering to pick their children up from school, turning the stove off, or knowing where they have put things.
"It will also provide them with strategies to enable them to concentrate on information without getting distracted."
Memory and attention problems are common complaints for those who have multiple sclerosis. More than 100,000 people in the UK have multiple sclerosis and of these, 50,000 will have problems with attention and memory at some stage in the progression of their condition.
Very few people with multiple sclerosis get treatment for cognitive problems in usual clinical practice, despite some evidence that cognitive rehabilitation may help reduce problems in attention and everyday forgetting. However, cognitive rehabilitation for people with multiple sclerosis has not been demonstrated to be effective or cost-effective in large-scale randomised controlled trials.
The study will be exploring the benefits of using internal memory aids, such as mnemonics -- using patterns, words and images to remember details -- and external aids, such as diaries, mobile phones and cameras. The researchers will also be looking for other imaginative ways to help improve memory and reduce forgetting.
The study is being conducted in collaboration with Swansea University, Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust, Sheffield Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust, The Walton Centre NHS Trust, and University Hospitals Birmingham NHS Trust.
They will recruit 400 volunteers, aged 16 to 69 years, from NHS hospitals, rehabilitation centres, multiple sclerosis charities, and web forums. About half the volunteers will then receive a 10-week group intervention at one of the study centres in Nottingham, Sheffield, Liverpool and Birmingham. The groups will focus on strategies to improve attention and to reduce memory problems in daily life. The remaining volunteers will continue to receive their existing level of care.
If this study confirms the benefits of cognitive rehabilitation it could lead to a change in clinical practice in the NHS and abroad. The researchers will also use questionnaires to determine the cost-effectiveness of this intervention, and to get feedback from those taking part in the trial to establish if intervention improved their quality of life.
Source: EurekaAlert! Copyright © 2015 by the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) (26/03/15)
Exercise may improve cognitive performance in people with MS(25/03/15)
Cognitive impairment is a major debilitating feature of multiple sclerosis, and is estimated to occur in more than 50% of people living with MS at some point during the disease. These cognitive impairments can appear as difficulties with learning and memory, and deterioration of executive functions, such as planning or decision-making, focusing attention, multi-tasking, and problem-solving. People living with cognitive deficits can experience greatly diminished quality of life and loss of independence while facing the realization that treatment options are few-and-far-between. There are currently no drug therapies available that can specifically treat cognitive impairments in people living with MS, and cognitive rehabilitation studies have shown mixed success to date.
One approach that is emerging as a promising strategy for treating cognitive dysfunction in MS is exercise training. There is compelling experimental evidence showing that specific types of exercise training can improve cognition in both the general population and in people with certain neurological conditions like stroke, traumatic brain injury, and schizophrenia. For people living with MS, there have been three controlled clinical trials that have examined the effects of exercise on some aspects of cognition, although the results so far have been mixed. Part of the reason for these inconclusive findings is that the types and intensities of exercise have yet to be standardized, making comparisons across studies difficult.
A study published in the Journal of Clinical and Experimental Neuropsychology by Dr. Robert Motl and colleagues examined the short-term effects of several types of aerobic and non-aerobic exercise training on cognitive performance in people living with relapsing-remitting MS.
The Study
The study was performed on 24 individuals with relapsing-remitting MS. The participants underwent assessment of disability status using the Expanded Disability Status Scale (EDSS); eligible participants needed to be able to walk with or without minimal assistance (e.g. cane or crutch) in order to be able to participate in the exercise routines.
The researchers used the modified-flanker test to assess each subject's reaction time and accuracy in identifying a randomly-presented object while blocking out either helpful or distracting information on either side of the object. In other words, the test allowed the researchers to measure the participants' attention and executive functions (i.e. ability to suppress information that is either related or unrelated to the task).
The procedure consisted of five sessions (one per week); the first session established the baseline for exercise endurance fitness and trained the participants in the modified-flanker test, and was followed by four testing sessions. For each testing session, participants took the modified-flanker test, followed by one of three exercises (treadmill walking, stationary bicycle, or guided yoga) or quiet rest. After completion of the exercise and a cool-down period, participants took the modified-flanker test again to determine whether the exercise training affected performance on the test. For each session, participants performed a different exercise, so that by the end of the experiment each participant performed every exercise in a random order.
The researchers measured the effects of each type of exercise on participants' performance in the modified-flanker test, and compared that to their performance after quiet rest. They found that treadmill walking improved reaction time on the test with no improvement in accuracy compared to quiet rest; the reaction time was particularly improved in trials where the target object was surrounded by distracting information.
Both stationary bicycling and guided yoga also improved test reaction time without improving accuracy compared to quiet rest, although the reaction time improvements were not seen in trials where the target object was surrounded by distracting information.
The results of this study show that several types of exercise can improve cognitive performance and executive functions in people with relapsing-remitting MS. Treadmill walking in particular appeared to have the strongest effect on improving selective attention and blocking distracting information in this study; although the reason for this is unclear, the authors suggested that since impaired ambulation is so common in people with MS, treadmill walking perhaps stimulates those parts of the brain involved in attention to a greater degree than stationary cycling or yoga. The improvements in test performance were only seen in reaction time and not accuracy, although accuracy scores at baseline were already quite high, so there was very little room for improvement. A limitation of this study was that overall, the participants were not cognitively impaired, and it remains to be seen how people affected by MS with cognitive impairment could benefit from exercise training, as well as how to adapt exercise training in those with severe physical disability who cannot carry out these exercises.
The findings from this study contribute to a growing body of literature linking physical activity to neuroplasticity in the brain, both in the general population and in people living with MS. While the bulk of this research has looked at ways of harnessing neuroplasticity for promoting physical rehabilitation, an emerging area of study is the application of exercise interventions to improving cognitive impairment. Visit the research blog to learn more about neuroplasticity in MS.
Sandroff BM et al. (2015) Acute effects of walking, cycling, and yoga exercise on cognition in persons with relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis without impaired cognitive processing speed. J Clin Exp Neuropsychol. 37(2):209-19
Source: MS Society of Canada © 2015 MS Society of Canada (25/03/15)
Cognitive fatigue in multiple sclerosis depends on task length - study(23/01/15)
A study from a team of researchers at the Kessler Foundation provides new findings on multiple sclerosis (MS). According to the study, published in the journal Frontiers in Neurology, cognitive fatigue exhibited by MS patients is related to the length of the task they are involved in.
Fatigue is one of the most reported symptoms of Multiple Sclerosis (MS) with a prevalence estimation ranging from 70 to 90%. Cognitive fatigue can be a result of both cognitive and physical exertion, and usually presents as subjective sensations or objective changes in performance, fatigue, and fatigability.
Treating cognitive fatigue clinically is complicated because there is a poor understanding of the factors contributing to this combination of symptoms.
In their study titled "Subjective cognitive fatigue in MS depends on task length," Joshua Sandry from the Neuropsychology and Neuroscience Research, Kessler Foundation, and colleagues examined the relationships between subjective and objective cognitive fatigue, information processing domain (PS), working memory (WM) cognitive load and time on a task in 32 patients with Multiple Sclerosis (MS). The results were compared with 24 healthy controls.
Data analysis showed that subjective cognitive fatigue was higher for the PS task, increased across time, and was higher in the MS group compared to healthy controls. Furthermore, the results revealed that subjective and objective fatigue were independent variables. Morevoer, subjective cognitive fatigue increased with the length of time spent on a task, strongly suggesting that cognitive fatigue in MS is a function of time.
The researchers indicate that this new understanding may help to inform future research studies and help clinicians conduct evaluations of cognitive fatigue in MS. This can ultimately lead to better treatment strategies to cognitive fatigue in Multiple Sclerosis.
Concerning these results, lead author Dr. Joshua Sandry said in a recent press release, "In our study, task length was the factor associated with subjective cognitive fatigue," "which supports the hypothesis of Temporal Fatigue. This finding should be considered when designing cognitive studies in MS populations. More research is needed to look at these parameters in people with different types of MS, different levels of cognitive impairment and in more advanced stages."
Source: Multiple Sclerosis News Today © BioNews-tx.com 2015 (23/01/15)
Corpus callosum cross-section correlated with MS cognitive decline(19/01/15)
A 17-year longitudinal study published online ahead of print in the Multiple Sclerosis Journal found that corpus callosum area (CCA) was closely associated with cognitive decline in multiple sclerosis patients (Granberg et al., 2014). The results may point to a refreshingly uncomplicated biomarker for cognitive and physical disability in MS patients.
The researchers examined a cohort of 37 MS patients in 1996, with follow-up examinations in 2004 and 2013, to assess changes in their CCA. In order to compare CCA from patient to patient, the researchers normalised each patient's midsagittal CCA to his or her midsagittal intracranial skull surface area. They called the resulting measurement the normalized corpus callosum area (nCCA).
In the 2004 and 2013 follow-ups, only 23 of the patients remained in the study, and the researchers compared their results with those of 23 age- and sex-matched healthy controls. At each examination the participants were assessed on the Expanded Disability Status Scale (EDSS) and they performed the Symbol Digit Modalities Test (SDMT), a measurement of processing speed.
Overall, nCCA correlated well with SDMT and EDSS scores in patients (r = 0.793, p < 0.001; r = −0.545, p < 0.001, respectively) after adjusting for disease duration, age, and sex and also adjusting for multiple comparisons. These correlations outperformed other measures of brain atrophy such as gray matter fraction and normalised lesion volume.
"I wouldn't have expected that the simple measurements of the corpus callosum would actually outperform the volumetric measurements," Tobias Granberg, M.D., who is a current Ph.D. candidate at Karolinska Institutet in Stockholm, Sweden, told MSDF. He said that it takes only about 45 seconds to obtain the measurement from each MRI sequence.
Although the nCCA measurements showed a strong correlation with patients' SDMT and EDSS scores at each time point, the nCCA measurements taken in 1996 were not predictive of each patient's SDMT and EDSS scores 17 years later. Granberg and his colleagues adjusted the patients' nCCA with their SDMT and EDSS scores at the outset and found no statistically significant relationship between nCCA and SDMT or EDSS in 2013. Granberg told MSDF that he felt the lack of statistical significance was due to the small sample size, and that future studies with larger sample sizes would show greater predictive power of nCCA.
"There are some previous studies that have used these simple measurements and have proven that they can help in deciding which patients will be going from having clinically isolated syndrome into having MS," Granberg said.
Granberg also said that he and his colleagues are conducting a companion study to this one directly comparing corpus callosum area to the corpus callosum index, another method of measuring atrophy. He's also testing nCCA as a way to potentially differentiate patients in the relapsing versus the progressive phase of the disease.
Corpus callosum atrophy is strongly associated with cognitive impairment in multiple sclerosis: Results of a 17-year longitudinal study. Granberg T, Martola J, Bergendal G, Shams S, Damangir S, Aspelin P, Fredrikson S, Kristoffersen-Wiberg M Mult Scler. 2014 Dec 5. PMID: 25480866. Abstract
Source: Multiple Sclerosis Discovery Forum Copyright © 2014 MGH and ACP (19/01/15)
Can Tryptophan help improve memory in Multiple Sclerosis patients?(18/12/14)
Have you ever eaten a turkey dinner and afterwards someone says that the feeling of drowsiness is caused by the tryptophan in the meat? According to Texas A&M University Professor Dr. Nicolaas Deutz, "This story about tryptophan in turkey is just kind of a running joke, it has nothing to do with the tryptophan." Sleepiness probably has more to do with eating a big meal, according to Deutz.
It's not that the amino acid can't have potent effects on the central nervous system — it simply turns out that turkey does not have unusual levels of tryptophan. Tryptophan is normally converted to the neurotransmitter serotonin. Serotonin controls sleepiness, and higher levels of serotonin seem to improve mood.
While the fable of turkey making you tired might be a joke, using tryptophan to try to improve memory problems in people with multiple sclerosis, however, is far from funny, according to Dr. Deutz. Funded by the Maastricht University Medical Center, he is studying tryptophan-enriched diets and their effect on both mood and cognition in people with the de-myelinating autoimmune disorder.
Deutz and his colleagues at Texas A&M's Center for Translational Research in Aging and Longevity (CTRAL) have studied tryptophan depletion for several years. They have found that both memory and cognition are adversely impaired when people do not get enough tryptophan. Using brain imaging, they saw less activity in an area of the brain responsible for memory encoding — called the hippocampus — when people lacked tryptophan. In a separate study in women, they saw that mood also became worse in people with a family history of depression.
Because of these effects of tryptophan depletion, Deutz decided to try giving older people with multiple sclerosis tryptophan. He noted that although the onset of multiple sclerosis is during age 20-50, older people with the disease have particular problems with cognition and depression. He noted, "In many ways, multiple sclerosis is almost like the brain getting older on its own. The memory problems really look similar to dementia, Parkinson's and other diseases that affect older people."
Previous studies of tryptophan supplementation were limited by a toxic byproduct. According to the investigators of the current trial, tryptophan can now be supplied in a non-toxic form as a component of different natural proteins.
"This research has been around for nearly 30 or 40 years," said Deutz. "What makes it new is finally bringing it to a translational/clinical level and having a practical application. We now have more tools to measure metabolism and safer ways to digest large amounts of tryptophan."
Source: Multiple Sclerosis News Today © BioNews-tx.com 2014 (18/12/14)
Major MS cognitive rehabilitation trial funded by NHS(21/11/14)
The Cognitive Rehabilitation for Attention and Memory trial (CRAMMS), a major study to be conducted on patients with multiple sclerosis, was recently awarded £1,167,000 by the National Health Service (NHS), through its Health Technology Assessment (HTA) Program.
The study, which is expected to be the largest trial of its kind in the United Kingdom, is designed to examine MS patients' cognitive rehabilitation capacities and determine if a group of cognitive rehabilitation programs is able to improve patients' quality of life.
This symptom management clinical trial for MS is being conducted because so many patients experience difficulties in cognitive processes, including loss in memory, decision making, and concentration, and there are currently few effective treatments available for the management of these symptoms. Therefore, the CRAMMS trial is expected to be able to advance the development of new therapies to improve the lives of patients with these problems.
The trial, which is expected to occur between September of 2014 and August of 2018 at four centres in Nottingham, Sheffield, Liverpool, and Birmingham, is currently enrolling patients, who must be diagnosed with MS and between the ages of 18 and 70 years old. During the trial, participants will be enrolled over the course of 16 months and will participate in either weekly group cognitive rehabilitation sessions with a psychologist and their usual care, or just their usual care. The investigators will then evaluate and compare the effects on the two groups.
"We do not know whether taking part in the study will help but we expect that some people will find the intervention helps them cope with memory and attention problems," the website of the trial states. "However, the information we get from this study may help us to treat people with MS and attention and memory problems better in future. There are no particular risks involved in taking part in this study."
In addition, the trial is also expected to raise particular attention and investment into other research focused to the disease.
Source: Multiple Sclerosis News Today © Copyright 2014 BioNews Services, LLC (21/11/14)
Anti-NMDA may explain some MS mental deficits(11/11/14)
Prematurely severe cognitive impairment in multiple sclerosis patients could be an effect of autoantibodies against the N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) receptor complex, with natalizumab (Tysabri) withdrawal a potential contributor, a case report from Germany suggested.
In an MS patient who had to be confined to a nursing home at age 39 because of cognitive deficits amounting to dementia, immunoglobulin G-type antibodies to the NMDA receptor's NR1 subunit were found in cerebrospinal fluid samples, according to Klemens Ruprecht, MD, of Charité-Universitätsmedizin Berlin, and colleagues.
These autoantibodies are "the characteristic laboratory finding of anti-NMDA receptor encephalitis," they wrote online in JAMA Neurology.
When severe cognitive deficits appear at young ages, Ruprecht and colleagues concluded, they could "be related to a superimposed antibody-mediated autoimmune encephalitis."
Cognitive deficits are common in MS patients but the mechanisms underlying them are not well understood, the researchers noted. Normally these come on gradually and at later ages. However, as in the current case, occasionally such deficits appear early and progress rapidly. In such cases, clinicians should consider causes outside the MS disease process, Ruprecht and colleagues suggested.
"The diagnosis of those patients will require a high degree of clinical suspicion as cognitive symptoms are rather frequent in MS and may mask or be confounded with features of antibody-mediated encephalitides," they wrote. "Nevertheless, testing for antineuronal antibodies appears warranted in patients with MS with unusual neuropsychiatric symptoms."
Also, in the patient who was the subject of the case report, the anti-NMDA antibody pathology may have had some relation to treatment with natalizumab.
Case Details
The woman was first diagnosed with MS at age 33. Her disease course was unremarkable until age 37 when she gave birth, and then rapidly developed cognitive deficits marked primarily by memory loss. She was treated aggressively with MS therapies including natalizumab, cyclophosphamide, and mitoxantrone, with no impact on the progression of cognitive decline.
At age 43, during her fourth year of nursing home residency, she underwent a complete re-evaluation that included analysis of current and stored serum and CSF samples. At that point, anti-NMDA antibodies were discovered in the CSF samples, including those taken shortly after the cognitive symptoms appeared.
The natalizumab was withdrawn 2 years after the patient started on it, out of concern for the risk of progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy since she had also been on immunosuppressive therapy.
Five months later, she developed a "fulminant" MS relapse, the researchers indicated, which was accompanied by a spike in anti-NMDA antibody titers -- a sign that the latter may have had some connection to the natalizumab withdrawal.
Ruprecht and colleagues noted that the drug suppresses CD138-positive plasma cells. "Therefore, it seems plausible that natalizumab withdrawal facilitated entry of NMDA receptor antibody-producing plasma cells to the central nervous system," they wrote.
The patient died of urosepsis last December, almost 8 years after the onset of cognitive symptoms.
She represented only the second known case of anti-NMDA encephalitis in an MS patient, the researchers indicated, and the first in whom the antibodies targeted the receptor complex's NR1 subunit (NR2B was the target in the previous case).
But they suggested the comorbid conditions may occur more frequently than these case reports might suggest, because cognitive impairments are common in MS and clinicians may not think to look for other causes.
The study was funded by the German government. Authors reported relationships with Bayer Healthcare, Merck Serono, Biogen Idec, Novartis, Ovamed, Teva, Diamed, Genzyme, and Sanofi.
Primary source: JAMA Neurology
Source reference: Fleischmann R, et al "Severe cognitive impairment associated with intrathecal antibodies to the NR1 subunit of the N-methyl-D-aspartate receptor in a patient with multiple sclerosis" JAMA Neurology 2014; DOI: 10.1001/jamaneurol.2014.1817.
Source: Medpage Today © 2014 MedPage Today, LLC (11/11/14)
Cognitive executive deficits in Multiple Sclerosis patients(07/10/14)
Research supports the slowed processing speed in the executive deficits found in individuals with multiple sclerosis (MS), according to a paper from the Kessler Foundation.
The investigators wanted to further explore cognitive deficits, since they affect nearly half the population of MS patients. These disabling symptoms can adversely affect patients' quality of life. Data was collected from 50 MS patients and 28 healthy controls and all patients were evaluated through executive functioning tasks both with and without a processing speed element. The tasks included the Trail Making and Wisconsin Card Sorting tests.
The researchers found the MS patients performed on tasks related to executive function compared to their healthy counterparts. While analyzing the data for speed control, the scientists discovered the differences between the healthy and MS group disappeared. The data also revealed no difference on executive tasks with non-processing speed demands.
Disease progression was also something the researchers investigated throughout this study in the MS group. For MS patients, higher atrophy was associated with greater deficits on speeded executive tasks. However, the relationship vanished when the researchers controlled for processing speed. The researchers noted there was no association between atrophy and performance when analyzing non-processing speed executive tasks.
"Our results point to slowed processing speed as the mechanism underlying deficits in executive function," Nancy Chiaravalloti, PhD, said in a press release. "Understanding this association is an important step toward the development of effective cognitive rehabilitation strategies for individuals with MS. We should focus our efforts on 2 key domains - processing speed and memory."
Executive deficits in MS may be explained by slow processing speed, the researchers concluded in their paper. Slowed processing speed may be a primary impairment which underlies other cognitive functions. They believe it is important to unwrap processing speed contributions to executive function, which would be an important step toward the development of appropriate treatment and rehabilitation techniques for MS patients.
"Additional neuropsychological measures should be included in future studies," Chiaravalloti added. "We also need to focus on the contribution of specific brain pathology, such as frontal atrophy and lesion load, to executive deficits."
Source: Rehabilitation Psychology & HCPLive Copyright HCPLive 2006-2014 (07/10/14)
MS researchers find role for working memory in cognitive reserve(10/09/14)
Kessler Foundation scientists have shown that working memory may be an underlying mechanism of cognitive reserve in multiple sclerosis (MS).
This finding informs the relationships between working memory, intellectual enrichment (the proxy measure for cognitive reserve) and long-term memory in this population.
"Working memory mediates the relationship between intellectual enrichment and long-term memory in multiple sclerosis: An exploratory analysis of cognitive reserve" (doi: 10.1017/S1355617714000630) was published online ahead of print by the Journal of the International Neuropsychological Society on July 14. The authors are Joshua Sandry, PhD, and research scientist James F. Sumowski, PhD, of Neuropsychological & Neuroscience Research at Kessler Foundation. Dr. Sandry is a postdoctoral fellow funded by a grant from the National MS Society.
Cognitive symptoms, including deficits in long-term memory, are known to affect approximately half of individuals with MS. This study was conducted in 70 patients with MS, who were evaluated for intellectual enrichment, verbal long-term memory, and working memory capacity.
"We found that working memory capacity explained the relationship between intellectual enrichment and long-term memory in this population," said Dr Sandry. "This suggests that interventions targeted at working memory in people with MS may help build cognitive reserve to protect against decline in long-term memory."
Source: Science Codex (10/09/14)
Persons with MS may be able to improve self-awareness via task-oriented cognitive rehabilitation(26/08 14)
A new study of self-awareness by Kessler Foundation researchers shows that persons with multiple sclerosis (MS) may be able to improve their self-awareness through task-oriented cognitive rehabilitation. The study was epublished ahead of print on July 2 in NeuroRehabilitation. (Yael Goverover, Helen Genova, Hali Griswold, Nancy D. Chiaravalloti & John DeLuca: Metacognitive knowledge and online awareness in persons with multiple sclerosis doi: 10.3233/NRE-141113). Self-awareness is one's ability to recognise cognitive problems caused by brain injury. This is the first study of self-awareness in MS that includes assessment of online awareness, as well as metacognitive awareness.
Yael Goverover, PhD, OT, is a visiting scientist at Kessler Foundation. She is an associate professor at New York University. Dr. Goverover is a recipient of the National Institute on Disability and Rehabilitation Research Fellowship award (Mary Switzer Award). Drs. Genova, Chiaravalloti and DeLuca are MS researchers at Kessler Foundation.
The researchers assessed 18 people with MS and 16 healthy controls for 2 types of self-awareness - metacognitive knowledge of disabilities (or intellectual awareness) and online awareness (emergent or anticipatory awareness). They also looked at the relationships among self-awareness, functional performance and quality of life (QoL). Assessment involved the Functional Behavior Profile, questionnaires administered before and after functional tasks (purchasing cookies and airline tickets via the Internet) and the Functional Assessment of Multiple Sclerosis measure.
"Results showed that compared with controls, people with MS assessed their actual performance more realistically following completion of a task. This suggests that individuals may be able to improve their self-awareness through more experience with tasks," noted Nancy Chiaravalloti, PhD, director of Neuropsychology & Neuroscience Research at Kessler Foundation. "Research that leads to better understanding of types of self-awareness, functional outcomes and QOL will aid the development of effective assessments and rehabilitation interventions," said Dr. Chiaravalloti. "The association between online awareness and task performance in this study, for example, may have implications for cognitive rehabilitation strategies in the MS population."
Source: News-Medical.Net Copyright AZoM.com Limited 2000-2014 (26/08 14)
Cognitive impairment in multiple sclerosis: An 18-year follow-up study(25/06/14)
Researchers at Kessler Foundation and the Cleveland Clinic have published one of the longest longitudinal studies of cognition in multiple sclerosis (MS). The article, "Cognitive impairment in multiple sclerosis: An 18-year follow-up study," was epublished by Multiple Sclerosis and Related Disorders on April 13, 2014. Results provide insight into the natural evolution of cognitive changes over time, an important consideration for researchers and clinicians. Authors are Lauren B. Strober, PhD, of Kessler Foundation and Stephen M. Rao, PhD, Jar-Chi Lee, Elizabeth Fisher, PhD, and Richard Rudick, MD, of the Cleveland Clinic.
"While cognitive impairment is known to affect 40 to 65% of individuals with MS, few studies have followed the pattern of cognitive decline over time, which is important for understanding long-term care and outcomes associated with MS," said Dr. Strober, senior research scientist at Kessler Foundation. "Our study was based on a unique sample of 22 patients who underwent neuropsychological testing at entry into the original phase 3 clinical trial of intramuscular interferon beta-1a, and again at 18-year followup."
At baseline, 9 patients (41%) had cognitive impairment; at 18-year followup, 13 patients (59%), were found to be impaired. Significant declines over time were found in information processing speed, auditory attention, memory, episodic learning and visual construction. Decline was steeper in the unimpaired than in the impaired group, as indicated by the Symbol Digit Modalities Test (SDMT).
"These longitudinal data contribute substantially to our knowledge of the course of cognitive decline in MS," noted John DeLuca, PhD, VP of Research & Training at Kessler Foundation. "In light of the young age at diagnosis, this perspective is fundamental to the development of rehabilitation strategies that meet the needs of people dealing with the cognitive effects of MS."
The study was funded by Biogen Idec.
Source: Medical Xpress © Medical Xpress 2011-2014 (25/06/14)
Cognitive problems and white matter loss in SPMS(03/06/14)
Extensive White Matter Dysfunction in Cognitively Impaired Patients with Secondary-Progressive Multiple Sclerosis.
Francis PL, Chia TL, Jakubovic R, O'Connor P, Lee L, Feinstein A, Aviv RI.
BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: Cognitive impairment is a common, disabling symptom of MS. We investigated the association between cognitive impairment and WM dysfunction in secondary-progressive multiple sclerosis using DTI.
MATERIALS AND METHODS: Cognitive performance was assessed with a standard neuropsychological battery, the Minimal Assessment of Cognitive Function in Multiple Sclerosis. Cognitive impairment was defined as scoring >1.5 standard deviations below healthy controls on ≥2 subtests. Fractional anisotropy maps were compared against cognitive status using tract-based spatial statistics with threshold-free cluster enhancement.
RESULTS: Forty-five patients with secondary-progressive multiple sclerosis (median age: 55 years, female/male: 27/18, median Expanded Disability Status Scale Score: 6.5) were prospectively recruited. Cognitively impaired patients (25/45) displayed significantly less normalized global GM and WM volumes (P = .001, P = .024), more normalized T2-weighted and T1-weighted WM lesion volumes (P = .002, P = .006), and lower WM skeleton fractional anisotropy (P < .001) than non-impaired patients. Impaired patients also had significantly lower fractional anisotropy (pcorr < .05) in over 50% of voxels within every major WM tract. The most extensively impinged tracts were the left posterior thalamic radiation (100.0%), corpus callosum (97.8%), and right sagittal stratum (97.5%). No WM voxels had significantly higher fractional anisotropy in patients with cognitive impairment compared with their non-impaired counterparts (pcorr > .05). After the inclusion of confounders in a multivariate logistic regression, only fractional anisotropy remained a significant predictor of cognitive status.
CONCLUSIONS: Cognitively impaired patients with secondary-progressive multiple sclerosis exhibited extensive WM dysfunction, though preferential involvement of WM tracts associated with cognition, such as the corpus callosum, was apparent. Multivariate analysis revealed that only WM skeleton fractional anisotropy was a significant predictor of cognitive status.
Source: AJNR Am J Neuroradiol. 2014 May 15 & Pubmed PMID: 24831599 (03/06/14)
Pain intensity contributes to cognitive dysfunction in Multiple Sclerosis(07/05/14)
Among adult patients with multiple sclerosis (MS), pain severity can impact performance on cognitive tests, suggesting that pain independently contributes to impaired brain function in MS.
For their pilot study presented at the American Pain Society 33rd Annual Scientific Meeting, held April 30, 2014, to May 3, 2014, in Tampa, FL, Anna L. Kratz, PhD, of the Center for Outcomes Development & Application in the Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation at the University of Michigan, and Tiffany J. Braley, MD, MS, of Multiple Sclerosis and Sleep Disorders Centers in the Department of Neurology at the University of Michigan, examined the correlation between pain intensity and cognitive test scores in 40 adult patients diagnosed with MS and explored the underlying mechanisms among those elements, such as sleep duration.
While previous studies have linked pain severity to cognitive functioning in the general population and determined that cognitive dysfunction is more common in those with chronic pain, the authors said "little has been done to explore symptoms that may exacerbate cognitive dysfunction in MS, including pain," despite the fact that approximately two-thirds of MS patients have a chronic pain condition, 25% of whom experience severe chronic pain.
Within the current research sample, 26 patients had relapsing-remitting MS, 9 had secondary-progressive MS, and 5 had primary-progressive MS. Subjects were excluded from the study if they demonstrated "severe cognitive impairment, severe depression, visual and/or hearing impairments, lack of independent mobility, use of medical treatment for obstructive sleep apnea (OSA), and drug and/or alcohol dependence," Kratz and Braley said.
During the study's baseline visit, the investigators calculated the patients' PROMIS Pain Intensity and Expanded Disability Status Scale (EDSS) scores and then showed them how to use a wrist-worn accelerometer, which continuously collected data on objective sleep parameters by recording ambient light and physical movements. In order to assess the association between pain and cognitive performance with and without sleep duration as a factor, the authors conducted the Controlled Oral Word Association Test (COWAT), Judgment of Line Orientation (JLO) test, and the Symbol Digit Modalities Test (SDMT) on the patients.
When they left out sleep duration in their analysis, Kratz and Braley found "pain intensity was independently associated with poorer performance on tests of verbal fluency (COWAT), visuospatial judgment (JLO), attention, working memory, and psychomotor speed (SDMT) above and beyond the effects of age and MS-related disability." In fact, pain severity explained 8-10% of the variance in performance across those cognitive tests.
Even after they included sleep duration, the researchers said "the associated between pain and cognitive functioning was maintained for … poorer visuospatial judgment (JLO) and verbal fluency (COWAT)." In this set of regression models, pain intensity similarly accounted for 5-10% of the deviation in cognitive test performance. Based on their findings, Kratz and Braley speculated that "pain contributes to cognitive dysfunction in MS beyond the effects of neuronal damage, cumulative neurological disability, or actigraphy-based sleep measures." Additionally, the investigators said further research on the mechanisms underlying this association "could lead to novel advances in the management of cognitive dysfunction in MS through pain-based interventions."
Source: HCPLive Copyright HCPLive 2006-2013 Intellisphere, LLC (07/05/14)
Brain and cognitive reserve protect long-term against cognitive decline(01/05/14)
Multiple sclerosis researchers have found that brain reserve and cognitive reserve confer a long-term protective effect against cognitive decline. The study has been published in Neurology.
James Sumowski, PhD, lead author of the article, and John DeLuca, PhD, are at Kessler Foundation. Co-authors are from the Manhattan Memory Center, New York, NY, the San Raffaele Scientific Institute, Milan, Italy, and the University of Belgrade, Serbia. Neurology is the official journal of the American Academy of Neurology. Dr. Sumowski presented this research at the 2014 AAN conference in Philadelphia.
"Our research aims to answer these questions," explained Dr. DeLuca. "Why do some people with MS experience disabling symptoms of cognitive decline, while others maintain their cognitive abilities despite neuroimaging evidence of significant disease progression? Can the theories of brain reserve and cognitive reserve explain this dichotomy? Can we identify predictors of cognitive decline?"
In this study, memory, cognitive efficiency, vocabulary (a measure of intellectual enrichment/cognitive reserve), brain volume (a measure of brain reserve), and disease progression on MRI, were evaluated in 40 patients with MS at baseline and at 4.5-year followup. After controlling for disease progression, scientists looked at the impact of brain volume and intellectual enrichment on cognitive decline.
Results supported the protective effects of brain reserve and cognitive reserve," noted Dr. Sumowski. "Patients with greater intellectual enrichment experienced lesser degrees of cognitive decline. Those with greater brain reserve showed a protective effect for cognitive efficiency. This study not only confirms these protective effects of brain and cognitive reserve, it shows that these beneficial effects persist for years."
More information: Sumowski JF, Leavitt VM. Body Temperature Is Elevated and Linked to Fatigue in Relapsing-Remitting Multiple Sclerosis, Even Without Heat Exposure. Arch Phys Med Rehabil. 2014 Feb 20.
Sumowski JF, Coyne J, Cohen A, Deluca J.Retrieval practice improves memory in survivors of severe traumatic brain injury. Arch Phys Med Rehabil. 2014 Feb;95(2):397-400
Sumowski JF, Chiaravalloti N, Krch D, Paxton J, Deluca J. Education attenuates the negative impact of traumatic brain injury on cognitive status. Arch Phys Med Rehabil. 2013 Dec;94(12):2562-4.
Source: Medical Xpress © Medical Xpress 2011-2014 (01/05/14)


text:
The Church needs a new âmissionary dynamicâ of lay people and must pay âparticular attention (to) baptized people who do not live according to the requirements of the baptism,â he said as 262 bishops wound up a three-week huddle that broached all major issues and crises shaking the 2,000-year-old institution.
Clerics must also apply ânew methods, a new language that suits different culturesâ in their bid for a ânew evangelism,â he said during a closing mass at Saint Peterâs. ...
Are We Really Catholic Bashing?
There is more than one The Scandal of the Catholic Priesthood
Is the One True Church Roman Catholic? [URL]
This is an interesting article, written by an ex Catholic. So, he has paid attention to the subject. Actually he is talking about John Paul the second, but of course, one pope carries on the evil of his predecessor. The New Catholic Evangelization.
"...n March, the former Catholic Archbishop, Cardinal George Pell, told the Royal Commission into child abuse that victims should be able to sue the church.
"Now, though, a New South Wales woman says the church still plans to use the legal precedent to fight her compensation claim."
Should Roman Catholicism really be classified as a Christian religion? -- No.
In the contact the police and SNAP---Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests, if you know about abuse of children by Catholic priests.
From Downunder, oh, and Come Out Of The Catholic Church
The imperceptible turning of the wheels of justice in the Vatican. Secrets of the Vatican (video).


text:
Bop Design Announces Five Web Design Trends to Stay on Top of in 2013
With 2013 just beginning, many business owners are thinking about how they can grow in the New Year. As technology progresses faster and faster, it´s important to be aware of shifts in marketing practices.
San Diego, Calif. (PRWEB) January 12, 2013
With 2013 just beginning, many business owners are thinking about how they can grow in the New Year. As technology progresses faster and faster, it´s important to be aware of shifts in marketing practices. "Business owners need to understand how design trends evolve so they don´t get left behind," says Jeremy Durant, business principal at Bop Design, a San Diego marketing agency that has helped hundreds of clients boost response through effective, strategic web design.
"The beginning of the new year is a great time to catch up on how trends evolve so they don´t get left behind on design best practices. It could spell the difference between website success and failure in the year ahead."
Many business owners are too busy to delve into the nitty-gritty of web design techniques, so they leave those details to their web team. But it doesn´t hurt to know what´s emerging as the hottest design trends of 2013, Durant says.
"To help keep business owners engaged in the process, we´ve identified five web design trends that are hot topics. We´ve posed them as questions, with links to stellar examples of each trend. Take a few minutes to explore each of the points below. You may not be an expert when you´re done, but you´ll at least start to sound like one. And in this competitive market, that can mean a lot.
- Will responsive design become a standard for web design? Responsive websites respond to their environment. Responsively designed websites are only valuable in today´s increasingly mobile word. Responsive design means you design one website and it adapts to different screen sizes—desktop, tablet, and mobile.
- Will parallax design become more popular than single-page/vertical scrolling websites? Parallax design completely shifts how a view scrolls through a website. Instead of vertical scrolling, the website scrolls in any way the designer chooses–vertically, diagonally, and more. In web design, the parallax effect is a relatively new trend. The effect itself has been around for a while, but lately is becoming more used and talked about.
- Will the 2012 tablet explosion (iPad, Surface, Nexus, Windows 8, etc.) create a need for specialized tablet versions of websites? Most website can easily be designed and developed for tablet use in mind, but that may not be enough any more. In general, there are at least five key differences between designing websites for tablets, and designing for desktops and laptops.
- Will we see more use of infographics in web design? USA Today may have invented the infographic in print, but the design element is making a big splash on the web. Stand-alone infographics are commonplace on the internet, but some designers are created websites in the infographic style.
- With web fonts becoming more accessible/affordable, will typography in web design be used in new ways? One example is Typecast, currently in a public beta, which allows web designers and developers to combine and compare different web fonts directly from the browser.
About Bop Design
Bop Design is a San Diego marketing agency with offices also in the New York metro area. We express a business' values through brand development, advertising, design and web design. We also help attract a firm's ideal customer through search engine optimization and social media marketing services. The marketing firm's focus is on small businesses that want an external team of marketing specialists to help give their brand an edge in the marketplace.
# # #
For the original version on PRWeb visit: http://www.prweb.com/releases/prwebbopdesign/webdesigntrends/prweb10312490.htm