The hedonic value of an outcome can be influenced by the alternatives to which it is compared, which is why people expect to be happier with outcomes that maximize comparative value (e.g., a job that pays them $45,000 and pays others $40,000) than with outcomes that maximize absolute value (e.g., a job that pays them $50,000 and pays others $55,000). Eight experiments showed that affective fore...

Previously, bacteriophage vB_EcoM_AYO145A, which lyses Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli O145:NM, was classified as an O1-like virus of the Myoviridae family. Here, we report the complete genome sequence of this phage and a comparative genomic analysis with other known O1-like phages.

The genome sequence of Escherichia coli serotype O157:H7 EDL933, a ground beef isolate from a 1983 hemorrhagic colitis outbreak, is a standard reference for comparative genomic studies of Shiga toxin-producing E. coli strains. Here, we report the genome sequence of a patient stool isolate from that outbreak, strain EDL932.

Treatment effects, especially when comparing two or more therapeutic alternatives as in comparative effectiveness research, are likely to be heterogeneous across age, gender, co-morbidities and co-medications. Propensity scores (PSs), an alternative to multivariable outcome models to control for measured confounding, have specific advantages in the presence of heterogeneous treatment effects. I...

Several alternatives to conventional ventilation in acute lung injury are now available and have been investigated to a varying degree. The assessment of all such techniques is limited by difficulties in designing proper comparative studies and by the time needed to recruit a large number of appropriate patients with acute lung injury. A common theme of lung volume maintenance combined with str...

This paper offers criticisms of, and alternatives to, the use of multiple regression in crossnational comparisons of welfare states and comparative political economy generally. To set the context for this discussion, it is worth remembering that there was once quite a clear divide between descriptive and prescriptive studies by historians or social policy analysts—the people who knew what they ...

Data of 18 patients with obstructive sleep apnea syndrome (OSAS) on therapy with continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) (with good efficacy) and with the Velumount® device were collected by respiratory polygraphy, blood pressure measurement, questionnaires, and neuropsychological tests to compare for the first time the effects of the Velumount® device to the one of CPAP therapy. Number of s...

Research into organic field effect transistors (OFETs) has made significant advances—both scientifically and technologically—during the last decade, and the first products will soon enter the market. Printed electronic circuits using organic resistors, diodes and transistors may become cheap alternatives to silicon-based systems, especially in large-area applications. A key parameter for device...