Recently Abbasbandy and Hajjari (Computers and Mathematics with Applications57 (2009) 413-419) have introduced a ranking method for the trapezoidalfuzzy numbers. This paper extends theirs method to all fuzzy numbers,which uses from a defuzzication of fuzzy numbers and a general weightingfunction. Extended method is interesting for ranking all fuzzy numbers, and itcan be applied for solving and ...

A new steganographic method via the use of numeric data on public websites with a self-authentication capability is proposed. The proposed technique transforms a secret message into partial shares by Shamir’s (k, n)-threshold secret sharing scheme with n = k + 1. The generated k+1 partial shares then are embedded into the numeric items to be disguised as part of the website’s numeric content, y...

The decision to transfuse a hospitalized patient must balance the known risks of transfusion with the need to provide adequate tissue oxygenation and the appropriate utilization of blood as a scarce resource. The minimum tolerated hemoglobin level is not well established, and considerable variation exists in intensivists' transfusion practices. Conventional transfusion triggers of 100 g/l have ...

OBJECTIVE To examine the individual and combined associations of ApoE and MTHFR 677C/T polymorphisms with cognitive performance in adolescents. STUDY DESIGN The study comprised 412 Spanish adolescents (13 to 18.5 years of age). Cognitive performance (verbal, numeric and reasoning abilities, and an overall score) was measured by the Spanish-version of the SRA-Test of Educational-Ability. RES...

Being in the numeric minority (e.g., being a solo woman in a group of men) influences how well a person performs within a work group. But being the solo member is only one way in which people can be atypical in a group; a person can also represent a social or demographic category that has not typically been associated with the task that the group is working on. Using a design with four categori...

BACKGROUND High talker variability (i.e., multiple voices in the input) has been found effective in training nonnative phonetic contrasts in adults. A small number of studies suggest that children also benefit from high-variability phonetic training with some evidence that they show greater learning (more plasticity) than adults given matched input, although results are mixed. However, no study...

OBJECTIVE To evaluate if addition of educational cartoon to pediatric bowel preparation instructions improves the quality of bowel preparation and patient experience. METHODS Patients were randomized to control group receiving standard bowel preparation instructions or intervention group receiving additional educational cartoon. To objectively rate bowel preparation, a blinded endoscopist com...

BACKGROUND Our objective was to evaluate the measurement properties of the Pain Stages of Change Questionnaire (PSOCQ) and its four subscales Precontemplation, Contemplation, Action and Maintenance. METHODS A total of 231 patients, median age 42 years, with chronic musculoskeletal pain responded to the 30 items in PSOCQ. Thresholds for item scores, and unidimensionality and invariance of the ...

In the course of an ongoing research project testing numerical accuracy of statistical techniques and software frequently used by political scientists we replicate two studies, Nagler (1994) and Alvarez and Brehm (1995). We find numeric inaccuracies, errors in formulas, and data problems that reduce the strength of the substantive conclusions of the studies. Our replication analyses reveal ther...