Background/Aims We sought to optimise the design of stepped wedge trials with an equal allocation of clusters to sequences and explored sample size comparisons with alternative trial designs. Methods We developed a new expression for the design effect for a stepped wedge trial, assuming that observations are equally correlated within clusters and an equal number of observations in each period b...

BACKGROUND High tibial osteotomy (HTO) with a medially opening wedge has been used to treat osteoarthritic knees. However, the osteotomized tibia becomes a highly unstable structure and necessitates the use of plate and screws to stabilize the medial opening and enhance bone healing. A T-shaped plate (e.g. TomoFix) with locking screws has been extensively used as a stabilizer of the HTO wedge. ...

In our earlier work, we introduced a definition for the electric charge "fractional-order" multipoles using the concept of fractional derivatives and integrals [l]. Here, we utilize that definition to introduce a detailed image theory for the two-dimensional (2-D) electrostatic potential distributions in front of a perfectly conducting wedge with arbitrary wedge angles, and for the three-dimens...

The interface between two wedges can be treated as a displacement discontinuity characterized by elastic stiffnesses. By representing the boundary between the two quarter-spaces as a displacement discontinuity, coupled wedge waves were determined theoretically to be dispersive and to depend on the specific stiffness of the non-welded contact between the two wedges. Laboratory experiments on iso...

We propose a metamaterial approach to route terahertz waves that features subwavelength confinement in the transverse plane. The guiding mechanism is based on geometrically induced electromagnetic modes sustained by corrugated metallic wedges, whose characteristics resemble those of wedge plasmon polaritons at telecom and optical frequencies. Additionally, frequency selective focusing and slowi...

Changing the internal structure of a program without changing its behavior is called restructuring. This paper presents a transformation called tuck for restructuring programs by decomposing large functions into small functions. Tuck consists of three steps: Wedge, Split, and Fold. A wedge—a subset of statements in a slice—contains computations that are related and that may create a meaningful ...

This research focus on exploring the effects moisture absorbed by a layer of hygroscopic film coated on the wedge tip along that anti-symmetric flexural (ASF) modes propagate. A shear wave transducer is applied to measure the signals of wedge wave propagating along the wedge tips. Velocity of the ASF mode is indicated to decrease while the moisture is absorbed by the hygroscopic film. Also, the...

Is There a Social Security Tax Wedge? A Beveridgean pension scheme invariably introduces a wedge between the wage rate and the marginal take-home pay. A Bismarckian one can do so only if it is not actuarially fair, or in the presence of credit rationing. Interestingly, if the two possible sources of distortion are present at the same time, they will tend to offset each other. The distortion may...

This paper examines the relationship between ownership structures and IPO long-run performance of nonSOEs in China. Although non-SOEs underperform the market in general after IPO but the poor performance is mainly caused by the IPOs with ownership control wedge. Non-SOEs with one share one vote structure outperform those with control-ownership wedge by 30% for three years post-IPO performance i...