Perceptual-filling-in (PFI) and motion-induced-blindness (MIB) are two phenomena of temporary blindness in which, after prolonged viewing, perceptually salient targets repeatedly disappear and reappear, amidst a field of distracters (i.e., non-targets). Past studies have shown that boundary adaptation is important in PFI, and that depth ordering between target and distracter pattern is importan...

OBJECTIVE The purpose of this study was to evaluate the relationship between body mass index (BMI) and a physical fitness index (PFI) in Chinese college freshmen based on 50-meter run. DESIGN AND METHODS Cross-sectional survey from 2007 to 2009. The records of 3825 men (age 18-31) and 4062 women (age 18-30) studying in Anhui medical university were examined. Height and weight were measured by...

The development of healthspan-extending pharmaceuticals requires quantitative estimation of age-related progressive physiological decline. In humans, individual health status can be quantitatively assessed by means of a frailty index (FI), a parameter which reflects the scale of accumulation of age-related deficits. However, adaptation of this methodology to animal models is a challenging task ...

The aim of this study is to examine the relationships among perceptions of implementation processes, implementation difficulties and value for money (VFM) in UK school private finance initiative (PFI) or public private partnership (PPP) contracts. The results suggest that implementation factors, such as effective PFI ‘consultation’, ‘contractual’, ‘monitoring and review’ processes have a signif...

We used optical coherence tomography (OCT) angiography with a high-speed swept-source OCT system to investigate retinal blood flow changes induced by visual stimulation with a reversing checkerboard pattern. The split-spectrum amplitude-decorrelation angiography (SSADA) algorithm was used to quantify blood flow as measured with parafoveal flow index (PFI), which is proportional to the density o...

"Motion-induced blindness" and "perceptual filing-in" are two phenomena in which perceptually salient stimuli repeatedly disappear and reappear after prolonged viewing. Despite the many similarities between MIB and PFI, two differences suggest that they could be unrelated phenomena: (1) An area surrounded by background stimuli can be perceived to disappear completely in PFI but not in MIB and (...

The fraudulent manipulation by Barclays Capital of the interbank lending rate (Libor) has real consequences for cash strapped NHS hospitals facing merger and service closure as a result of private finance initiative (PFI) debt repayments. Libor, which is used by banks to set interest rates, is linked to financial products known as derivatives that are widely used in PFI deals. By manipulating t...

417 ANALYSIS The NHS is facing serious revenue pressures if it is to meet the target of £15bn-20bn efficiency savings by 2013-4. 1 One important pressure for trust budgets in England is the annual private finance initiative (PFI) charge, which is ring fenced and indexed to inflation. Since 1991, all NHS trusts have had to pay a charge on NHS buildings and equipment to the Treasury, which averag...

Data on individual daily feed intake, BW at 28-d intervals, and carcass composition were obtained on 1,212 crossbred steers. Within-animal regressions of cumulative feed intake and BW on linear and quadratic days on feed were used to quantify initial and ending BW, average daily observed feed intake (OFI), and ADG over a 120-d finishing period. Feed intake was predicted (PFI) with 3 biological ...