Showing papers by "Keele University published in 2009"
TL;DR: The series of cost estimation SLRs demonstrate the potential value of EBSE for synthesising evidence and making it available to practitioners and European researchers appear to be the leading exponents of systematic literature reviews.
Abstract: Background: In 2004 the concept of evidence-based software engineering (EBSE) was introduced at the ICSE04 conference. Aims: This study assesses the impact of systematic literature reviews (SLRs) which are the recommended EBSE method for aggregating evidence. Method: We used the standard systematic literature review method employing a manual search of 10 journals and 4 conference proceedings. Results: Of 20 relevant studies, eight addressed research trends rather than technique evaluation. Seven SLRs addressed cost estimation. The quality of SLRs was fair with only three scoring less than 2 out of 4. Conclusions: Currently, the topic areas covered by SLRs are limited. European researchers, particularly those at the Simula Laboratory appear to be the leading exponents of systematic literature reviews. The series of cost estimation SLRs demonstrate the potential value of EBSE for synthesising evidence and making it available to practitioners.
2,843 citations
TL;DR: A progress report on the biomedical applications of magnetic nanoparticles since 2003 is presented in this paper, with a focus on magnetic actuation for in vitro non-viral transfection and tissue engineering.
Abstract: A progress report is presented on a selection of scientific, technological and commercial advances in the biomedical applications of magnetic nanoparticles since 2003. Particular attention is paid to (i) magnetic actuation for in vitro non-viral transfection and tissue engineering and in vivo drug delivery and gene therapy, (ii) recent clinical results for magnetic hyperthermia treatments of brain and prostate cancer via direct injection, and continuing efforts to develop new agents suitable for targeted hyperthermia following intravenous injection and (iii) developments in medical sensing technologies involving a new generation of magnetic resonance imaging contrast agents, and the invention of magnetic particle imaging as a new modality. Ongoing prospects are also discussed.
1,315 citations
TL;DR: Normalization Process Theory explains how new technologies, ways of acting, and ways of working become routinely embedded in everyday practice, and has applications in the study of implementation processes.
Abstract: Theories are important tools in the social and natural sciences. The methods by which they are derived are rarely described and discussed. Normalization Process Theory explains how new technologies, ways of acting, and ways of working become routinely embedded in everyday practice, and has applications in the study of implementation processes. This paper describes the process by which it was built. Between 1998 and 2008, we developed a theory. We derived a set of empirical generalizations from analysis of data collected in qualitative studies of healthcare work and organization. We developed an applied theoretical model through analysis of empirical generalizations. Finally, we built a formal theory through a process of extension and implication analysis of the applied theoretical model. Each phase of theory development showed that the constructs of the theory did not conflict with each other, had explanatory power, and possessed sufficient robustness for formal testing. As the theory developed, its scope expanded from a set of observed regularities in data with procedural explanations, to an applied theoretical model, to a formal middle-range theory. Normalization Process Theory has been developed through procedures that were properly sceptical and critical, and which were opened to review at each stage of development. The theory has been shown to merit formal testing.
899 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors define the limits of the term lifestyle migration, the characteristics of the lifestyle sought, and the place of this form of migration in the contemporary world, and map the various migrations that can be considered under this broad rubric, recognising the similarities and differences in their migration trajectories.
Abstract: For the past few years, the term ‘lifestyle migration’ has been used to refer to an increasing number of people who take the decision to migrate based on their belief that there is a more fulfilling way of life available to them elsewhere. Lifestyle migration is thus a growing, disparate phenomenon, with important but little understood implications for both societies and individuals. This article outlines and explores in detail a series of mobilities that have in common relative affluence and this search for a better lifestyle. We attempt to define the limits of the term lifestyle migration, the characteristics of the lifestyle sought, and the place of this form of migration in the contemporary world. In this manner, we map the various migrations that can be considered under this broad rubric, recognising the similarities and differences in their migration trajectories. Further to this, drawing on the sociological literature on lifestyle, we provide an initial theoretical conceptualisation of this phenomenon, attempting to explain its recent escalation in various guises, and investigating the historical, sociological, and individualised conditions that inspire this migration. This article is thus the first step in defining a broader programme for the study of lifestyle migration. We contend that the study of this migration is especially important in the current era given the impact such moves have on places and people at both ends of the migratory chain.
799 citations
TL;DR: The following processes are considered: Creation of charge droplets at the capillary tip; Electrical potentials required and possibility of gas discharges; Evolution of charged droplets, due to solvent evaporation and Coulomb explosions, to very small droplets that are the precursors of the gas phase ions.
Abstract: There is an advantage for users of electrospray and nanospray mass spectrometry to have an understanding of the processes involved in the conversion of the ions present in the solution to ions in the gas phase. The following processes are considered: Creation of charge droplets at the capillary tip; Electrical potentials required and possibility of gas discharges; Evolution of charged droplets, due to solvent evaporation and Coulomb explosions, to very small droplets that are the precursors of the gas phase ions; Production of gas phase ions from these droplets via the Ion Evaporation and Charge residue models; Analytical uses of ESIMS of small ions, qualitative and quantitative analysis; Effects of the ESI mechanism on the analysis of proteins and protein complexes; Determination of stability constants of protein complexes; Role of additives such as ammonium acetate on the observed mass spectra.
768 citations
TL;DR: GAS5 transcript levels were significantly reduced in breast cancer samples relative to adjacent unaffected normal breast epithelial tissues, suggesting that such snoRNAs form a novel family of genes controlling oncogenesis and sensitivity to therapy in cancer.
Abstract: Effective control of both cell survival and cell proliferation is critical to the prevention of oncogenesis and to successful cancer therapy. Using functional expression cloning, we have identified GAS5 (growth arrest-specific transcript 5) as critical to the control of mammalian apoptosis and cell population growth. GAS5 transcripts are subject to complex post-transcriptional processing and some, but not all, GAS5 transcripts sensitize mammalian cells to apoptosis inducers. We have found that, in some cell lines, GAS5 expression induces growth arrest and apoptosis independently of other stimuli. GAS5 transcript levels were significantly reduced in breast cancer samples relative to adjacent unaffected normal breast epithelial tissues. The GAS5 gene has no significant protein-coding potential but expression encodes small nucleolar RNAs (snoRNAs) in its introns. Taken together with the recent demonstration of tumor suppressor characteristics in the related snoRNA U50, our observations suggest that such snoRNAs form a novel family of genes controlling oncogenesis and sensitivity to therapy in cancer.
726 citations
TL;DR: The children in the two bilingual groups performed equivalently to each other and differently from the monolinguals on all measures in which there were group differences, consistent with the interpretation that bilingualism is responsible for the enhanced executive control.
411 citations
TL;DR: The planet has an equilibrium temperature of T eq = 2516 K caused by its very short period orbit around the hot, twelfth magnitude host star and has the largest radius of any transiting planet yet detected.
Abstract: We report on the discovery of WASP-12b, a new transiting extrasolar planet with R pl = 1.79+0.09 –0.09 RJ and M pl = 1.41+0.10 –0.10 M J. The planet and host star properties were derived from a Monte Carlo Markov Chain analysis of the transit photometry and radial velocity data. Furthermore, by comparing the stellar spectrum with theoretical spectra and stellar evolution models, we determined that the host star is a supersolar metallicity ([M/H] = 0.3+0.05 –0.15), late-F (T eff = 6300+200 –100 K) star which is evolving off the zero-age main sequence. The planet has an equilibrium temperature of T eq = 2516 K caused by its very short period orbit (P = 1.09 days) around the hot, twelfth magnitude host star. WASP-12b has the largest radius of any transiting planet yet detected. It is also the most heavily irradiated and the shortest period planet in the literature.
373 citations
TL;DR: The results suggest that aesthetic experience is a function of the interaction between top-down orienting of attention and bottom-up perceptual facilitation.
343 citations
TL;DR: A variety of sterically encumbered tetra-ortho-substituted biaryl products were formed from unreactive aryl chlorides using the isopentyl-subStituted catalyst at temperatures ranging from 65 degrees C to room temperature, demonstrating that "flexible bulk" is essential to promote these transformations.
Abstract: Incredible Bulk: A series of N-heterocyclic carbene catalysts (see picture) were prepared and evaluated in the Suzuki-Miyaura reaction. A variety of sterically encumbered tetra-ortho-substituted biaryl products were formed from unreactive aryl chlorides using the isopentyl-substituted catalyst at temperatures ranging from 65 degrees C to room temperature. The cyclopentyl-substituted catalyst was virtually inactive, demonstrating that "flexible bulk" is essential to promote these transformations.
326 citations
TL;DR: The mechanical, vascular, neural, and other theories that seek to explain the pathologic process are explored in this article, as is the rationale for surgical intervention.
Abstract: Overuse disorders of tendons, or tendinopathies, present a challenge to sports physicians, surgeons, and other health care professionals dealing with athletes. The Achilles, patellar, and supraspinatus tendons are particularly vulnerable to injury and often difficult to manage successfully. Inflammation was believed central to the pathologic process, but histopathologic evidence has confirmed the failed healing response nature of these conditions. Excessive or inappropriate loading of the musculotendinous unit is believed to be central to the disease process, although the exact mechanism by which this occurs remains uncertain. Additionally, the location of the lesion (for example, the midtendon or osteotendinous junction) has become increasingly recognized as influencing both the pathologic process and subsequent management. The mechanical, vascular, neural, and other theories that seek to explain the pathologic process are explored in this article. Recent developments in the nonoperative management of chronic tendon disorders are reviewed, as is the rationale for surgical intervention. Recent surgical advances, including minimally invasive tendon surgery, are reviewed. Potential future management strategies, such as stem cell therapy, growth factor treatment, and gene transfer, are also discussed.
30 Mar 2009
TL;DR: The classic transition from diagenesis to metamorphism was described eloquently in the Salton Sea geothermal field, south-east California, where sandstones of broadly similar composition are present over a temperature interval of 100°C to 350°C.
Abstract: ates where geochemical reactions approach completion, gibbsite, kaolin group minerals and smectites form from aluminosilicate precursors. In cooler, temperate climates a greater variety of clay minerals occurs in weathering profiles reflecting metastable, intermediate breakdown products of aluminosilicates. Diagenesis is differentiated from metamorphism by a variety of mineral and thermal-history indices (Fig. 1; Frey, 1987; Slater et al., 1994), but broadly a temperature transition of 180–250°C is thought to separate the two regimes. The classic transition from diagenesis to metamorphism was described eloquently in the Salton Sea geothermal field, south-east California, where sandstones of broadly similar composition are present over a temperature interval of 100°C to 350°C (McDowell & Elders, 1980). Here, clearly diagenetic, non-equilibrium mineral assemblages INTRODUCTION TO DIAGENESIS
TL;DR: Investigation of the effect of knockdown or mutations of RSPH9 orthologs in zebrafish and Chlamydomonas indicate that radial spoke head proteins are important in maintaining normal movement in motile, "9+2"-structure cilia and flagella.
Abstract: Primary ciliary dyskinesia (PCD) is a genetically heterogeneous inherited disorder arising from dysmotility of motile cilia and sperm. This is associated with a variety of ultrastructural defects of the cilia and sperm axoneme that affect movement, leading to clinical consequences on respiratory-tract mucociliary clearance and lung function, fertility, and left-right body-axis determination. We performed whole-genome SNP-based linkage analysis in seven consanguineous families with PCD and central-microtubular-pair abnormalities. This identified two loci, in two families with intermittent absence of the central-pair structure (chromosome 6p21.1, Zmax 6.7) and in five families with complete absence of the central pair (chromosome 6q22.1, Zmax 7.0). Mutations were subsequently identified in two positional candidate genes, RSPH9 on chromosome 6p21.1 and RSPH4A on chromosome 6q22.1. Haplotype analysis identified a common ancestral founder effect RSPH4A mutation present in UK-Pakistani pedigrees. Both RSPH9 and RSPH4A encode protein components of the axonemal radial spoke head. In situ hybridization of murine Rsph9 shows gene expression restricted to regions containing motile cilia. Investigation of the effect of knockdown or mutations of RSPH9 orthologs in zebrafish and Chlamydomonas indicate that radial spoke head proteins are important in maintaining normal movement in motile, "9+2"-structure cilia and flagella. This effect is rescued by reintroduction of gene expression for restoration of a normal beat pattern in zebrafish. Disturbance in function of these genes was not associated with defects in left-right axis determination in humans or zebrafish.
TL;DR: The hypothesis that selfing was favored during colonization as new habitats emerged after the last glaciation and the expansion of agriculture is supported and suggests that natural selection for reproductive assurance can lead to major morphological evolution and speciation on relatively short evolutionary timescales.
Abstract: The evolution from outcrossing to predominant self-fertilization represents one of the most common transitions in flowering plant evolution. This shift in mating system is almost universally associated with the “selfing syndrome,” characterized by marked reduction in flower size and a breakdown of the morphological and genetic mechanisms that prevent self-fertilization. In general, the timescale in which these transitions occur, and the evolutionary dynamics associated with the evolution of the selfing syndrome are poorly known. We investigated the origin and evolution of selfing in the annual plant Capsella rubella from its self-incompatible, outcrossing progenitor Capsella grandiflora by characterizing multilocus patterns of DNA sequence variation at nuclear genes. We estimate that the transition to selfing and subsequent geographic expansion have taken place during the past 20,000 years. This transition was probably associated with a shift from stable equilibrium toward a near-complete population bottleneck causing a major reduction in effective population size. The timing and severe founder event support the hypothesis that selfing was favored during colonization as new habitats emerged after the last glaciation and the expansion of agriculture. These results suggest that natural selection for reproductive assurance can lead to major morphological evolution and speciation on relatively short evolutionary timescales.
TL;DR: An attempt is made to understand Azadirachtin's failure to capture a larger market, 40 years after its discovery.
TL;DR: Either WASP-18 is in a rare, exceptionally short-lived state, or the tidal dissipation in this system (and possibly other hot-Jupiter systems) must be much weaker than in the Solar System.
Abstract: The 'hot Jupiters' that abound in lists of known extrasolar planets are thought to have formed far from their host stars, but migrate inwards through interactions with the proto-planetary disk from which they were born, or by an alternative mechanism such as planet-planet scattering. The hot Jupiters closest to their parent stars, at orbital distances of only approximately 0.02 astronomical units, have strong tidal interactions, and systems such as OGLE-TR-56 have been suggested as tests of tidal dissipation theory. Here we report the discovery of planet WASP-18b with an orbital period of 0.94 days and a mass of ten Jupiter masses (10 M(Jup)), resulting in a tidal interaction an order of magnitude stronger than that of planet OGLE-TR-56b. Under the assumption that the tidal-dissipation parameter Q of the host star is of the order of 10(6), as measured for Solar System bodies and binary stars and as often applied to extrasolar planets, WASP-18b will be spiralling inwards on a timescale less than a thousandth that of the lifetime of its host star. Therefore either WASP-18 is in a rare, exceptionally short-lived state, or the tidal dissipation in this system (and possibly other hot-Jupiter systems) must be much weaker than in the Solar System.
TL;DR: At 4-month follow-up, eccentric loading alone was less effective when compared with a combination of eccentric loading and repetitive low-energy shock-wave treatment.
Abstract: BackgroundResults of a previous randomized controlled trial have shown comparable effectiveness of a standardized eccentric loading training and of repetitive low-energy shock-wave treatment (SWT) in patients suffering from chronic midportion Achilles tendinopathy. No randomized controlled trials have tested whether a combined approach might lead to even better results.PurposeTo compare the effectiveness of 2 management strategies—group 1: eccentric loading and group 2: eccentric loading plus repetitive low-energy shock-wave therapy.Study DesignRandomized controlled trial; Level of evidence, 1.MethodsSixty-eight patients with a chronic recalcitrant (>6 months) noninsertional Achilles tendinopathy were enrolled in a randomized controlled study. All patients had received unsuccessful management for >3 months, including at least (1) peritendinous local injections, (2) nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, and (3) physiotherapy. A computerized random-number generator was used to draw up an allocation schedule...
TL;DR: The design and development of magnetothermally-triggered drug delivery systems, whereby magnetic nanoparticles are combined with thermally-activated materials are reviewed, with a focus on the design and challenges in developing magnetotherrically-activated systems.
Abstract: This paper reviews the design and development of magnetothermally-triggered drug delivery systems, whereby magnetic nanoparticles are combined with thermally-activated materials. By combining superparamagnetic nanoparticles with lower critical solution temperature (LCST) polymers, an alternating current (AC) magnetic field can be used to trigger localized heating in vivo, which in turn causes a phase change in the host polymer to allow diffusion and release of drugs. The use of magnetic nanoparticles for biomedical applications is reviewed, as well as the design of thermally-activated polymeric systems. Current research on externally-triggered delivery is highlighted, with a focus on the design and challenges in developing magnetothermally-activated systems.
TL;DR: The present review summarizes the current knowledge on how endocrine and paracrine factors regulate ovarian development in zebrafish and special emphasis is placed on how follicle development and oocyte maturation in adult females is regulated by gonadotropins, ovarian steroids and growth factors produced by the ovary.
TL;DR: The production of the biosynthetically complex compounds by the most primitive living ant suggests that the basic genetic architecture required to produce the rich diversity of CHCs was already present prior to their adaptive radiation.
Abstract: We compared the published cuticular hydrocarbon (CHC) profiles of 78 ant species across 5 subfamilies. Almost 1,000 CHCs have been described for these species, composing 187 distinct homologous series and ten hydrocarbon groups. In descending order of occurrence were: n-alkanes > monomethylalkanes > dimethylalkanes > alkenes > dienes>> trimethylalkanes>> methylalkenes > methylalkadienes > trienes > tetramethylalkanes. Odd chain lengths and positions of methyl or double bonds at odd carbon numbers were far more numerous than even chain-length compounds or bond positions. Although each species possess its own unique pattern of CHCs, we found no association between CHC profile and phylogeny. The production of the biosynthetically complex compounds (e.g., methyl branched dienes) by the most primitive living ant suggests that the basic genetic architecture required to produce the rich diversity of CHCs was already present prior to their adaptive radiation. Unlike the ubiquitous n-alkanes and monomethylalkanes, there is a huge diversity of species-specific dimethylalkanes that makes them likely candidates for species and nest-mate discrimination signals.
TL;DR: A comprehensive quantitative review of the published English-language literature comparing the outcomes of tenotony and tenodesis for lesions of the tendon of the long head of the biceps brachii suggests that biceps tenotomy be the preferred method.
Abstract: BackgroundPrimary and secondary lesions of the tendon of the long head of the biceps brachii are common, with no clear consensus about their optimal management.HypothesisThere is no difference in outcomes of tenotomy and tenodesis for lesions of the tendon of the long head of the biceps brachii.Study DesignWe performed a comprehensive quantitative review of the published English-language literature comparing the outcomes of tenotony and tenodesis for lesions of the tendon of the long head of the biceps brachii.MethodsAll relevant articles in peer-reviewed journals were retrieved, and each article was scored using the Coleman Methodology Score, a highly repeatable methodology score, by 2 independent reviewers.ResultsScores were predominantly low for quality of the studies, with patient number and validated outcome measures being the weakest areas.ConclusionThere is a lack of quality evidence to advocate one technique over the other. We emphasize the need for appropriately powered, well-conducted, randomize...
TL;DR: In this article, the contemporary relevance of the resource frontier, drawing on examples of nature's commodification and enclosure under way in the peripheral Southeast Asian country of Laos, is revisited.
Abstract: This paper seeks to reconsider the contemporary relevance of the resource frontier, drawing on examples of nature's commodification and enclosure under way in the peripheral Southeast Asian country of Laos. Frontiers are conceived as relational zones of economy, nature and society; spaces of capitalist transition, where new forms of social property relations and systems of legality are rapidly established in response to market imperatives. Customary property rights on the resource frontier can be seized by powerful actors in crucial political moments, preparing the territorial stage for more intensive phases of resource commodity production and accumulation. Relational frontier space is understood through the work of geographers such as Doreen Massey, who views the production of space as 'constituted though the practices of engagement and the powergeometries of relations'. In Laos, a twenty-first century resource frontier is being driven by new corporate investments in natural resources, and a supporting array of land reform programmes. The paper focuses on both the material and representational aspects of the production of the resource frontier, through policy and discourse analysis, and village level research in Laos' Khammouane province. By rethinking a dualist and hierarchical-scaled imaginary of frontier places, both rural people and local ecologies are shown to be key actors, in a complex, relational reproduction of frontier zones. An emerging Lao spatial and political assemblage - a form of 'frontier-neoliberalism' - is shown as producing dramatic changes in socio-natural landscapes, as well as new patterns of marginalisation and livelihood insecurity for a vulnerable rural population.
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors explore how the mobile body and specifically the face have become a site of observation, calculation, prediction, and action in the process of moving across borders and how in the circulatory space of the airport/border, the body's circulatory systems, biological rhythms, and affective expressions have become objects of suspicion.
Abstract: This paper explores how the mobile body and, specifically, the face have become a site of observation, calculation, prediction, and action in the process of moving across borders. The paper explores how in the circulatory space of the airport/border, the body's circulatory systems, biological rhythms, and affective expressions have become objects of suspicion—mobile surfaces from which inner thoughts and potentially hostile intentions are scrunitized, read, and given threatening meaning by the newest modes of airport security and surveillance. Examined according to the vectoral modes of historicity and virtual possibility, as well as the internal and external play of intention and feeling, the paper uncovers an increased attention to differential axes of mobility—of past and future, surface and interior. The paper situates these techniques within the preemptive biopolitical securitisation of mobility across borders which, it is argued, has found its referent object in the primal realm of affective capacities.
TL;DR: It is suggested that bilinguals may compensate for weaker language proficiency with their greater executive control to achieve the same or better levels of performance as monolinguals.
TL;DR: A comprehensive list of principles relevant for properly describing Health Informatics evaluations has been developed and it is believed that better publication of both quantitative and qualitative evaluation studies is an important step toward the vision of evidence-based Health In formatics.
TL;DR: A comparison of DNA barcoding and morphological taxonomy in terms of their accuracy and diversity of characters employed concludes that morphology often does not work and is often nowhere near as ‘rich’ as has been argued.
Abstract: A small but vocal community of critics has questioned the epistemological value of DNA barcoding by suggesting that either it ‘cannot work’ for the identification or discovery of species or that it ignores the ‘richness’ inherent in traditional approaches. We re-examine these arguments through a comparison of DNA barcoding and morphological taxonomy in terms of their accuracy and diversity of characters employed. We conclude that morphology often does not work and that it is often nowhere near as ‘rich’ as has been argued. Morphology is particularly poor in numerous important situations, such as the association of larvae with adults and discrimination among cryptic species. The vehemence of some of the criticisms is surprising given that morphology alone is known to be inadequate to the task of species-level identification in many instances.
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors show that the most plausible origin of the absorption is from blue-shifted resonance (1s-2p) transitions of hydrogen-like iron (at 6.97 keV in the rest frame), which indicates that a highly ionized outflow may be present moving at near relativistic velocities (0.26-0.31c).
Abstract: PDS 456 is a nearby (z=0.184), luminous (L(sub bol) approximately equal to 10(exp 47) ergs(exp -1) type I quasar. A deep 190 ks Suzaku observation in February 2007 revealed the complex, broad band X-ray spectrum of PDS 456. The Suzaku spectrum exhibits highly statistically significant absorption features near 9 keV in the quasar rest-frame. We show that the most plausible origin of the absorption is from blue-shifted resonance (1s-2p) transitions of hydrogen-like iron (at 6.97 keV in the rest frame). This indicates that a highly ionized outflow may be present moving at near relativistic velocities (0.26-0.31c). A possible hard X-ray excess is detected above 15 keV with HXD (at 99.8% confidence), which may arise from high column density gas (N(sub H) greater than 10(exp 24)cm(exp -2) partially covering the X-ray emission, or through strong Compton reflection. Here we propose that the iron K-shell absorption in PDS 456 is associated with a thick, possibly clumpy outflow, covering about 20% of 4(pi) steradian solid angle. The outflow is likely launched from the inner accretion disk, within 15-100 gravitational radii of the black hole. The kinetic power of the outflow may be similar to the bolometric luminosity of PDS 456. Such a powerful wind could have a significant effect on the co-evolution of the host galaxy and its supermassive black hole, through feedback.
TL;DR: The authors found that political and dispositional liberals become more politically and psychologically conservative after threats provide convergent experimental support for the [Jost, J. T., Glaser, J., Kruglanski, A. W., and Sulloway, F. J. (2003) contention that conservatism is a basic form of motivated social cognition.
TL;DR: This paper presents a review of research results obtained by the author and his colleagues and focuses on various potential clinical applications of MWT.
Abstract: Microwave tomography (MWT) is an emerging biomedical imaging modality with great potential for non-invasive assessment of functional and pathological conditions of soft tissues. This paper presents a review of research results obtained by the author and his colleagues and focuses on various potential clinical applications of MWT. Most clinical applications of MWT imaging have complicated, nonlinear, high dielectric contrast inverse problems of three-dimensional diffraction tomography. There is a very high dielectric contrast between bones and fatty areas compared with soft tissues. In most cases, the contrast between soft-tissue abnormalities (the target imaging areas) is less pronounced than between bone (fat) and soft tissue. This additionally complicates the imaging problem. In spite of the difficulties mentioned, it has been demonstrated that MWT is applicable for extremities imaging, breast cancer detection, diagnostics of lung cancer, brain imaging and cardiac imaging.
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors consider how these issues arose in a research project with lone mothers and the way in which offering payments might help with gaining access to participants, and argue that the possible impact of making payments to research participants should be considered in research accounts and the possible impacts of payments should be more widely debated.
Abstract: It appears that the practice of giving cash or gift vouchers to research participants is becoming increasingly common; however, this practice has received little attention from social researchers. Paying participants has implications in terms of the ethical requirement for consent and may have consequences in terms of recruitment for research projects and for the data collected. In this paper I consider how these issues arose in a research project with lone mothers and the way in which offering payments might help with gaining access to participants. I argue that the possible impact of making payments to research participants should be considered in research accounts and the possible impacts of payments should be more widely debated.