Need For Speed ​​World VERIFIED

Visuospatial neglect (VSN) predicts unfavorable functional outcome in stroke patients. This study examined the relative importance of different core symptoms of VSN as predictors of functional dependency. A consecutive series of 105 right hemisphere stroke patients were tested early after stroke on three basic symptoms of VSN (omissions, asymmetry of omissions and ipsilesional bias of attention) and on two symptoms related to VSN (processing speed and repetitive target detections in visual search). Neurological deficits were also assessed. Functional outcome was measured 3 months and 2 years after stroke with the modified Rankin Scale. Univariate analyses revealed significant relationships with functional outcome for both core and related symptoms of VSN and for neurological deficits. Area under the curve statistics and stepwise logistic regressions showed that the most important predictors assessed early after stroke were presence of ipsilesional bias for dependency at 3 months and visual processing speed for dependency at 2 years after stroke. These results show that valuable prognostic information regarding dependency after right hemisphere stroke can be obtained by assessing fundamental sub-components of VSN early after stroke. The development of standardized clinical methods for investigation of sub-components, such as a right capture of attention and processing speed, is essential.

Need for Speed ​​World

Robert Strange McNamara, 1916 - 2009Robert McNamara shaped the Bank as no one before him. He came to the Bank brimming with energy, forceful, active, pushing to get things done. He brought with him the firm belief that the problems of the developing world could be solved. What was needed was clear analysis of the problems and determination in the application of appropriate remedies. If this happened, success could not fail to materialize.

McNamara eschewed the cautious, Wall Street-oriented approach of his predecessors. He adopted an aggressive mission that emphasized the claims and expectations of the Bank's developing member countries. The needs of the developing world - not the need to satisfy the investment community - became paramount in determining the type and quantity of the Bank's activities.

McNamara was never constrained by the Bank's tradition of financial prudence. He felt that the daunting problems faced by the world required daring and risk-taking. Upon his arrival at the Bank, McNamara was surprised at what he considered the small volume of lending the Bank had made compared to the vastness of the needs. He developed an elaborate system of numerical reporting tables that provide complete and up-to-date pictures of the lending program and country needs: the Bank's balance sheet, cash flow, lending program, and borrowing requirements. These reporting methods grew progressively more complex as McNamara insisted that more data be included in the reports.

Bank commitments increased from an annual level of about $1 billion in 1968 to over $13 billion in fiscal 1981. Governments were urged to speed up the preparation of appropriate projects to expedite the increased lending. McNamara quickly realized that a list of individual projects for a particular member country should conform to an overall development strategy, and in 1969 he instituted the practice of creating Country Program Papers.

McNamara expanded the geographical range of the Bank's lending, and the Bank became actively engaged in all countries that needed help. He re-established lending relationships with Egypt and Indonesia, and the latter became one of the Bank's most important country programs. McNamara took personal charge of the membership negotiations with the People's Republic of China. The prospect of extending the Bank's support to a country with a billion people was a fascinating challenge for McNamara, and he used his considerable political skills to expedite membership. In May 1980, the People's Republic of China assumed its membership in the Bank.

Tensions with the U.S. arose again when the Bank sought a general capital increase in the 1970s. After two years of negotiations, a selective capital increase of $8.5 billion was approved in 1976. While this provided some relief, it did not satisfy McNamara's demands. He created a task force to consider "the future role of the Bank", which concluded that an increase of $45 billion was needed to support the needs of the borrowers. The executive directors ultimately approved a capital increase of $40 billion in 1979, following the second oil shock.

Rural development was the centerpiece of the second five-year plan, introduced in Nairobi in 1973. To raise the productivity of the rural poor, the Bank increased lending to agriculture by over 40 percent, and three out of every four projects included components to help smallholder farmers. The integrated rural development project became the prototype for this assistance. Rural development programs benefited millions of people, but still rural laborers and the landless benefited, at best indirectly. Institutional weaknesses, such as tenant and land reform, hindered progress, and progress was slowest where it was most needed - in Sub-Saharan Africa.

McNamara also urged governments to meet the "basic human needs" of their populations. Despite annual growth, malnutrition was common, infant mortality high, life expectancy low, illiteracy widespread, unemployment growing, income distribution skewed, and the gap between the rich and poor countries was growing. He devised strategies to address specific needs: literacy, nutrition, reduction in infant mortality, and health. McNamara's obsession to assist those in "absolute poverty" remained the backbone of his presidential tenure.

Robert McNamara with Pope John Paul II.For McNamara the role of governments was central in identifying development needs, and during his tenure the previous Bank strictures against lending to public sector banking institutions or enterprises were relaxed. For McNamara what mattered was not who owned enterprises but how efficiently they were run. (Thus McNamara could work easily with governments which had some socialistic aspects, such as India, Sri Lanka, and Tanzania.) Although he declared the importance of private investment, he devoted little attention to the International Finance Corporation (IFC), the Bank Group's private sector arm.

McNamara did not see private capital as a realistic option in addressing critical development needs. But his reliance upon government intervention sometimes meant turning a blind eye to coercive practices - the involuntary collectivization of farmers in Tanzania, for example - and could lead the Bank to ignore the inefficiency and economic cost of government policies.

The oil shocks of the 1970s proved to be the most serious threat to the fight against poverty. No longer was the burning question how to reduce the number of the poor, but rather how to prevent a massive increase in their number. McNamara responded in his proven method: asses the damage, express it in numerical terms; and then work on a solution. He estimated that the poor countries needed an additional three to four billion dollars in concessional assistance, and he urged the industrial countries and the oil producing states to provide this support. OPEC agreed to increase their commitments - $2 billion by 1974, and by 1975 OPEC members were contributing 3 per cent of their GNP.

The World Food Day 2018 (WFD) - marked each year on 16 October - highlights the need to step up efforts to end hunger as, globally, chronic hunger and malnutrition are on the rise again.

This explains why treatment for stroke is so dependent on speed. The faster someone can reach hospital, be scanned and have drugs administered to dissolve any blood clot and get the blood flow re-started, the less damage to brain cells there will be.

* The Medical Research Council has been at the forefront of scientific discovery to improve human health. Founded in 1913 to tackle tuberculosis, the MRC now invests taxpayers' money in some of the best medical research in the world across every area of health. Twenty-nine MRC-funded researchers have won Nobel prizes in a wide range of disciplines, and MRC scientists have been behind such diverse discoveries as vitamins, the structure of DNA and the link between smoking and cancer, as well as achievements such as pioneering the use of randomised controlled trials, the invention of MRI scanning, and the development of a group of antibodies used in the making of some of the most successful drugs ever developed. Today, MRC-funded scientists tackle some of the greatest health problems facing humanity in the 21st century, from the rising tide of chronic diseases associated with ageing to the threats posed by rapidly mutating micro-organisms. www.mrc.ac.uk

* The National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) is funded by the Department of Health to improve the health and wealth of the nation through research. Since its establishment in April 2006, the NIHR has transformed research in the NHS. It has increased the volume of applied health research for the benefit of patients and the public, driven faster translation of basic science discoveries into tangible benefits for patients and the economy, and developed and supported the people who conduct and contribute to applied health research. The NIHR plays a key role in the Government's strategy for economic growth, attracting investment by the life-sciences industries through its world-class infrastructure for health research. Together, the NIHR people, programmes, centres of excellence and systems represent the most integrated health research system in the world. For further information, visit the NIHR website.

* Oxford University's Medical Sciences Division is one of the largest biomedical research centres in Europe, with over 2,500 people involved in research and more than 2,800 students. The University is rated the best in the world for medicine, and it is home to the UK's top-ranked medical school. 041b061a72