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Creating a Whole School Ethos of Care

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Warin, Jo

2017-01-01

This paper raises questions about schools as positive models of caring societies. Against a background of growing concern for the mental health of children it addresses the centrality of "nurture" and its close cousin "care" as a whole school value, theorised as both a means and an end of schooling. How might school leaders…

Psychology: Where to Begin.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bare, John K.

This essay is written for the secondary school teacher who is organizing that first course hoping to suggest some of the answers to the question: where to begin. The author begins by very briefly describing the discipline in terms of its central concerns with some history and some prediction for tomorrow. Against this historical background,…

Human Communication, Semiotics, and General Systems: Personal and Social Communication.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ruben, Brent D.

Questions as to the nature of sign and symbol processes and the functions and behavioral consequences of human significant phenomena are of central concern in semiotics and communication. These matters continue to be of critical importance and are still largely unresolved. Scholars in both areas of inquiry have sought unification of scientific…

Conflicts of Interest: An Indispensable Element of Education for Sustainable Development

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lundegard, Iann; Wickman, Per-Olof

2007-01-01

A central concept introduced in the Nordic debate on sustainable development is "action competence". The concept has been defined as a competence of learners, i.e. the ability to take into consideration the social factors and human conflict of interest that lies behind environmental questions and sustainable development. The concern of…

Advice from a Medical Expert through the Internet on Queries about AIDS and Hepatitis: Analysis of a Pilot Experiment

PubMed Central

Marco, Javier; Barba, Raquel; Losa, Juan E; de la Serna, Carlos Martínez; Sainz, María; Lantigua, Isabel Fernández; de la Serna, Jose Luis

2006-01-01

Background Advice from a medical expert on concerns and queries expressed anonymously through the Internet by patients and later posted on the Web, offers a new type of patient–doctor relationship. The aim of the current study was to perform a descriptive analysis of questions about AIDS and hepatitis made to an infectious disease expert and sent through the Internet to a consumer-oriented Web site in the Spanish language. Methods and Findings Questions were e-mailed and the questions and answers were posted anonymously in the “expert-advice” section of a Web site focused on AIDS and hepatitis. We performed a descriptive study and a temporal analysis of the questions received in the first 12 months after the launch of the site. A total of 899 questions were received from December 2003 to November 2004, with a marked linear growth pattern. Questions originated in Spain in 68% of cases and 32% came from Latin America (the Caribbean, Central America, and South America). Eighty percent of the senders were male. Most of the questions concerned HIV infection (79%) with many fewer on hepatitis (17%) . The highest numbers of questions were submitted just after the weekend (37% of questions were made on Mondays and Tuesdays). Risk factors for contracting HIV infection were the most frequent concern (69%), followed by the window period for detection (12.6%), laboratory results (5.9%), symptoms (4.7%), diagnosis (2.7%), and treatment (2.2%). Conclusions Our results confirm a great demand for this type of “ask-the-expert” Internet service, at least for AIDS and hepatitis. Factors such as anonymity, free access, and immediate answers have been key factors in its success. PMID:16796404

Energy: A Guide to Organizations and Information Resources in the United States.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Center for California Public Affairs, Claremont.

A central source of information on the key organizations concerned with energy in the United States has been compiled. Chapter 2 covers organizations involved with broad questions of energy policy; Chapters 2-6 describe organizations having to do with sources of energy: oil, natural gas, coal, water power, nuclear fission, and alternate sources;…

A Platform for Change? Inclusive Research about "Choice and Control"

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Williams, Val; Ponting, Lisa; Ford, Kerrie

2015-01-01

Participation, voice and control have long been central concerns in the research at Norah Fry. This paper focuses on inclusive research relating to choice and control, as experienced by people with learning disabilities who use personal budgets and direct payments, and aims to question how the process of inclusive research can be linked to wider…

Jewish Identities in Action: An Exploration of Models, Metaphors, and Methods

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Charme, Stuart; Horowitz, Bethamie; Hyman, Tali; Kress, Jeffrey S.

2008-01-01

"Jewish identity" has been a central concern both in the realm of research about American Jewry and to American Jewish educational programming, but what it means and how to best study it have come under question in recent years. In this article, four scholars describe the ways they understand Jewish identity among American Jews and how they study…

Salt II: Toward Security or Danger? A Balanced Account of the Key Issues in the Debate.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Irwin, Wallace, Jr., Ed.; And Others

Facts and controversial issues concerning SALT II (Strategic Arms Limitations Talks) are examined. The intent of the document is to enable non-specialists in military/strategic matters to arrive at their own conclusions. Central questions explored are: Is it possible to arrive at an agreement that will stabilize strategic arms competition and…

Object Selection Costs in Visual Working Memory: A Diffusion Model Analysis of the Focus of Attention

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Sewell, David K.; Lilburn, Simon D.; Smith, Philip L.

2016-01-01

A central question in working memory research concerns the degree to which information in working memory is accessible to other cognitive processes (e.g., decision-making). Theories assuming that the focus of attention can only store a single object at a time require the focus to orient to a target representation before further processing can…

New Communication Technologies: A Challenge for Press Freedom. No. 106. Reports and Papers on Mass Communication.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Sparks, Colin, Ed.

This volume enlarges upon questions concerning censorship and self-censorship and provides case studies as well as theoretical reflection on the relationship between new technology and media freedom. The seven essays included in this collection deal with two central contemporary problems of the mass media--freedom and democracy. The papers are:…

Categories of Insight and Their Correlates: An Exploration of Relationships among Classic-Type Insight Problems, Rebus Puzzles, Remote Associates and Esoteric Analogies

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Cunningham, J. Barton; MacGregor, James N.; Gibb, Jenny; Haar, Jarrod

2009-01-01

A central question in creativity concerns how insightful ideas emerge. Anecdotal examples of insightful scientific and technical discoveries include Goodyear's discovery of the vulcanization of rubber, and Mendeleev's realization that there may be gaps as he tried to arrange the elements into the Periodic Table. Although most people would regard…

Questions, Instructions, and Modes of Listening in the Joint Production of Guided Action: A Study of Student-Teacher Collaboration in Handicraft Education

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ekstrom, Anna; Lindwall, Oskar; Saljo, Roger

2009-01-01

This article concerns a central issue in education as an institutional activity: instructions and their role in guiding student activities and understanding. In the study, we investigate the tensions between specifics and generalities in the joint production of guided action. This issue is explored in the context of handicraft education--or more…

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Hall, F.K.

Ever since man became conscious of the finite dimensions of Planet Earth, he has worried about his ability to survive in an ever-more crowded environment. This paper reports that the fundamental question underlying this concern is sustainability: Can we indefinitely supply, maintain, and prolong that which we have This question is, of course, multifaceted. Man's early concerns quickly polarized the scientists and economists of this world into two philosophical camps---the Malthusians and the Cornucopians. Over time, economists learned that Malthus seriously underestimated the capacity of technology to enhance productivity, although Malthusian sympathizers (both scientists and economists) continually raised the spectermore » of imminent doom. Much of what lies ahead will provide a series of daunting challenges for us all, and the engine that drives sustainability has to be technology. The central issue is to ensure that the right kind of technology is available, and that it is used widely to ensure sustainability.« less

Changes in forest conditions 1936-1949 north central Minnesota and Upper Peninsula of Michigan (a preliminary analysis)

Treesearch

R.N. Cunningham

1951-01-01

What has happened to the forests of the Lake States as a result of the abnormally heavy cutting during and since World War II and also from the stimulus of improved fire protection and other measures of forest management? This is a question of great interest to many foresters, conservationists, and others concerned with the timber resource. In Michigan and Minnesota...

Spreading disease: a controversy concerning the metaphysics of disease.

PubMed

D'Amico, R

1998-01-01

This article concerns the metaphysics of disease. Is disease a fixed feature of the world or a social value or preference? I argue that disease is not a value-laden concept and thus debates concerning it differ fundamentally from debates concerning health, harm, or suffering where evaluative judgements are central. I show how the so-called social constructionist view of disease has been motivated both by ethical concerns with medical practices and general theoretical doubts about scientific naturalism. If I can show that ethical concerns about medical treatment can be answered without adopting social constructionism, that leaves only the broader theoretical question of naturalism. I cannot completely answer those theoretical doubts, but I show that the theoretical motivation is less convincing when it is separated from the moral challenge often accompanying it. I conclude that a convincing defense of the non-naturalistic conception of disease is rarely attempted and proves more difficult and counter-intuitive than its proponents assume.

Utilizing social media to study information-seeking and ethical issues in gene therapy.

PubMed

Robillard, Julie M; Whiteley, Louise; Johnson, Thomas Wade; Lim, Jonathan; Wasserman, Wyeth W; Illes, Judy

2013-03-04

The field of gene therapy is rapidly evolving, and while hopes of treating disorders of the central nervous system and ethical concerns have been articulated within the academic community, little is known about views and opinions of different stakeholder groups. To address this gap, we utilized social media to investigate the kind of information public users are seeking about gene therapy and the hopes, concerns, and attitudes they express. We conducted a content analysis of questions containing the keywords "gene therapy" from the Q&A site "Yahoo! Answers" for the 5-year period between 2006 and 2010. From the pool of questions retrieved (N=903), we identified those containing at least one theme related to ethics, environment, economics, law, or society (n=173) and then characterized the content of relevant answers (n=399) through emergent coding. The results show that users seek a wide range of information regarding gene therapy, with requests for scientific information and ethical issues at the forefront of enquiry. The question sample reveals high expectations for gene therapy that range from cures for genetic and nongenetic diseases to pre- and postnatal enhancement of physiological attributes. Ethics questions are commonly expressed as fears about the impact of gene therapy on self and society. The answer sample echoes these concerns but further suggests that the acceptability of gene therapy varies depending on the specific application. Overall, the findings highlight the powerful role of social media as a rich resource for research into attitudes toward biomedicine and as a platform for knowledge exchange and public engagement for topics relating to health and disease.

Freedom in responsibility: on the relevance of "sin" as a hermeneutic guiding principle in bioethical decision making.

PubMed

Gräb-Schmidt, Elisabeth

2005-08-01

This essay deals with questions of responsibility concerning technology, in particular, gene technology and the special problem of research on embryos. I raise issues concerning the extent of humans' authority to act and the limits of human freedom. In what way is that freedom given, and what kind of responsibility results from it? By discussing various concepts of human freedom in the tradition of European philosophy, as juxtaposed to the Protestant understanding of freedom, this essay discusses the restricting limits, and the obligation to take responsibility. It will turn out that the question concerning freedom cannot be answered without understanding what being human involves. From a Christian perspective, this implies that the foundational relationship between human freedom and sin will be central to an assessment of the human ability to take responsibility. By obliterating the limits of human freedom, sin jeopardizes the very essence of that freedom. The project of taking into account the sinful state of the human condition thus aims at developing a realistic picture of the authority of humans in action, even in view of the human tasks of promoting science and research.

The Application of Finite Element Solution Techniques in Structural Analysis on a Microcomputer.

DTIC Science & Technology

1981-12-01

my wife for her support of this research project and the amount of time she spent helping me in preparation. Thanks go to the personnel at Computer...questions which had to be answered concerning the microcomputer in relation to a sequentially programmed finite element program. The first was how big...central site, then usefullness of the microcomputer is limited. The first series of problems consisted of a simple truss structure, which was expanded

Evaluacion de Programas de Alfabetizacion. Consulta Tecnica Regional (Maracaibo, Venezuela, 30 Noviembre-6 Diciembre 1987) Informe Final. (Evaluation of Literacy Programs. Regional Technical Meeting (Maracaibo, Venezuela, November 30-December 6, 1987).

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization, Santiago (Chile). Regional Office for Education in Latin America and the Caribbean.

The objectives of this seminar were to identify problems in evaluating literacy programs and to design a working strategy to confront them. Four presentations included national case studies from Brazil, Honduras, Nicaragua, and Venezuela. Central questions asked concerned who and what were evaluated and how were the results to be used. In Brazil,…

Medication education and consultation at a senior dining program for independently living seniors.

PubMed

Schmiedt, Dean; Ellingson, Jody

2010-08-01

To determine if pharmacist involvement within a senior dining program benefits diners by addressing their medication-related questions, using educational sessions, and providing individual consultations. Catholic Charities Senior Dining sites in central Minnesota. Pharmacists went to three senior dining sites, providing educational sessions and individual consultations to independently living senior diners. Pharmacists developed a program, in a nontraditional setting, that used educational sessions and individual consultations to assist seniors with their medication-related questions. The number of diner questions, significant issues raised, issues addressed, and level of diner satisfaction. Pharmacists made 36 visits from January to December 2009. During those visits they presented educational talks to 3,089 diners, and 12.4% of all diners spoke individually with pharmacists. Pharmacists addressed 581 questions or concerns from 384 diners. Significant issues were noted in 25.8% of individual consultations (144 questions). The most common significant issues included: adverse drug reactions (59), indications without treatment (27), and drug interactions (23). Nonopioid analgesics, antilipemics, and antihypertensive medications were most commonly involved in significant issues. Satisfaction surveys were strongly positive, with 97% indicating pharmacists had addressed their medication-related concern; only 3% did not reply. Almost half (42.7%) of satisfaction surveys indicated the diner would change something as a result of meeting with the pharmacist. Pharmacist availability in a nontraditional setting can assist seniors with addressing potentially significant medication-related issues. Independently living seniors will seek out information from a pharmacist in a convenient setting.

Field of Vision Influences Sensory-Motor Control of Skilled and Less-Skilled Dart Players

PubMed Central

Rienhoff, Rebecca; Baker, Joseph; Fischer, Lennart; Strauss, Bernd; Schorer, Jörg

2012-01-01

One characteristic of perceptual expertise in sport and other domains is known as ’the quiet eye', which assumes that fixated information is processed during gaze stability and insufficient spatial information leads to a decrease in performance. The aims of this study were a) replicating inter- and intra-group variability and b) investigating the extent to which quiet eye supports information pick-up of varying fields of vision (i.e., central versus peripheral) using a specific eye-tracking paradigm to compare different skill levels in a dart throwing task. Differences between skill levels were replicated at baseline, but no significant differences in throwing performance were revealed among the visual occlusion conditions. Findings are generally in line with the association between quiet eye duration and aiming performance, but raise questions regarding the relevance of central vision information pick-up for the quiet eye. Key pointsInvestigation of throwing performance and quiet eye duration in dart throwing under several vision conditionsFirst investigation using a dynamic occlusion paradigm, manipulating field of vision in situReplication of previous findings concerning throwing performance and quiet eye durationNew insights about the role of central (and peripheral) vision concerning the quiet eye phenomena PMID:24149366

Public discourse on mental health and psychiatry: Representations in Swedish newspapers.

PubMed

Ohlsson, Robert

2018-05-01

Mass media plays a central role in shaping public discourse on health and illness. In order to examine media representations of mental health and expert knowledge in this field, two major Swedish daily newspapers from the year 2009 were qualitatively analysed. Drawing on the theory of social representations, the analysis focused on how issues concerning mental health and different perspectives are represented. The results show how the concept of mental illness is used in different and often taken-for-granted ways and how the distinction between normal and pathological is a central underlying question. Laypersons' perspectives are supplemented by views of professionals in the newspapers, where signs of confidence and dependence on expert knowledge are juxtaposed with critique and expressions of distrust. The newspaper discourse thus has salient argumentative features and the way that conflicts are made explicit and issues concerning authoritative knowledge are addressed indicates ambivalence towards the authoritative role of expert knowledge concerning mental health. In this way, the newspapers provide a complex epistemic context for everyday sense-making that can be assumed to have implications for relations between laypersons and professionals in the field of mental health.

On dynamics in a Keynesian model of monetary stabilization policy with debt effect

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Asada, Toichiro; Demetrian, Michal; Zimka, Rudolf

2018-05-01

In this paper, a four-dimensional model of flexible prices with the central bank's stabilization policy, describing the development of the firms' private debt, the output, the expected rate of inflation and the rate of interest is analyzed. Questions concerning the existence of limit cycles around its normal equilibrium point are investigated. The bifurcation equation is found. The formulae for the calculation of its coefficients are gained. A numerical example is presented by means of numerical simulations.

U.S.-China Counterterrorism Cooperation: Issues for U.S. Policy

DTIC Science & Technology

2010-07-08

States condemned the “Al Qaeda-linked” ETIM, but he was there to “reaffirm our friendship for the peaceful people of Xinjiang.”37 Thus, one question...responded on July 14, 2005, that China and Russia were “trying to bully ” the Central Asian countries. A week later, China’s official People’s Daily...by 2010, there has been increased concern about cyber threats originating from the PRC that stole sensitive information on the movements and

[Ethics of biomedical research: questions about patient information].

PubMed

Moutel, Grégoire

2013-02-01

All recommendations and laws concerning biomedical research, including the most recent in France in 2012, emphasize the quality of patient information to justify its participation. To optimize practices, it is important to take into account the central issues: what limits of information? What role for the relatives and family in the decision in case of disability or vulnerability of a patient? What need for specific information for long protocol and follow-up cohort? What information about research results? © 2013 médecine/sciences – Inserm / SRMS.

How do people live in the Anthropocene?

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Robin, Libby

2016-04-01

While geologists have focused their efforts on which changes in the strata might constitute a functional shift out of the present epoch, environmental humanities scholars, museums and creative artists have taken up the Anthropocene as a concept raising new moral and practical dilemmas. A central concern is with how people adapt and live creatively in a world that is functioning beyond the physical planetary boundaries defined by the Holocene. This paper will provide an overview of the lively scholarly and popular debates on the question of what it means, ethically, to be human in an Age of Humans. Major questions include the question of who are 'we' in the Anthropocene, and how the conditions of the putative new epoch will affect 'more-than-human-others'. Creative and justice activist responses to the Anthropocene typically distinguish among humans, focusing not on the causes, but rather on concerns of the people on the receiving end of global change (for example, the Small Islands Developing States (SIDS) group of 39+8). Some are concerned about the collateral effects of technological 'fixes' for energy transformations and climate, and others about economic shifts and market-based incentives. As a historian of ideas, I explore the multiple paths by which people have come to the Anthropocene concept, and the uses to which it has already been put, even before a final decision is made on its formal status. The Anthropocene already arouses anxiety about 'the future'. One big idea that is shared across activists and scholars (and not just those in the humanities) is the question of enabling hopeful responses. A diversity of creative projects for living in the Anthropocene, which can contribute to coping with the stress of accelerating global change, is essential to this.

Utilizing Social Media to Study Information-Seeking and Ethical Issues in Gene Therapy

PubMed Central

Robillard, Julie M; Whiteley, Louise; Johnson, Thomas Wade; Lim, Jonathan; Wasserman, Wyeth W

2013-01-01

Background The field of gene therapy is rapidly evolving, and while hopes of treating disorders of the central nervous system and ethical concerns have been articulated within the academic community, little is known about views and opinions of different stakeholder groups. Objective To address this gap, we utilized social media to investigate the kind of information public users are seeking about gene therapy and the hopes, concerns, and attitudes they express. Methods We conducted a content analysis of questions containing the keywords “gene therapy” from the Q&A site “Yahoo! Answers” for the 5-year period between 2006 and 2010. From the pool of questions retrieved (N=903), we identified those containing at least one theme related to ethics, environment, economics, law, or society (n=173) and then characterized the content of relevant answers (n=399) through emergent coding. Results The results show that users seek a wide range of information regarding gene therapy, with requests for scientific information and ethical issues at the forefront of enquiry. The question sample reveals high expectations for gene therapy that range from cures for genetic and nongenetic diseases to pre- and postnatal enhancement of physiological attributes. Ethics questions are commonly expressed as fears about the impact of gene therapy on self and society. The answer sample echoes these concerns but further suggests that the acceptability of gene therapy varies depending on the specific application. Conclusions Overall, the findings highlight the powerful role of social media as a rich resource for research into attitudes toward biomedicine and as a platform for knowledge exchange and public engagement for topics relating to health and disease. PMID:23470490

In your face: transcendence in embodied interaction

PubMed Central

Gallagher, Shaun

2014-01-01

In cognitive psychology, studies concerning the face tend to focus on questions about face recognition, theory of mind (ToM) and empathy. Questions about the face, however, also fit into a very different set of issues that are central to ethics. Based especially on the work of Levinas, philosophers have come to see that reference to the face of another person can anchor conceptions of moral responsibility and ethical demand. Levinas points to a certain irreducibility and transcendence implicit in the face of the other. In this paper I argue that the notion of transcendence involved in this kind of analysis can be given a naturalistic interpretation by drawing on recent interactive approaches to social cognition found in developmental psychology, phenomenology, and the study of autism. PMID:25071523

Ecological concerns following Superstorm Sandy: stressor level and recreational activity levels affect perceptions of ecosystem

PubMed Central

2015-01-01

Coastal habitats are vulnerable to storms, and with increasing urbanization, sea level rise, and storm frequency, some urban populations are at risk. This study examined perceptions of respondents in coastal and central New Jersey to Superstorm Sandy, including: 1) concerns about ecological resources and effects (open-ended question), 2) information sources for ecology of the coast (open-ended), and 3) ratings of a list of ecological services as a function of demographics, location (coastal, central Jersey), stressor level (power outages, high winds, flooding) and recreational rates. “Wildlife” and “fish” were the ecological concerns mentioned most often, while beaches and dunes were most often mentioned for environmental concerns. Television, radio, and web/internet were sources trusted for ecological information. The data indicate 1) stressor level was a better predictor of ratings of ecological services than geographical location, but days engaged in recreation contributed the most to variations in ratings, 2) ecological services were rated the highest by respondents with the highest stressor levels, and by those from the coast, compared to others, 3) Caucasians rated ecological services higher than all others, and 4) recreational rates were highest for coastal respondents, and ratings for ecological services increased with recreational rates. Only 20 % of respondents listed specific ecological services as one of their three most important environmental concerns. These data will be useful for increasing preparedness, enhancing educational strategies for shore protection, and providing managers and public policy makers with data essential to developing resiliency strategies. PMID:27011729

Response: Reading between the lines of cancer screening trials: using modeling to understand the evidence.

PubMed

Etzioni, Ruth; Gulati, Roman

2013-04-01

In our article about limitations of basing screening policy on screening trials, we offered several examples of ways in which modeling, using data from large screening trials and population trends, provided insights that differed somewhat from those based only on empirical trial results. In this editorial, we take a step back and consider the general question of whether randomized screening trials provide the strongest evidence for clinical guidelines concerning population screening programs. We argue that randomized trials provide a process that is designed to protect against certain biases but that this process does not guarantee that inferences based on empirical results from screening trials will be unbiased. Appropriate quantitative methods are key to obtaining unbiased inferences from screening trials. We highlight several studies in the statistical literature demonstrating that conventional survival analyses of screening trials can be misleading and list a number of key questions concerning screening harms and benefits that cannot be answered without modeling. Although we acknowledge the centrality of screening trials in the policy process, we maintain that modeling constitutes a powerful tool for screening trial interpretation and screening policy development.

Assessing environmental attitudes and concerns about a contaminated site in a densely populated suburban environment.

PubMed

Burger, Joanna

2005-02-01

Considerable attention has been devoted to the concerns and perceptions of people residing around contaminated facilities, both brownfields in urban areas and others located in remote and lightly populated areas. This paper examines the concerns of recreationists and sportsmen residing near the Department of Energy's (DOE) Brookhaven National Laboratory, in central Long Island, one of the most densely populated regions in the United States, where tourism is of prime importance. On an open-ended question, the greatest concern was pollution, followed by environmental health as a global concern, and human health as a concern for Brookhaven. Accidents/spills, loss of public health, and loss of ecological health were rated highest among a list of concerns, and change in property values was rated lowest. When asked to rank seven concerns, protecting human health was ranked the highest, and economic interests were ranked the lowest. For future land use at Brookhaven, recreational uses were rated the highest, while building houses and factories, and storage of nuclear material were rated the lowest. These data can be used by managers, decision and policy makers, and the general public to assess and manage local and regional environmental concerns and to consider future land uses for decommissioned lands, such as those at Brookhaven.

Analysis of public concerns about influenza vaccinations by mining a massive online question dataset in Japan.

PubMed

Nawa, Nobutoshi; Kogaki, Shigetoyo; Takahashi, Kunihiko; Ishida, Hidekazu; Baden, Hiroki; Katsuragi, Shinichi; Narita, Jun; Tanaka-Taya, Keiko; Ozono, Keiichi

2016-06-08

Elucidating public concerns regarding vaccinations is important for successful immunization programs. The objective of the present study was to categorize public concerns regarding influenza vaccinations in Japan by analyzing a massive web-based question dataset. The Yahoo! Chiebukuro (Japanese Yahoo! Answers) Dataset, which includes more than 16 million questions collected between April 2004 and April 2009, was used in this study. We sequentially filtered data to obtain questions on influenza vaccinations. Any questions that met our exclusion criteria concerning veterinary vaccines or computer virus vaccines were removed from the analysis. Filtered questions and their answers were manually analyzed for their content by a team of board-certified pediatricians. After filtering data, we obtained 1950 questions regarding influenza vaccinations. The three most frequently asked questions were regarding the vaccination schedule, safety, and effectiveness. When we analyzed monthly trends in question contents, we noted the emergence of similar questions in the same period every year. Therefore, we classified the time periods of each year into three parts: (1) from April to the commencement of seasonal influenza vaccinations (September), (2) from October until the epidemic period, and (3) the epidemic period. Two interesting results were obtained: concerns regarding effectiveness abruptly increased during the epidemic period, and pregnant or breastfeeding women increasingly asked questions regarding feasibility between October and the epidemic period. The questions and concerns collected and analyzed in this study illustrate that the public have questions about the influenza vaccine and also that questions changed with periodical consistency. These results highlight the possible usefulness of providing the public with the latest and correct information to their questions in a timely manner, for example via an official health website. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Is the notion of central fatigue based on a solid foundation?

PubMed

Contessa, Paola; Puleo, Alessio; De Luca, Carlo J

2016-02-01

Exercise-induced muscle fatigue has been shown to be the consequence of peripheral factors that impair muscle fiber contractile mechanisms. Central factors arising within the central nervous system have also been hypothesized to induce muscle fatigue, but no direct empirical evidence that is causally associated to reduction of muscle force-generating capability has yet been reported. We developed a simulation model to investigate whether peripheral factors of muscle fatigue are sufficient to explain the muscle force behavior observed during empirical studies of fatiguing voluntary contractions, which is commonly attributed to central factors. Peripheral factors of muscle fatigue were included in the model as a time-dependent decrease in the amplitude of the motor unit force twitches. Our simulation study indicated that the force behavior commonly attributed to central fatigue could be explained solely by peripheral factors during simulated fatiguing submaximal voluntary contractions. It also revealed important flaws regarding the use of the interpolated twitch response from electrical stimulation of the muscle as a means for assessing central fatigue. Our analysis does not directly refute the concept of central fatigue. However, it raises important concerns about the manner in which it is measured and about the interpretation of the commonly accepted causes of central fatigue and questions the very need for the existence of central fatigue. Copyright © 2016 the American Physiological Society.

Network Connectedness, Sense of Community, and Risk Perception of Climate Change Professionals in the Pacific Islands Region

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Corlew, L. K.; Keener, V. W.; Finucane, M.

2013-12-01

The Pacific Regional Integrated Sciences and Assessments (Pacific RISA) Program conducted social network analysis research of climate change professionals (broadly defined) who are from or work in Hawaii and the U.S.-Affiliated Pacific Islands (USAPI) region. This study is supported by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and the Pacific Islands Climate Science Center (PICSC) to address an identified need for a resource that quantifies the region's collaborative network of climate change professionals, and that supports the further development of cross-regional and inter-sectoral collaborations for future research and adaptation activities. A survey was distributed to nearly 1,200 people who are from and/or work in climate change related fields in the region. The Part One Survey questions (not confidential) created a preferential attachment network by listing major players in Hawaii and the USAPI, with additional open fields to identify important contacts in the greater professional network. Participants (n=340) identified 975 network contacts and frequency of communications (weekly, monthly, seasonally, yearly, at least once ever). Part Two Survey questions (confidential, n=302) explored climate change risk perceptions, Psychological Sense of Community (PSOC), sense of control over climate change impacts, sense of responsibility to act, policy beliefs and preferences regarding climate change actions, concern and optimism scales about specific impacts, and demographic information. Graphical representations of the professional network are being developed for release in September 2013 as a free online tool to promote and assist collaboration building among climate professionals in the region. The graphs are partitioned according to network 'hubs' (high centrality), participant location, and profession to clearly identify network strengths and opportunities for future collaborations across spatial and professional boundaries. For additional analyses, scores are assigned for participant degree centrality, betweenness centrality, and Eigenvector centrality from the Part One Survey, as well as PSOC, control, responsibility, risk perceptions, concern, optimism, and policy preferences from the Part Two Survey. Statistical interaction analyses explore factors motivating connectedness within the network, as well as climate change research and adaptation needs and priorities of participants.

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Control of Cell Survival in Adult Mammalian Neurogenesis.

PubMed

Kuhn, H Georg

2015-10-28

The fact that continuous proliferation of stem cells and progenitors, as well as the production of new neurons, occurs in the adult mammalian central nervous system (CNS) raises several basic questions concerning the number of neurons required in a particular system. Can we observe continued growth of brain regions that sustain neurogenesis? Or does an elimination mechanism exist to maintain a constant number of cells? If so, are old neurons replaced, or are the new neurons competing for limited network access among each other? What signals support their survival and integration and what factors are responsible for their elimination? This review will address these and other questions regarding regulatory mechanisms that control cell-death and cell-survival mechanisms during neurogenesis in the intact adult mammalian brain. Copyright © 2015 Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Press; all rights reserved.

Safety considerations of anesthetic drugs in children.

PubMed

Brown, Raeford E

2017-04-01

Great strides have been made in the last twenty years in providing safe anesthesia care for infants and children. Despite a historical record of safety, recent findings have called to question the toxicities of many anesthetic agents. Observations concerning the inherent safety of these agents, their appropriate management in infants, and new findings which suggest overlooked toxicities will be discussed. Areas covered: A literature search using Pub Med identified journal articles relating to the safety of anesthetic agents in infants and children. From this group, representative classical articles, as well as more recent offerings, were chosen that were germane to the topic of anesthetic drug safety in children. Expert opinion: Anesthetic agents used in children in the US are generally safe in the short term and are administered to thousands of children daily without demonstrable harm. The question of a deleterious effect of anesthetics on the developing central nervous system when used for long periods and on multiple occasions continues to be open to debate. Conservative elective management of these agents in infants and young children is reasonable until such time as more is known about the toxicities on the central nervous system.

Why Bioethics Should Be Concerned With Medically Unexplained Symptoms.

PubMed

O'Leary, Diane

2018-05-01

Biomedical diagnostic science is a great deal less successful than we've been willing to acknowledge in bioethics, and this fact has far-reaching ethical implications. In this article I consider the surprising prevalence of medically unexplained symptoms, and the term's ambiguous meaning. Then I frame central questions that remain answered in this context with respect to informed consent, autonomy, and truth-telling. Finally, I show that while considerable attention in this area is given to making sure not to provide biological care to patients without a need, comparatively little is given to the competing, ethically central task of making sure never to obstruct access to biological care for those with diagnostically confusing biological conditions. I suggest this problem arises from confusion about the philosophical value of vagueness when it comes to the line between biological and psychosocial needs.

Enterprise resource planning for hospitals.

PubMed

van Merode, Godefridus G; Groothuis, Siebren; Hasman, Arie

2004-06-30

Integrated hospitals need a central planning and control system to plan patients' processes and the required capacity. Given the changes in healthcare one can ask the question what type of information systems can best support these healthcare delivery organizations. We focus in this review on the potential of enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems for healthcare delivery organizations. First ERP systems are explained. An overview is then presented of the characteristics of the planning process in hospital environments. Problems with ERP that are due to the special characteristics of healthcare are presented. The situations in which ERP can or cannot be used are discussed. It is suggested to divide hospitals in a part that is concerned only with deterministic processes and a part that is concerned with non-deterministic processes. ERP can be very useful for planning and controlling the deterministic processes.

Taking the cooking out of food: nutrition & the national curriculum.

PubMed

Stitt, S; Jepson, M; Paulson-Box, E

1995-01-01

This is a discussion paper which generates some important research questions for educationalists. The teaching of food skills are at danger of being lost from the school cirriculum by changes imposed by the National Curriculum. This sinister (i.e., unexplained/undefined) development generates potential problems for the teaching of cookery and for the food and eating traditions of British society. The central concern for nutrition educationalists is that cooking is becoming more and more de-domesticated and consequently will become more systemised, more mass produced; in which case, young people need not be educated in basic cooking skills.

Neural control of circulation and exercise: a translational approach disclosing interactions between central command, arterial baroreflex, and muscle metaboreflex.

PubMed

Michelini, Lisete C; O'Leary, Donal S; Raven, Peter B; Nóbrega, Antonio C L

2015-08-01

The last 100 years witnessed a rapid and progressive development of the body of knowledge concerning the neural control of the cardiovascular system in health and disease. The understanding of the complexity and the relevance of the neuroregulatory system continues to evolve and as a result raises new questions. The purpose of this review is to articulate results from studies involving experimental models in animals as well as in humans concerning the interaction between the neural mechanisms mediating the hemodynamic responses during exercise. The review describes the arterial baroreflex, the pivotal mechanism controlling mean arterial blood pressure and its fluctuations along with the two main activation mechanisms to exercise: central command (parallel activation of central somatomotor and autonomic descending pathways) and the muscle metaboreflex, the metabolic component of exercise pressor reflex (feedback from ergoreceptors within contracting skeletal muscles). In addition, the role of the cardiopulmonary baroreceptors in modulating the resetting of arterial baroreflex is identified, and the mechanisms in the central nervous system involved with the resetting of baroreflex function during dynamic exercise are also described. Approaching a very relevant clinical condition, the review also presents the concept that the impaired arterial baroreflex function is an integral component of the metaboreflex-mediated exaggerated sympathetic tone in subjects with heart failure. This increased sympathetic activity has a major role in causing the depressed ventricular function observed during submaximal dynamic exercise in these patients. The potential contribution of a metaboreflex arising from respiratory muscles is also considered. Copyright © 2015 the American Physiological Society.

Neural control of circulation and exercise: a translational approach disclosing interactions between central command, arterial baroreflex, and muscle metaboreflex

PubMed Central

Michelini, Lisete C.; O'Leary, Donal S.; Raven, Peter B.

2015-01-01

The last 100 years witnessed a rapid and progressive development of the body of knowledge concerning the neural control of the cardiovascular system in health and disease. The understanding of the complexity and the relevance of the neuroregulatory system continues to evolve and as a result raises new questions. The purpose of this review is to articulate results from studies involving experimental models in animals as well as in humans concerning the interaction between the neural mechanisms mediating the hemodynamic responses during exercise. The review describes the arterial baroreflex, the pivotal mechanism controlling mean arterial blood pressure and its fluctuations along with the two main activation mechanisms to exercise: central command (parallel activation of central somatomotor and autonomic descending pathways) and the muscle metaboreflex, the metabolic component of exercise pressor reflex (feedback from ergoreceptors within contracting skeletal muscles). In addition, the role of the cardiopulmonary baroreceptors in modulating the resetting of arterial baroreflex is identified, and the mechanisms in the central nervous system involved with the resetting of baroreflex function during dynamic exercise are also described. Approaching a very relevant clinical condition, the review also presents the concept that the impaired arterial baroreflex function is an integral component of the metaboreflex-mediated exaggerated sympathetic tone in subjects with heart failure. This increased sympathetic activity has a major role in causing the depressed ventricular function observed during submaximal dynamic exercise in these patients. The potential contribution of a metaboreflex arising from respiratory muscles is also considered. PMID:26024683

Innovating public participation methods: Technoscientization and reflexive engagement.

PubMed

Voß, Jan-Peter; Amelung, Nina

2016-10-01

We reconstruct the innovation journey of 'citizen panels', as a family of participation methods, over four decades and across different sites of development and application. A process of aggregation leads from local practices of designing participatory procedures like the citizens jury, planning cell, or consensus conference in the 1970s and 1980s, to the disembedding and proliferation of procedural formats in the 1990s, and into the trans-local consolidation of participatory practices through laboratory-based expertise since about 2000. Our account highlights a central irony: anti-technocratic engagements with governance gave birth to efforts at establishing technoscientific control over questions of political procedure. But such efforts have been met with various forms of reflexive engagement that draw out implications and turn design questions back into matters of concern. An emerging informal assessment regime for technologies of participation as yet prevents closure on one dominant global design for democracy beyond the state.

Transforming EQ-5D utilities for use in cost–value analysis of health programs.

PubMed

Nord, Erik; Johansen, Rune

2015-04-01

In a number of jurisdictions there is increasing interest in incorporating concerns for fairness in models for economic evaluation of health interventions. Cost–value analysis is a name for evaluations with such a broader aim. The most widely held concern for fairness is a concern for the worse off, i.e. the idea that severity of illness should count in determining priorities. In economic evaluations of improvements in health-related quality of life this concern may be taken into account by replacing conventional health state utilities with societal values for health states that are characterised by strong upper end compression and decreasing marginal value of utility gains. We review evidence on the strength of concerns for the worse off--measured at the cardinal level--in 15 articles published in peer-reviewed journals in the time period 1978–2010, with reports from altogether 20 individual studies in nine different countries. We report 116 individual observations of paired comparisons of utility improvements with different start levels. Concerns for severity show up quite strongly across countries, sample types and question framings. By means of regression analyses we fit a societal value function to the data that has the property of decreasing marginal value of utility gains. Using the central tendency in the data we present two plausible transformations of EQ-5D utilities into societal values that reflect concerns for the worse off.

Multiple Intravenous Infusions Phase 2a: Ontario Survey

PubMed Central

Fan, Mark; Koczmara, Christine; Masino, Caterina; Cassano-Piché, Andrea; Trbovich, Patricia; Easty, Anthony

2014-01-01

Background Research conducted in earlier phases of this study prospectively identified a number of concerns related to the safe administration of multiple intravenous (IV) infusions in Ontario hospitals. Objective To investigate the potential prevalence of practices or policies that may contribute to the patient safety risks identified in Phase 1b of this study. Data Sources and Review Methods Sixty-four survey responses were analyzed from clinical units where multiple IV infusions may occur (e.g., adult intensive care units). Survey questions were organized according to the topics identified in Phase 1b as potential contributors to patient harm (e.g., labelling practices, patient transfer practices, secondary infusion policies). Results Survey results indicated suboptimal practices and policies in some clinical units, and variability in a number of infusion practices. Key areas of concern included the following: use of primary IV tubing without back check valves when administering secondary infusions administration of secondary infusions with/as high-alert continuous IV medications potential confusion about how IV tubing should be labelled to reflect replacement date and time interruptions to IV therapy due to IV pump and/or tubing changes when patients are transferred between clinical units coadministration of continuous or intermittent infusions on central venous pressure monitoring ports variability in respondents’ awareness of the infusion pump's bolus capabilities Limitations Due to the limited sample size, survey responses may not be representative of infusion practices across Ontario. Answers to some questions indicated that the intent of the questions might have been misunderstood. Due to a design error, 1 question about bolus administration methods was not shown to as many respondents as appropriate. Conclusions The Ontario survey revealed variability in IV infusion practice across the province and potential opportunities to improve safety. PMID:26257837

Are submissive nurses ethical?: reflecting on power anorexia.

PubMed

Lunardi, Valeria Lerch; Peter, Elizabeth; Gastaldo, Denise

2002-01-01

We believe that the notion of power anorexia, which we define as a lack of desire to exercise power, is central to reflections about nursing ethical concerns. Questioning the assumption that nurses are powerless, we argue that nurses can and do exercise power and that their actions and inactions have consequences not only for themselves, but also for those for whom they care. We propose that a feminist ethics perspective be used both to understand and to overcome nurses' power anorexia. Feminist thinkers remind us not only of oppression's psychological impact, but that stereotypical views about women are socially constructed and, therefore, can be changed. Nurses using this framework should explore the implications of a centralized notion of caring to the way we conceive of power relations in health care. Perhaps deconstructing caring by focusing on how nurses exercise power could help us to re-conceptualize nursing and promote new agendas for health and health care.

Cell-based therapeutic strategies for multiple sclerosis

PubMed Central

Scolding, Neil J; Pasquini, Marcelo; Reingold, Stephen C; Cohen, Jeffrey A; Atkins, Harold; Banwell, Brenda; Bar-Or, Amit; Bebo, Bruce; Bowen, James; Burt, Richard; Calabresi, Peter; Cohen, Jeffrey; Comi, Giancarlo; Connick, Peter; Cross, Anne; Cutter, Gary; Derfuss, Tobias; Ffrench-Constant, Charles; Freedman, Mark; Galipeau, Jacques; Goldman, Myla; Goldman, Steven; Goodman, Andrew; Green, Ari; Griffith, Linda; Hartung, Hans-Peter; Hemmer, Bernhard; Hyun, Insoo; Iacobaeus, Ellen; Inglese, Matilde; Jubelt, Burk; Karussis, Dimitrios; Küry, Patrick; Landsman, Douglas; Laule, Cornelia; Liblau, Roland; Mancardi, Giovanni; Ann Marrie, Ruth; Miller, Aaron; Miller, Robert; Miller, David; Mowry, Ellen; Muraro, Paolo; Nash, Richard; Ontaneda, Daniel; Pasquini, Marcelo; Pelletier, Daniel; Peruzzotti-Jametti, Luca; Pluchino, Stefano; Racke, Michael; Reingold, Stephen; Rice, Claire; Ringdén, Olle; Rovira, Alex; Saccardi, Riccardo; Sadiq, Saud; Sarantopoulos, Stefanie; Savitz, Sean; Scolding, Neil; Soelberg Sorensen, Per; Pia Sormani, Maria; Stuve, Olaf; Tesar, Paul; Thompson, Alan; Trojano, Maria; Uccelli, Antonio; Uitdehaag, Bernard; Utz, Ursula; Vukusic, Sandra; Waubant, Emmanuelle; Wilkins, Alastair

2017-01-01

Abstract The availability of multiple disease-modifying medications with regulatory approval to treat multiple sclerosis illustrates the substantial progress made in therapy of the disease. However, all are only partially effective in preventing inflammatory tissue damage in the central nervous system and none directly promotes repair. Cell-based therapies, including immunoablation followed by autologous haematopoietic stem cell transplantation, mesenchymal and related stem cell transplantation, pharmacologic manipulation of endogenous stem cells to enhance their reparative capabilities, and transplantation of oligodendrocyte progenitor cells, have generated substantial interest as novel therapeutic strategies for immune modulation, neuroprotection, or repair of the damaged central nervous system in multiple sclerosis. Each approach has potential advantages but also safety concerns and unresolved questions. Moreover, clinical trials of cell-based therapies present several unique methodological and ethical issues. We summarize here the status of cell-based therapies to treat multiple sclerosis and make consensus recommendations for future research and clinical trials. PMID:29053779

Critical thinking in physics education

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sadidi, Farahnaz

2016-07-01

We agree that training the next generation of leaders of the society, who have the ability to think critically and form a better judgment is an important goal. It is a long-standing concern of Educators and a long-term desire of teachers to establish a method in order to teach to think critically. To this end, many questions arise on three central aspects: the definition, the evaluation and the design of the course: What is Critical Thinking? How can we define Critical Thinking? How can we evaluate Critical Thinking? Therefore, we want to implement Critical Thinking in physics education. How can we teach for Critical Thinking in physics? What should the course syllabus and materials be? We present examples from classical physics and give perspectives for astro-particle physics. The main aim of this paper is to answer the questions and provide teachers with the opportunity to change their classroom to an active one, in which students are encouraged to ask questions and learn to reach a good judgment. Key words: Critical Thinking, evaluation, judgment, design of the course.

Perspectives in numerical astrophysics:

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Reverdy, V.

2016-12-01

In this discussion paper, we investigate the current and future status of numerical astrophysics and highlight key questions concerning the transition to the exascale era. We first discuss the fact that one of the main motivation behind high performance simulations should not be the reproduction of observational or experimental data, but the understanding of the emergence of complexity from fundamental laws. This motivation is put into perspective regarding the quest for more computational power and we argue that extra computational resources can be used to gain in abstraction. Then, the readiness level of present-day simulation codes in regard to upcoming exascale architecture is examined and two major challenges are raised concerning both the central role of data movement for performances and the growing complexity of codes. Software architecture is finally presented as a key component to make the most of upcoming architectures while solving original physics problems.

Reflections on the Swiss Consensus Statement in the context of qualitative interviews with heterosexuals living with HIV.

PubMed

Persson, A

2010-12-01

In 2008, the Swiss Federal AIDS Commission released a statement concluding that people with HIV who are on treatment and have an undetectable viral load are non-infectious and can safely practice unprotected sex with their HIV-negative partner under certain conditions. Contradicting over 25 years of HIV prevention messages, the so called Swiss Consensus Statement sparked a polarised international debate. One key concern is that the Statement will be misinterpreted to imply that everybody on treatment can have unprotected sex. Therefore, critics warn against any departure from the emphasis on condoms as the most effective prevention method. Given this concern, it is useful to reflect on what relevance the Swiss Statement may have for those concerned. This paper draws on qualitative interviews with HIV-positive heterosexuals and HIV-negative partners in Australia. Conducted both before and after the release of the Statement, these interviews revealed that sexual decision-making was not based solely on calculations of risk, but shaped by complex emotions and relationship priorities. The interviews also revealed that participants were sceptical towards the Statement's prevention message. These findings call into question the central concerns that drive this debate.

A ‘Suitable Soil’: Plague’s Urban Breeding Grounds at the Dawn of the Third Pandemic

PubMed Central

Lynteris, Christos

2017-01-01

A pressing question during the first half-decade of the third plague pandemic (1894–9) was what was a ‘suitable soil’ for the disease. The question related to plague’s perceived ability to disappear from a given city only to reappear at some future point; a phenomenon that became central to scientific investigations of the disease. However, rather than this simply having a metaphorical meaning, the debate around plague’s ‘suitable soil’ actually concerned the material reality of the soil itself. The prevalence of plague in the working-class neighbourhood of Taipingshan during the first major outbreak of the pandemic, in 1894 in Hong Kong, led to an extensive debate regarding the ability of the soil to harbour and even spread the disease. Involving experiments, which were seen as able to procure evidence for or against the demolition or even torching of the area, scientific and administrative concerns over the soil rendered it an unstable yet highly productive epistemic thing. The spread of plague to India further fuelled concerns over the ability of the soil to act as the medium of the disease’s so-called true recrudescence. Besides high-profile scientific debates, hands-on experiments on purifying the soil of infected houses by means of highly intrusive methods allowed scientists and administrators to act upon and further solidify plague’s supposed invisibility in the urban terrain. Rather than being a short-lived, moribund object of epidemiological concern, this paper will demonstrate that the soil played a crucial role in the development of plague as a scientifically knowable and actionable category for modern medicine. PMID:28604289

Deployment of spatial attention towards locations in memory representations. An EEG study.

PubMed

Leszczyński, Marcin; Wykowska, Agnieszka; Perez-Osorio, Jairo; Müller, Hermann J

2013-01-01

Recalling information from visual short-term memory (VSTM) involves the same neural mechanisms as attending to an actually perceived scene. In particular, retrieval from VSTM has been associated with orienting of visual attention towards a location within a spatially-organized memory representation. However, an open question concerns whether spatial attention is also recruited during VSTM retrieval even when performing the task does not require access to spatial coordinates of items in the memorized scene. The present study combined a visual search task with a modified, delayed central probe protocol, together with EEG analysis, to answer this question. We found a temporal contralateral negativity (TCN) elicited by a centrally presented go-signal which was spatially uninformative and featurally unrelated to the search target and informed participants only about a response key that they had to press to indicate a prepared target-present vs. -absent decision. This lateralization during VSTM retrieval (TCN) provides strong evidence of a shift of attention towards the target location in the memory representation, which occurred despite the fact that the present task required no spatial (or featural) information from the search to be encoded, maintained, and retrieved to produce the correct response and that the go-signal did not itself specify any information relating to the location and defining feature of the target.

Chronic fatigue syndrome: an update focusing on phenomenology and pathophysiology.

PubMed

Cho, Hyong Jin; Skowera, Anna; Cleare, Anthony; Wessely, Simon

2006-01-01

Chronic fatigue syndrome is a controversial condition especially concerning its clinical definition and aetiopathogenesis. Most recent research progress has been made in phenomenology and pathophysiology and we focused our review on these two areas. The phenomenology research supports the notion of a discrete fatigue syndrome which can be distinguished from depression and anxiety. The current case definition, however, may need an improvement based on empirical data. Recent advances in understanding the pathophysiology of chronic fatigue syndrome continue to demonstrate the involvement of the central nervous system. Hyperserotonergic state and hypoactivity of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis constitute other findings, but the question of whether these alterations are a cause or consequence of chronic fatigue syndrome still remains unanswered. Immune system involvement in the pathogenesis seems certain but the findings on the specific mechanisms are still inconsistent. Genetic studies provide some evidence of the syndrome being a partly genetic condition, but environmental effects seem to be still predominant and identification of specific genes is still at a very early stage. The recent findings suggest that further research is needed in improving the current case definition; investigating overlaps and boundaries among various functional somatic syndromes; answering the question of whether the pathophysiologic findings are a cause or consequence; and elucidating the involvement of the central nervous system, immune system and genetic factors.

Physicians' questions concerning drug use among older patients: experience from Norwegian drug information centres (RELIS) in the period 2010-2015.

PubMed

Schjøtt, Jan

2017-09-19

Questions from physicians to regional medicines information and pharmacovigilance centres in Norway (RELIS) concerning older patients were described. Question-answer pairs (QAPs) from the RELIS database indexed with the category "older", and concerning individual patients from the period 01 Jan 2010 to 31 Dec 2015, were analysed. Two-hundred and eight QAPs categorized with "older" were retrieved from a total of 16 710 in the study period, and 122 of 208 QAPs fulfilled the inclusion criteria. The most common categories of drugs in question (n = 228) according to the ATC system were N: Nervous system (30.3%) and C: Cardiovascular system (23.7%). Questions from physicians (n = 122) were most frequently about adverse effects (41.8%) and treatment (39.3%). The majority of questions to RELIS concerning older patients came from general practice (GP). The results suggest drug information efforts to GPs in care of older patients with regard to psychopharmacology and cardiovascular pharmacology.

Centralization Versus Decentralization: A Location Analysis Approach for Librarians.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Shishko, Robert; Raffel, Jeffrey

One of the questions that seems to perplex many university and special librarians is whether to move in the direction of centralizing or decentralizing the library's collections and facilities. Presented is a theoretical approach, employing location theory, to the library centralization-decentralization question. Location theory allows the analyst…

48 CFR 22.1003-7 - Questions concerning applicability of the Act.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-10-01

... REGULATION SOCIOECONOMIC PROGRAMS APPLICATION OF LABOR LAWS TO GOVERNMENT ACQUISITIONS Service Contract Act of 1965, as Amended 22.1003-7 Questions concerning applicability of the Act. If the contracting officer questions the applicability of the Act to an acquisition, the contracting officer shall request...

Consensus statement on the use of gonadotropin-releasing hormone analogs in children.

PubMed

Carel, Jean-Claude; Eugster, Erica A; Rogol, Alan; Ghizzoni, Lucia; Palmert, Mark R; Antoniazzi, Franco; Berenbaum, Sheri; Bourguignon, Jean-Pierre; Chrousos, George P; Coste, Joël; Deal, Sheri; de Vries, Liat; Foster, Carol; Heger, Sabine; Holland, Jack; Jahnukainen, Kirsi; Juul, Anders; Kaplowitz, Paul; Lahlou, Najiba; Lee, Mary M; Lee, Peter; Merke, Deborah P; Neely, E Kirk; Oostdijk, Wilma; Phillip, Moshe; Rosenfield, Robert L; Shulman, Dorothy; Styne, Dennis; Tauber, Maïthé; Wit, Jan M

2009-04-01

Gonadotropin-releasing hormone analogs revolutionized the treatment of central precocious puberty. However, questions remain regarding their optimal use in central precocious puberty and other conditions. The Lawson Wilkins Pediatric Endocrine Society and the European Society for Pediatric Endocrinology convened a consensus conference to review the clinical use of gonadotropin-releasing hormone analogs in children and adolescents. When selecting the 30 participants, consideration was given to equal representation from North America (United States and Canada) and Europe, an equal male/female ratio, and a balanced spectrum of professional seniority and expertise. Preference was given to articles written in English with long-term outcome data. The US Public Health grading system was used to grade evidence and rate the strength of conclusions. When evidence was insufficient, conclusions were based on expert opinion. Participants were put into working groups with assigned topics and specific questions. Written materials were prepared and distributed before the conference, revised on the basis of input during the meeting, and presented to the full assembly for final review. If consensus could not be reached, conclusions were based on majority vote. All participants approved the final statement. The efficacy of gonadotropin-releasing hormone analogs in increasing adult height is undisputed only in early-onset (girls <6 years old) central precocious puberty. Other key areas, such as the psychosocial effects of central precocious puberty and their alteration by gonadotropin-releasing hormone analogs, need additional study. Few controlled prospective studies have been performed with gonadotropin-releasing hormone analogs in children, and many conclusions rely in part on collective expert opinion. The conference did not endorse commonly voiced concerns regarding the use of gonadotropin-releasing hormone analogs, such as promotion of weight gain or long-term diminution of bone mineral density. Use of gonadotropin-releasing hormone analogs for conditions other than central precocious puberty requires additional investigation and cannot be suggested routinely.

Three critical questions for future research on lesbian relationships.

PubMed

Diamond, Lisa M

2017-01-02

In this article I discuss three questions that should be priorities for future research on lesbian love and relationships. The first question concerns the very definition of "lesbian relationship," given how many women may be engaged in same-sex relationships without identifying as lesbian. The second question concerns the potential influence of childhood neglect and abuse on adult women's same-sex relationships, a topic that has important implications for both psychological well-being and relationship functioning. The third question concerns the potential downsides of legal marriage for women's same-sex relationships, a topic that is particularly important in light of the newfound legal recognition of same-sex marriage in all 50 states. Although there are many understudied questions in the domain of women's same-sex relationships, research on these three questions has particularly strong potential to advance our understanding of lesbian love and relationships in important ways.

Intellectual and Physical Disabilities in Prehistory and Early Civilization

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Berkson, Gershon

2004-01-01

This paper is focused on three basic questions: The first concerns when specific disabilities first appeared during human evolution. The second question has to do with causes of disabilities. The third question concerns social responses to people with disabilities. Discussions on each of the issues are presented.

Policy implications of technologies for cognitive enhancement

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Sarewitz, Daniel R.; Karas, Thomas H.

2007-02-01

The Advanced Concepts Group at Sandia National Laboratory and the Consortium for Science, Policy and Outcomes at Arizona State University convened a workshop in May 2006 to explore the potential policy implications of technologies that might enhance human cognitive abilities. The group's deliberations sought to identify core values and concerns raised by the prospect of cognitive enhancement. The workshop focused on the policy implications of various prospective cognitive enhancements and on the technologies/nanotechnology, biotechnology, information technology, and cognitive science--that enable them. The prospect of rapidly emerging technological capabilities to enhance human cognition makes urgent a daunting array of questions, tensions,more » ambitions, and concerns. The workshop elicited dilemmas and concerns in ten overlapping areas: science and democracy; equity and justice; freedom and control; intergenerational issues; ethics and competition; individual and community rights; speed and deliberations; ethical uncertainty; humanness; and sociocultural risk. We identified four different perspectives to encompass the diverse issues related to emergence of cognitive enhancement technologies: (1) Laissez-faire--emphasizes freedom of individuals to seek and employ enhancement technologies based on their own judgment; (2) Managed technological optimism--believes that while these technologies promise great benefits, such benefits cannot emerge without an active government role; (3) Managed technological skepticism--views that the quality of life arises more out of society's institutions than its technologies; and (4) Human Essentialism--starts with the notion of a human essence (whether God-given or evolutionary in origin) that should not be modified. While the perspectives differ significantly about both human nature and the role of government, each encompasses a belief in the value of transparency and reliable information that can allow public discussion and decisions about cognitive enhancement. The practical question is how to foster productive discussions in a society whose attention is notably fragmented and priorities notably diverse. The question of what to talk about remains central, as each of the four perspectives is concerned about different things. Perhaps the key issue for initial clarification as a condition for productive democratic discussion has to do with the intended goals of cognitive enhancement, and the mechanisms for allowing productive deliberation about these goals.« less

Answering Questions and Questioning Answers. Part II. University of Central Florida Conference Papers.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Miller, C. C.; And Others

1982-01-01

Brief analyses are provided of presentations made at a conference, held at the University of Central Florida in Orlando, which addressed questions and answers relating to research and education. Conference sessions explored the role of research in relation to educational practices with special focus on theory, research, issues and application.…

A question of trust: user-centered design requirements for an informatics intervention to promote the sexual health of African-American youth.

PubMed

Veinot, Tiffany C; Campbell, Terrance R; Kruger, Daniel J; Grodzinski, Alison

2013-01-01

We investigated the user requirements of African-American youth (aged 14-24 years) to inform the design of a culturally appropriate, network-based informatics intervention for the prevention of HIV and other sexually transmitted infections (STI). We conducted 10 focus groups with 75 African-American youth from a city with high HIV/STI prevalence. Data analyses involved coding using qualitative content analysis procedures and memo writing. Unexpectedly, the majority of participants' design recommendations concerned trust. Youth expressed distrust towards people and groups, which was amplified within the context of information technology-mediated interactions about HIV/STI. Participants expressed distrust in the reliability of condoms and the accuracy of HIV tests. They questioned the benevolence of many institutions, and some rejected authoritative HIV/STI information. Therefore, reputational information, including rumor, influenced HIV/STI-related decision making. Participants' design requirements also focused on trust-related concerns. Accordingly, we developed a novel trust-centered design framework to guide intervention design. Current approaches to online trust for health informatics do not consider group-level trusting patterns. Yet, trust was the central intervention-relevant issue among African-American youth, suggesting an important focus for culturally informed design. Our design framework incorporates: intervention objectives (eg, network embeddedness, participation); functional specifications (eg, decision support, collective action, credible question and answer services); and interaction design (eg, member control, offline network linkages, optional anonymity). Trust is a critical focus for HIV/STI informatics interventions for young African Americans. Our design framework offers practical, culturally relevant, and systematic guidance to designers to reach this underserved group better.

Response to Drs. Shastry and Trese: Phenotype-genotype correlations in X-linked retinitis pigmentosa

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Kaplan, J.; Munnich, A.

1996-11-11

Shastry and Trese recently reported on a large kindred with X-linked retinitis pigmentosa (XLRP) characterized by a loss of central vision and preserved peripheral function. In their report, the disease had an early onset with severe myopia and a loss of central vision, while night blindness occurred later. Genetic analysis suggested that the disease was linked to the RP2 locus, and the authors raised the question of whether other cases linked to RP2 could display a similar loss of central vision. Three years ago, we reported on 4 large XLRP pedigrees with a very early onset with severe myopia andmore » early loss of visual acuity, while in 5 other families the disease started later with night blindness. We showed that the first clinical form was linked to RP2, while the second was linked to RP3. Thus, the major difference between the two forms concerns the initial symptom, information which can be obtained from the parents and patients after careful questioning. By contrast, in adult life, no difference in either severity of disease or aspect of the fundus was observed in our series, regardless of the clinical subtype of XLRP. Some months later, Jacobson et al. reported on a pedigree with an RP2 genotype, and their data support the notion that in XLRP of RP2 type 1, cone dysfunction takes place first, and as the disease advances both rods and cones are affected. We were very happy, therefore, to read that the study of Shastry and Trese fully confirmed our previous findings. 3 refs.« less

Young Children's Response Tendencies toward Yes-No Questions Concerning Actions

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Fritzley, V. Heather; Lindsay, Rod C. L.; Lee, Kang

2013-01-01

Two experiments investigated response tendencies of preschoolers toward yes-no questions about actions. Two hundred 2- to 5-year-old children were asked questions concerning actions commonly associated with particular objects (e.g., drinking from a cup) and actions not commonly associated with particular objects (e.g., kicking a toothbrush). The…

Reducing Our Ignorance: Finding Answers to Certain Epistemic Questions for Software Systems

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Holloway, C. Michael; Johnson, Christopher W.

2011-01-01

In previous papers, we asserted that software system safety is primarily concerned with epistemic questions, that is, questions concerning knowledge and the degree of confidence that can be placed in that knowledge. We also enumerated a set of 21 foundational epistemic questions, discussed some of the difficulties that exist in answering these questions adequately today, and speculated briefly on possible research that may provide improved confidence in the sufficiency of answers in the future. This paper focuses on three of the foundational questions. For each of these questions, current answers are discussed and potential research is proposed to help increase the justifiable level of confidence.

Cats on the Couch: The Experimental Production of Animal Neurosis.

PubMed

Winter, Alison

2016-03-01

Argument In the 1940s-50s, one of the most central questions in psychological research related to the nature of neurosis. In the final years of the Second World War and the following decade, neurosis became one of the most prominent psychiatric disorders, afflicting a high proportion of military casualties and veterans. The condition became central to the concerns of several psychological fields, from psychoanalysis to Pavlovian psychology. This paper reconstructs the efforts of Chicago psychiatrist Jules Masserman to study neurosis in the laboratory during the 1940s and 1950s. Masserman used Pavlovian techniques in a bid to subject this central psychoanalytic subject to disciplined scientific experimentation. More generally, his project was an effort to bolster the legitimacy of psychoanalysis as a human science by articulating a convergence of psychoanalytic categories across multiple species. Masserman sought to orchestrate a convergence of psychological knowledge between fields that were often taken to be irreconcilable. A central focus of this paper is the role of moving images in this project, not only as a means of recording experimental data but also as a rhetorical device. The paper argues that for Masserman film played an important role in enabling scientific observers (and then subsequent viewers) to see agency and emotion in the animals they observed.

Brief Report: Attitudes about Responding to Survey Questions Concerning Childhood Sexual Abuse by Hispanic Female College Students

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ernst, Frederick A.; Salinas, Nancy I.; Perez, Natalie

2009-01-01

In no studies have research participants been asked how they feel about answering questions concerning childhood sexual abuse. We have performed searches from two different search engines again and have found nothing published which specifically addresses this question in the way we have. A questionnaire about childhood sexual abuse was…

Do metacognitive judgments alter memory performance beyond the benefits of retrieval practice? A comment on and replication attempt of Dougherty, Scheck, Nelson, and Narens (2005).

PubMed

Dougherty, Michael R; Robey, Alison M; Buttaccio, Daniel

2018-05-01

A central question in the metacognitive literature concerns whether the act of making a metacognitive judgment alters one's memory for the information about which the judgment was made. Dougherty, Scheck, Nelson, and Narens (2005, Memory & Cognition, 33(6), 1096-1115) attempted to address this question by having participants make either retrospective confidence judgments (RCJs; i.e., evaluations of past retrieval success), judgments of learning (JOLs; i.e., predictions of future retrieval success), or no explicit judgments. When comparing final retrieval accuracy they found that accuracy was greater for items where participants had made JOLs compared with items that received RCJs or no judgment, suggesting that simply making a JOL can improve later memory performance. The present article presents results from four separate replication attempts that fail to duplicate this finding. Combined results provide compelling evidence that making a metacognitive judgment, regardless of the type, has no impact on later memory performance above and beyond retrieval practice.

Establishing Mouse Models for Zika Virus-induced Neurological Disorders Using Intracerebral Injection Strategies: Embryonic, Neonatal, and Adult.

PubMed

Herrlinger, Stephanie A; Shao, Qiang; Ma, Li; Brindley, Melinda; Chen, Jian-Fu

2018-04-26

The Zika virus (ZIKV) is a flavivirus currently endemic in North, Central, and South America. It is now established that the ZIKV can cause microcephaly and additional brain abnormalities. However, the mechanism underlying the pathogenesis of ZIKV in the developing brain remains unclear. Intracerebral surgical methods are frequently used in neuroscience research to address questions about both normal and abnormal brain development and brain function. This protocol utilizes classical surgical techniques and describes methods that allow one to model ZIKV-associated human neurological disease in the mouse nervous system. While direct brain inoculation does not model the normal mode of virus transmission, the method allows investigators to ask targeted questions concerning the consequence after ZIKV infection of the developing brain. This protocol describes embryonic, neonatal, and adult stages of intraventricular inoculation of ZIKV. Once mastered, this method can become a straightforward and reproducible technique that only takes a few hours to perform.

Modern-Day Demographic Processes in Central Europe and Their Potential Interactions with Climate Change

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bański, Jerzy

2013-01-01

The aim of this article is to evaluate the effect of contemporary transformations in the population of Central European countries on climate change, in addition to singling out the primary points of interaction between demographic processes and the climate. In analyzing the interactions between climate and demographics, we can formulate three basic hypotheses regarding the region in question: 1) as a result of current demographic trends in Central Europe, the influence of the region on its climate will probably diminish, 2) the importance of the "climatically displaced" in global migratory movements will increase, and some of those concerned will move to Central Europe, 3) the contribution of the region to global food security will increase. In the last decade most of what comprises the region of Central Europe has reported a decline in population growth and a negative migration balance. As a process, this loss of population may have a positive effect on the environment and the climate. We can expect ongoing climate change to intensify migration processes, particularly from countries outside Europe. Interactions between climate and demographic processes can also be viewed in the context of food security. The global warming most sources foresee for the coming decades is the process most likely to result in spatial polarization of food production in agriculture. Central Europe will then face the challenge of assuring and improving food security, albeit this time on a global scale.

The domestication of Foucault: Government, critique, war.

PubMed

Allen, Ansgar; Goddard, Roy

2014-12-01

Though Foucault was intrigued by the possibilities of radical social transformation, he resolutely resisted the idea that such transformation could escape the effects of power and expressed caution when it came to the question of revolution. In this article we argue that in one particularly influential line of development of Foucault's work his exemplary caution has been exaggerated in a way that weakens the political aspirations of post-Foucaldian scholarship. The site of this reduction is a complex debate over the role of normativity in Foucaldian research, where it has been claimed that Foucault's genealogical approach is unable to answer the question ' Why fight? ' The terms of this debate (on the neo-Foucaldian side) are limited by a dominant though selective interpretation of Foucault's analytics of power, where power is understood primarily in terms of government, rather than struggle. In response we suggest that if we reconfigure power-as-government to power-as-war, this adjusts the central concern. ' Why fight? ' becomes replaced by the more immediate question, ' How fight? ' Without denying the obvious benefits of cautious scholarly work, we argue that a reconfiguration of Foucault's analytics of power might help Foucaldian research to transcend the self-imposed ethic of political quietism that currently dominates the field.

Application of imaging spectrometer data to the Kings-Kaweah ophiolite melange

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Mustard, John F.; Pieters, Carle M.

1988-01-01

The Kings-Kaweah ophiolite melange in east-central California is thought to be an obducted oceanic fracture zone and provides the rare opportunity to examine in detail the complex nature of this type of terrain. It is anticipated that the distribution and abundance of components in the melange can be used to determine the relative importance of geologic processes responsible for the formation of fracture zone crust. Laboratory reflectance spectra of field samples indicate that the melange components have distinct, diagnostic absorptions at visible to near-infrared wavelengths. The spatial and spectral resolution of AVIRIS is ideally suited for addressing important scientific questions concerning the Kings-Kaweah ophiolite melange and fracture zones in general.

Mapping Queer Bioethics: Space, Place, and Locality.

PubMed

Wahlert, Lance

2016-01-01

This article, which introduces the special issue of the Journal of Homosexuality on "Mapping Queer Bioethics," begins by offering an overview of the analytical scope of the issue. Specifically, the first half of this essay raises critical questions central to the concept of a space-related queer bioethics, such as: How do we appreciate and understand the special needs of queer parties given the constraints of location, space, and geography? The second half of this article describes each feature article in the issue, as well as the subsequent special sections on the ethics of reading literal, health-related maps ("Cartographies") and scrutinizing the history of this journal as concerns LGBT health ("Mapping the Journal of Homosexuality").

Erosional and depositional history of central Chryse Planitia

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Crumpler, L. S.

1992-01-01

This map uses high resolution image data to assess the detailed depositional and erosional history of part of Chryse Planitia. This area is significant to the study of the global geology of Mars because it represents one of only two areas on the martian surface where planetary geologic mapping is assisted with 'ground truth.' In this case the ground truth was provided by Viking Lander 1. Additional questions addressed in this study are concerned with the following: the geologic context of the regional plains surface and the local surface of the Viking Lander 1 site; and the relative influence of volcanic, sedimentary, impact, aeolian, and tectonic processes at the regional and local scales.

Surface compositions in the Aristarchus Region: Implications for regional stratigraphy

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Hawke, H. R.; Lucey, P. G.; Mccord, T. B.; Pieters, C. M.; Head, J. W.

1984-01-01

Near infrared reflectance spectra for the Aristachus region, obtained using the 2.2m UH telescope at the Mauna Kea Observatory, were reduced and analyzed. The spectra obtained for the central peak, southern floor, southwestern wall, eastern wall, and northwestern wall of Aristachus crater exhibit shallow continuum slopes, relatively strong feldspar bands, pyroxene bands stronger than those typically seen in the spectra of fresh higland features, and pyroxene band centers near l micrometer suggesting the dominance of Ca rich clinopyroxene. The spectrum of the south rim of Aristachus is quite distinct from those of other crater units. The position of Aristrchus on the plateau/mare boundary raises questions concerning compositional variations in crater ejects deposits.

Sampling in Qualitative Research

PubMed Central

LUBORSKY, MARK R.; RUBINSTEIN, ROBERT L.

2011-01-01

In gerontology the most recognized and elaborate discourse about sampling is generally thought to be in quantitative research associated with survey research and medical research. But sampling has long been a central concern in the social and humanistic inquiry, albeit in a different guise suited to the different goals. There is a need for more explicit discussion of qualitative sampling issues. This article will outline the guiding principles and rationales, features, and practices of sampling in qualitative research. It then describes common questions about sampling in qualitative research. In conclusion it proposes the concept of qualitative clarity as a set of principles (analogous to statistical power) to guide assessments of qualitative sampling in a particular study or proposal. PMID:22058580

Parental Concerns About Infant and Toddler Sleep Assessed by a Mobile App.

PubMed

Mindell, Jodi A; Leichman, Erin S; Puzino, Kristina; Walters, Russel; Bhullar, Bula

2015-01-01

The aim of this study was to assess the primary concerns of parents/caregivers regarding their young child's sleep. A total of 1,287 consecutive sleep-related questions were analyzed from submissions to an Ask the Expert section of a publicly available iPhone-based application for sleep in young children. Questions regarding infants were most likely to be submitted (53.9%), followed by newborns (23.76%) and toddlers (17.8%), with an average age of 10.94 months. The primary concerns regarded night wakings, sleep schedules, and bedtime problems, accounting for almost 85% of all questions. Results align with common concerns noted in epidemiological studies. Understanding the types of concerns for which parents seek advice is beneficial in the continued development of resources for caregivers.

Research within Reach II: Research-Guided Responses to the Concerns of Foreign Language Teachers.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Galloway, Vicki, Ed.; Herron, Carol, Ed.

Based on the questions of second language teachers concerning classroom practice, generated by survey, research on aspects of second language teaching and learning was reviewed and is summarized here. In each case, a question or questions are posed and a brief discussion follows, in layman's language and based on relevant research, with a brief…

Mitochondrial, Y-chromosomal and autosomal variation in Mbenzele Pygmies from the Central African Republic.

PubMed

Anagnostou, Paolo; Coia, Valentina; Spedini, Gabriella; Destro-Bisol, Giovanni

2010-06-01

In this paper, we carry out a combined analysis of autosomal (ten microsatellites and an Alu insertion), mitochondrial (HVR-1 sequence, 360 nucleotides) and Y-chromosomal (seven microsatellites) variation in the Mbenzele Pygmies from the Central African Republic. This study focuses on two important questions concerning the admixture and origin of African Pygmies. Ethnographic observations suggest a sex-biased gene flow between the Bantus and Pygmies, an issue which could be clarified through genetic analyses may shed light. A study of intrapopulational variation of mtDNA and Y-chromosome produces results in accordance with the hypothesized matrimonial behaviour. In fact, while shared mitochondrial haplotypes belonging to the L1c5 (or L1c1a1 clade) sub-haplogroup provides evidence of a Pygmy-to-Bantu female biased gene flow, a male biased gene flow from Bantu to Pygmies is supported by the distribution of the Y-chromosomes bearing M2 mutation. The second part of our study regards the question of the genetic relationships between Western and Eastern Pygmies. Our results favour the pre-Bantu hypothesis which suggests that the two Pygmy groups separated in ancient times (at least 18,000 years ago), whereas they do not support the recent divergence and differential admixture hypothesis which posits their separation as a consequence of the Bantu expansion (2,000-3,000 years ago).

The serotonergic system in fish.

PubMed

Lillesaar, Christina

2011-07-01

Neurons using serotonin (5-HT) as neurotransmitter and/or modulator have been identified in the central nervous system in representatives from all vertebrate clades, including jawless, cartilaginous and ray-finned fishes. The aim of this review is to summarize our current knowledge about the anatomical organization of the central serotonergic system in fishes. Furthermore, selected key functions of 5-HT will be described. The main focus will be the adult brain of teleosts, in particular zebrafish, which is increasingly used as a model organism. It is used to answer not only genetic and developmental biology questions, but also issues concerning physiology, behavior and the underlying neuronal networks. The many evolutionary conserved features of zebrafish combined with the ever increasing number of genetic tools and its practical advantages promise great possibilities to increase our understanding of the serotonergic system. Further, comparative studies including several vertebrate species will provide us with interesting insights into the evolution of this important neurotransmitter system. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Unintended changes in cognition, mood, and behavior arising from cell-based interventions for neurological conditions: ethical challenges.

PubMed

Duggan, P S; Siegel, A W; Blass, D M; Bok, H; Coyle, J T; Faden, R; Finkel, J; Gearhart, J D; Greely, H T; Hillis, A; Hoke, A; Johnson, R; Johnston, M; Kahn, J; Kerr, D; King, P; Kurtzberg, J; Liao, S M; McDonald, J W; McKhann, G; Nelson, K B; Rao, M; Regenberg, A; Smith, K; Solter, D; Song, H; Sugarman, J; Traystman, R J; Vescovi, A; Yanofski, J; Young, W; Mathews, D J H

2009-05-01

The prospect of using cell-based interventions (CBIs) to treat neurological conditions raises several important ethical and policy questions. In this target article, we focus on issues related to the unique constellation of traits that characterize CBIs targeted at the central nervous system. In particular, there is at least a theoretical prospect that these cells will alter the recipients' cognition, mood, and behavior-brain functions that are central to our concept of the self. The potential for such changes, although perhaps remote, is cause for concern and careful ethical analysis. Both to enable better informed consent in the future and as an end in itself, we argue that early human trials of CBIs for neurological conditions must monitor subjects for changes in cognition, mood, and behavior; further, we recommend concrete steps for that monitoring. Such steps will help better characterize the potential risks and benefits of CBIs as they are tested and potentially used for treatment.

Cell-based therapeutic strategies for multiple sclerosis.

PubMed

Scolding, Neil J; Pasquini, Marcelo; Reingold, Stephen C; Cohen, Jeffrey A

2017-11-01

The availability of multiple disease-modifying medications with regulatory approval to treat multiple sclerosis illustrates the substantial progress made in therapy of the disease. However, all are only partially effective in preventing inflammatory tissue damage in the central nervous system and none directly promotes repair. Cell-based therapies, including immunoablation followed by autologous haematopoietic stem cell transplantation, mesenchymal and related stem cell transplantation, pharmacologic manipulation of endogenous stem cells to enhance their reparative capabilities, and transplantation of oligodendrocyte progenitor cells, have generated substantial interest as novel therapeutic strategies for immune modulation, neuroprotection, or repair of the damaged central nervous system in multiple sclerosis. Each approach has potential advantages but also safety concerns and unresolved questions. Moreover, clinical trials of cell-based therapies present several unique methodological and ethical issues. We summarize here the status of cell-based therapies to treat multiple sclerosis and make consensus recommendations for future research and clinical trials. © The Author (2017). Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Guarantors of Brain.

An analytical assessment of population reaction to environmental health hazards

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Stasiukaitis, B.

1994-12-31

The Savannah River Site (SRS), being a nuclear production facility, has created concern for the communities in the surrounding areas. After completing a Perceived Risk Survey (PRS) in 1993, it was found that some people express their concerns by contacting a public official. Thus, the Legislative Environmental Health Survey (LEHS) was created. This survey asked legislators of Georgia and South Carolina to respond to questions concerning various environmental concerns. The questions reflected how the legislators viewed their constituencies` concerns. These two surveys were compared to find differences in legislators` and public views.

Mapping shame and its functions in relationships.

PubMed

Ferguson, Tamara J

2005-11-01

Articles in this issue examine how experiences of shame, together with its effects on anger, are involved in maltreatment's sequelae. Authors identify mechanisms through which these emotions result from, and adversely affect, victims' concurrent and later adjustment. Using Leary's (1999) analysis of similar paradoxes in research concerning self-esteem, this commentary pinpoints dilemmas and consequences implied in this special issue regarding shame. These include whether shame should be accentuated as the central emotional mediator or moderator in maltreatment sequelae, inferring particular attributions, regulatory goals, or consequences based on extant measures of shame and construing these as outcomes or causes in maltreatment sequelae. Questions are raised concerning the diverse functions of shame, alone and in combination with anger or guilt, the steps needed to reveal these various functions, and their implications for therapeutic interventions with survivors of abuse. Adopting this approach acknowledges that expressions of shame may sometimes help victims negotiate relational hazards and treats shame as a signal or coeffect in maltreatment sequelae.

The constitutive a priori and the distinction between mathematical and physical possibility

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Everett, Jonathan

2015-11-01

This paper is concerned with Friedman's recent revival of the notion of the relativized a priori. It is particularly concerned with addressing the question as to how Friedman's understanding of the constitutive function of the a priori has changed since his defence of the idea in his Dynamics of Reason. Friedman's understanding of the a priori remains influenced by Reichenbach's initial defence of the idea; I argue that this notion of the a priori does not naturally lend itself to describing the historical development of space-time physics. Friedman's analysis of the role of the rotating frame thought experiment in the development of general relativity - which he suggests made the mathematical possibility of four-dimensional space-time a genuine physical possibility - has a central role in his argument. I analyse this thought experiment and argue that it is better understood by following Cassirer and placing emphasis on regulative principles. Furthermore, I argue that Cassirer's Kantian framework enables us to capture Friedman's key insights into the nature of the constitutive a priori.

Methodology and technology for peripheral and central blood pressure and blood pressure variability measurement: current status and future directions - Position statement of the European Society of Hypertension Working Group on blood pressure monitoring and cardiovascular variability.

PubMed

Stergiou, George S; Parati, Gianfranco; Vlachopoulos, Charalambos; Achimastos, Apostolos; Andreadis, Emanouel; Asmar, Roland; Avolio, Alberto; Benetos, Athanase; Bilo, Grzegorz; Boubouchairopoulou, Nadia; Boutouyrie, Pierre; Castiglioni, Paolo; de la Sierra, Alejandro; Dolan, Eamon; Head, Geoffrey; Imai, Yutaka; Kario, Kazuomi; Kollias, Anastasios; Kotsis, Vasilis; Manios, Efstathios; McManus, Richard; Mengden, Thomas; Mihailidou, Anastasia; Myers, Martin; Niiranen, Teemu; Ochoa, Juan Eugenio; Ohkubo, Takayoshi; Omboni, Stefano; Padfield, Paul; Palatini, Paolo; Papaioannou, Theodore; Protogerou, Athanasios; Redon, Josep; Verdecchia, Paolo; Wang, Jiguang; Zanchetti, Alberto; Mancia, Giuseppe; O'Brien, Eoin

2016-09-01

Office blood pressure measurement has been the basis for hypertension evaluation for almost a century. However, the evaluation of blood pressure out of the office using ambulatory or self-home monitoring is now strongly recommended for the accurate diagnosis in many, if not all, cases with suspected hypertension. Moreover, there is evidence that the variability of blood pressure might offer prognostic information that is independent of the average blood pressure level. Recently, advancement in technology has provided noninvasive evaluation of central (aortic) blood pressure, which might have attributes that are additive to the conventional brachial blood pressure measurement. This position statement, developed by international experts, deals with key research and practical issues in regard to peripheral blood pressure measurement (office, home, and ambulatory), blood pressure variability, and central blood pressure measurement. The objective is to present current achievements, identify gaps in knowledge and issues concerning clinical application, and present relevant research questions and directions to investigators and manufacturers for future research and development (primary goal).

Euthanasia: An Indian perspective

PubMed Central

Sinha, Vinod K.; Basu, S.; Sarkhel, S.

2012-01-01

In our society, the palliative care and quality of life issues in patients with terminal illnesses like advanced cancer and AIDS have become an important concern for clinicians. Parallel to this concern has arisen another controversial issue-euthanasia or “mercy –killing” of terminally ill patients. Proponents of physician-assisted suicide (PAS) feel that an individual's right to autonomy automatically entitles him to choose a painless death. The opponents feel that a physician's role in the death of an individual violates the central tenet of the medical profession. Moreover, undiagnosed depression and possibility of social ‘coercion’ in people asking for euthanasia put a further question mark on the ethical principles underlying such an act. These concerns have led to strict guidelines for implementing PAS. Assessment of the mental state of the person consenting to PAS becomes mandatory and here, the role of the psychiatrist becomes pivotal. Although considered illegal in our country, PAS has several advocates in the form of voluntary organizations like “death with dignity” foundation. This has got a fillip in the recent Honourable Supreme Court Judgment in the Aruna Shaunbag case. What remains to be seen is how long it takes before this sensitive issue rattles the Indian legislature. PMID:22988327

Questions about complementary and alternative medicine to the Regional Medicines Information and Pharmacovigilance Centres in Norway (RELIS): a descriptive pilot study.

PubMed

Schjøtt, Jan; Erdal, Hilde

2014-02-14

Provision of clinically relevant information about complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) to health care professionals is not well described. The aim of the study was to assess questions about CAM to the Regional Medicines Information and Pharmacovigilance Centres in Norway (RELIS). All question-answers pairs (QAPs) in the RELIS database indexed with alternative medicine from 2005-2010 constituted the study material. A randomly selected sample of 100 QAPs was characterized with regard to type of question (category, patient-specific or general), occupation and workplace of enquirer, the type of information search performed (simple or advanced), and if the answers contained information to provide factual or consultative replies (facts about or advice on clinical use of CAM, respectively). Proportions were compared with Fisher's exact test with significance at the 0.05 level. One thousand and thirty-eight (7.7%) out of 13 482 questions involved CAM. Eighty-two out of 100 questions concerned products containing one or more herbs, vitamins and minerals as well as other substances. Thirty-eight out of 100 questions concerned the category documentation (substance identification and/or literature reports about clinical effects), 36 interactions, 16 adverse effects, 9 pregnancy and lactation, and 1 question concerned contraindications. Sixty-three questions were patient-specific and 37 general. Fifty-four questions came from physicians, 33 from pharmacists and 13 from others (including nurses, midwives, students, CAM practitioners, and the public). Pharmacists asked more frequently about interactions while physicians asked more frequently about adverse effects (p < 0.05). Seventy-six of the questions came from outside hospital, mainly general practice and community pharmacies. Fifty-nine answers were based on a simple and 41 on an advanced information search. Thirty-three factual and 38 consultative answers were provided. In 29 answers, search provided no information. Lack of information to provide an answer was not significantly different between patient-specific (31.7%) and general questions (24.3%). General practice and community pharmacies are the main sources for questions about CAM to RELIS. Physicians are concerned about adverse effects while pharmacists are concerned about interactions. Lack of information to provide answers to patient-specific and general questions about CAM represents a problem.

Questions about complementary and alternative medicine to the Regional Medicines Information and Pharmacovigilance Centres in Norway (RELIS): a descriptive pilot study

PubMed Central

2014-01-01

Background Provision of clinically relevant information about complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) to health care professionals is not well described. The aim of the study was to assess questions about CAM to the Regional Medicines Information and Pharmacovigilance Centres in Norway (RELIS). Methods All question-answers pairs (QAPs) in the RELIS database indexed with alternative medicine from 2005-2010 constituted the study material. A randomly selected sample of 100 QAPs was characterized with regard to type of question (category, patient-specific or general), occupation and workplace of enquirer, the type of information search performed (simple or advanced), and if the answers contained information to provide factual or consultative replies (facts about or advice on clinical use of CAM, respectively). Proportions were compared with Fisher’s exact test with significance at the 0.05 level. Results One thousand and thirty-eight (7.7%) out of 13 482 questions involved CAM. Eighty-two out of 100 questions concerned products containing one or more herbs, vitamins and minerals as well as other substances. Thirty-eight out of 100 questions concerned the category documentation (substance identification and/or literature reports about clinical effects), 36 interactions, 16 adverse effects, 9 pregnancy and lactation, and 1 question concerned contraindications. Sixty-three questions were patient-specific and 37 general. Fifty-four questions came from physicians, 33 from pharmacists and 13 from others (including nurses, midwives, students, CAM practitioners, and the public). Pharmacists asked more frequently about interactions while physicians asked more frequently about adverse effects (p < 0.05). Seventy-six of the questions came from outside hospital, mainly general practice and community pharmacies. Fifty-nine answers were based on a simple and 41 on an advanced information search. Thirty-three factual and 38 consultative answers were provided. In 29 answers, search provided no information. Lack of information to provide an answer was not significantly different between patient-specific (31.7%) and general questions (24.3%). Conclusions General practice and community pharmacies are the main sources for questions about CAM to RELIS. Physicians are concerned about adverse effects while pharmacists are concerned about interactions. Lack of information to provide answers to patient-specific and general questions about CAM represents a problem. PMID:24529279

Consumer Leadership in Supported Employment.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Inge, Katherine J., Ed.

1992-01-01

This newsletter issue provides rehabilitation professionals with various information pieces concerning consumer leadership in supported employment of people with disabilities. First, a chart lists five questions concerning self advocacy and supported employment, and provides consumer responses to the questions. A second item describes…

Epistemic Questions and Answers for Software System Safety

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Holloway, C. M.; Johnson, Chris W.

2010-01-01

System safety is primarily concerned with epistemic questions, that is, questions concerning knowledge and the degree of confidence that can be placed in that knowledge. For systems with which human experience is long, such as roads, bridges, and mechanical devices, knowledge about what is required to make the systems safe is deep and detailed. High confidence can be placed in the validity of that knowledge. For other systems, however, with which human experience is comparatively short, such as those that rely in part or in whole on software, knowledge about what is required to ensure safety tends to be shallow and general. The confidence that can be placed in the validity of that knowledge is consequently low. In a previous paper, we enumerated a collection of foundational epistemic questions concerning software system safety. In this paper, we review and refine the questions, discuss some difficulties that attend to answering the questions today, and speculate on possible research to improve the situation.

A question of trust: user-centered design requirements for an informatics intervention to promote the sexual health of African-American youth

PubMed Central

Veinot, Tiffany C; Campbell, Terrance R; Kruger, Daniel J; Grodzinski, Alison

2013-01-01

Objective We investigated the user requirements of African-American youth (aged 14–24 years) to inform the design of a culturally appropriate, network-based informatics intervention for the prevention of HIV and other sexually transmitted infections (STI). Materials and Methods We conducted 10 focus groups with 75 African-American youth from a city with high HIV/STI prevalence. Data analyses involved coding using qualitative content analysis procedures and memo writing. Results Unexpectedly, the majority of participants’ design recommendations concerned trust. Youth expressed distrust towards people and groups, which was amplified within the context of information technology-mediated interactions about HIV/STI. Participants expressed distrust in the reliability of condoms and the accuracy of HIV tests. They questioned the benevolence of many institutions, and some rejected authoritative HIV/STI information. Therefore, reputational information, including rumor, influenced HIV/STI-related decision making. Participants’ design requirements also focused on trust-related concerns. Accordingly, we developed a novel trust-centered design framework to guide intervention design. Discussion Current approaches to online trust for health informatics do not consider group-level trusting patterns. Yet, trust was the central intervention-relevant issue among African-American youth, suggesting an important focus for culturally informed design. Our design framework incorporates: intervention objectives (eg, network embeddedness, participation); functional specifications (eg, decision support, collective action, credible question and answer services); and interaction design (eg, member control, offline network linkages, optional anonymity). Conclusions Trust is a critical focus for HIV/STI informatics interventions for young African Americans. Our design framework offers practical, culturally relevant, and systematic guidance to designers to reach this underserved group better. PMID:23512830

Questioning Questions: Elementary Teachers' Adaptations of Investigation Questions across the Inquiry Continuum

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Biggers, Mandy

2018-01-01

Questioning is a central practice in science classrooms. However, not every question translates into a "good" science investigation. Questions that drive science investigations can be provided by many sources including the teacher, the curriculum, or the student. The variations in the source of investigation questions were explored in…

Employment of a Dual Status Commander in a Multi-State Disaster Operation

DTIC Science & Technology

2016-06-10

propagates parallel commands among affected states without a singular organization to synchronize and prioritize efforts. Thus, the central research ...without a singular organization to synchronize and prioritize efforts. Thus, the central research question is: How can laws be changed to support the...1 The Research Question

Six questions about translational due diligence.

PubMed

Selinger, Evan

2010-04-28

To maintain stable respect and support, translational research must be guided by appropriate ethical, social, legal, and political concerns and carry out culturally competent practices. Considering six key questions concerning due diligence will enable the translational research community to examine critically how it approaches these endeavors.

An innovative approach to using both cellphones and the radio to identify young people's sexual concerns in Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of Congo.

PubMed

Nsakala, Gabriel Vodiena; Coppieters, Yves; Kayembe, Patrick Kalambayi

2014-01-01

As teenagers have easy access to both radio programs and cell phones, the current study used these tools so that young people could anonymously identify questions about sex and other related concerns in the urban environment of the Democratic Republic of Congo. The purpose of this healthcare intervention was to identify and address concerns raised by young people, which are related to sexual health, and which promote youth health. This healthcare intervention was conducted over a six month period and consisted of a survey carried out in Kinshasa. This focused on 14 to 24 old young people using phone calls on a radio program raising concerns related to sexuality. The radio program was jointly run by a journalist and a health professional who were required to reply immediately to questions from young people. All sexual health concerns were recorded and analyzed. Forty programs were broadcast in six months and 1,250 messages and calls were recorded: 880 (70%) from girls and 370 (30%) from boys, which represents an average of 32 interventions (of which 10 calls and 22 messages) per broadcast. Most questions came from 15-19- and 20-24-year-old girls and boys. Focus of girls' questions: menstrual cycle calculation and related concerns accounted for the majority (24%); sexual practices (16%), love relationships (15%) and virginity (14%). Boys' concerns are masturbation (and its consequences) (22%), sexual practices (19%), love relationships (18%) and worries about penis size (10%). Infections (genital and STI) and topics regarding HIV represent 9% and 4% of the questions asked by girls against 7% and 10% by boys. Concerns were mainly related to knowledge, attitudes and competences to be developed. Concerns and sexual practices raised by teens about their sexual and emotional life have inspired the design of a practical guide for youth self-training and have steered the second phase of this interactive program towards supporting their responsible sexuality.

Telephone survey respondents' reactions to questions regarding interpersonal violence.

PubMed

Black, Michele C; Kresnow, Marcie-jo; Simon, Thomas R; Arias, Ileana; Shelley, Gene

2006-08-01

Concerns have been raised regarding the appropriateness of asking about violence victimization in telephone interviews and whether asking such questions increases respondents' distress or risk for harm. However, no large-scale studies have evaluated the impact of asking such questions during a telephone interview. This study explored respondents' reactions to questions regarding violence in two large recently completed telephone surveys. After respondents were asked about violence, they were asked if they thought surveys should ask such questions and whether they felt upset or afraid because of the questions. In both surveys, the majority of respondents (regardless of their victimization history) were willing to answer questions about violence and were not upset or afraid because of the questions. More than 92% of respondents thought such questions should be asked. These results challenge commonly held beliefs and assumptions and provide some assurance to those concerned with the ethical collection of data on violent victimization.

FAA Pilot Knowledge Tests: Learning or Rote Memorization?

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Casner, Stephen M.; Jones, Karen M.; Puentes, Antonio; Irani, Homi

2004-01-01

The FAA pilot knowledge test is a multiple-choice assessment tool designed to measure the extent to which applicants for FAA pilot certificates and ratings have mastered a corpus of required aeronautical knowledge. All questions that appear on the test are drawn from a database of questions that is made available to the public. The FAA and others are concerned that releasing test questions may encourage students to focus their study on memorizing test questions. To investigate this concern, we created our own database of questions that differed from FAA questions in four different ways. Our first three question types were derived by modifying existing FAA questions: (1) rewording questions and answers; (2) shuffling answers; and (3) substituting different figures for problems that used figures. Our last question type posed a question about required knowledge for which no FAA question currently exists. Forty-eight student pilots completed one of two paper-and-pencil knowledge tests that contained a mix of these experimental questions. The results indicate significantly lower scores for some question types when compared to unaltered FAA questions to which participants had prior access.

Identification and characterization of microsatellite markers in the Chagas disease vector Triatoma dimidiata

PubMed Central

Anderson, Jennifer M.; Lai, James E.; Dotson, Ellen M.; Cordon-Rosales, Celia; Ponce, Carlos; Norris, Douglas E.; Ben Beard, C.

2014-01-01

Triatoma dimidiata, one of the major vectors of Chagas disease in Central America, is found in both domestic and peri-domestic habitats. Questions concerning population boundaries, infestation rates, insecticide resistance, and geographic dispersal of triatomine bugs persist and may be resolved using genetic markers such as microsatellites. Microsatellites are short tandem repeats found dispersed throughout a genome and can be useful for genotypic identification. We developed a plasmid library from the genomic DNA isolated from a single T. dimidiata adult collected in Guatamala. Ten thousand clones were screened using a probe consisting of nine microsatellite oligonucleotides. Eight loci appear polymorphic among populations found in Guatemala, Honduras, and Mexico, and thus are potentially useful for population genetic applications. PMID:12798021

[Non-commercial clinical trials--who will be the legal sponsor? Sponsorship of investigator-initiated clinical trials according to the German Drug Law].

PubMed

Benninger-Döring, G; Boos, J

2006-07-01

Non-commercial clinical trials may be of great benefit to the patients concerned. The 12th amendment to the German Drug Law (AMG) changed legal liability of the initiators of investigator-initiated clinical trials with extensive consequences for traditional project leaders. The central point under discussion is the sponsor's responsibility according to the AMG. Presently leading management divisions of university hospitals and universities are developing proceedings to assume sponsor responsibility by institutions (institutional sponsorship), which should enable investigator-initiated clinical trials to be conducted according to legal requirements in the future. Detailed problems and special questions can only be resolved in a single-minded fashion, and if necessary political processes should be catalyzed.

Decentring poverty, reworking government: social movements and states in the government of poverty.

PubMed

Bebbington, A J; Mitlin, D; Mogaladi, J; Scurrah, M; Bielich, C

2010-01-01

The significance of social movements for pro-poor political and social change is widely acknowledged. Poverty reduction has assumed increasing significance within development debates, discourses and programmes - how do social movement leaders and activists respond? This paper explores this question through the mapping of social movement organisations in Peru and South Africa. We conclude that for movement activists 'poverty' is rarely a central concern. Instead, they represent their actions as challenging injustice, inequality and/or development models with which they disagree, and reject the simplifying and sectoral orientation of poverty reduction interventions. In today's engagement with the poverty-reducing state, their challenge is to secure resources and influence without becoming themselves subject to, or even the subjects of, the practices of government.

Clinical Guidelines. Dental Hygiene Program.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Branson, Bonnie

This manual contains information concerning the policies and procedures of the Southern Illinois University-Carbondale Dental Hygiene Clinic. The manual is presented in a question/answer format for the information and convenience of dental hygiene students in the program, and is intended to answer their questions concerning clinical policies and…

The Central Nervous Connections Involved in the Vomiting Reflex

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Brizzee, K. R.; Mehler, W. R.

1986-01-01

The vomiting reflex may be elicited by a number of different types or classes of stimuli involving many varieties of receptor structures and considerable diversity in afferent pathways and central connections. Central relay or mediating structures thus may vary widely according to the type of initial emetic stimulus. The emetic circuits which have been most completely delineated to date are probably those in which the Chemoreceptor Trigger Zone (CTZ) in the Area Postrema (AP) functions as a key mediating structure. Even in this system, however, there are large gaps in our knowledge of the nerve tracts and central nervous connections involved. Knowledge of most other emetic circuits subserving the emetic reflex resulting from many diverse types of stimuli such, for example, as emotional stress (e.g. psychogenic vomiting, Wruble et al. 1982), pain (e.g. testicular trauma), and chemical or mechanical irritation of the gastrointestinal tract or urinary tract is quite incomplete at this time, thus precluding any very adequate description of their central connections at present. One physiological system, however, which has received considerable attention recently in relation to the vomiting reflex elicited by motion stimuli is the vestibular system. Due to the paucity of data on central nervous connections of several or the non-vestibular types of emetic stimuli cited above, we will devote most of our attention in this brief review to the central connections of the vestibular system which seem likely to be involved in the vomiting response to motion stimuli. However, the latter part of the review will be concerned with the concept of the reticular vomiting centre in relation to the ParviCellular Reticular Formation (PCRF), and will thus probably pertain to all of the many classes of emetic stimuli since it will address the question of the final common emetic pathway.

Concepts of trust among patients with serious illness.

PubMed

Mechanic, D; Meyer, S

2000-09-01

This paper examines conceptions of trust among three groups of respondents diagnosed with either breast cancer, Lyme disease or mental illness. Interviews were carried out using an open-ended interview guide to explore how patients made assessments of trust in their doctors and health care plans. The guide followed a conceptual approach that asked questions about competence, agency/fiduciary responsibility, control, disclosure and confidentiality. Respondents were given ample opportunity to raise other areas of concern. The data were organized using the NUDIST software package for the analysis of non-numerical and unstructured qualitative data. Patients viewed trust as an iterative process and commonly tested their physicians against their knowledge and expectations. Interpersonal competence, involving caring, concern and compassion, was the most common aspect of trust reported, with listening as a central focus. Most patient comments referred to learnable skills and not simply to personality characteristics. Technical competence also received high priority but was often assessed by reputation or interpersonal cues. Patients were much concerned that doctors be their agents and fight for their interests with health care plans. Disclosure and confidentiality were less common concerns; most patients anticipated that doctors would be honest with them and respect their confidences. Patients' responses also appeared to vary by their disease, their socio-demographic characteristics, their involvement with self-help groups, and how their illness conditions unfolded.

Protecting the Elderly: Federal Agencies’ Role Concerning Questionable Marketing Practices.

DTIC Science & Technology

1987-08-26

1986, the Commission conducted studies of and investigated both health -related and nonhealth-related activities affecting older Americans. For example...ADft-RS s?6 PROTECTING THE ELDERLY : FEDERAL AGENCIES’ ROLE 1’ CONCERNING QUESTIONABLE M. . (U) GENERAL ACCOUNTING OFFICE NASHINGTON DC HUMAN...the Chairman, SelectCommittee on Aging , House of Representatives August 1987 P O E T N pPROTECTING THE NELDERLY 00 Federal Agencies’ Role Concerning

Ethnic differences in ecological concerns: Spanish-speaking Hispanics are more concerned than others

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Burger, Joanna; Greenberg, Michael; Edward J. Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy, Rutgers University, 33 Livingston Avenue, New Brunswick, New Jersey 08901-1958

We postulated that environmental concern encompasses a wide range of different issues, often lumping pollution with habitat loss (or land use) and ecological resources (fish and wildlife). In this paper, we compare perceptions about a range of environmental and ecological resource issues, and explore ethnic/racial differences. We surveyed 1513 residents of New Jersey about 'environmental concerns', using both general environmental questions (two questions: How serious are environmental problems in New Jersey? Are you concerned about the loss of open space?) and ecological resource questions (12 questions: e.g., how important is planting trees in your neighborhood, how concerned are you aboutmore » loss of breeding and feeding habitat for fish and birds?) in New Jersey. Not all concerns were rated equally. For the ecological questions, there were no ethnic differences in concerns over preserving areas around water supplies, loss of places to hunt and fish, and loss of places for quiet walks and cycling, but there were for the other 9 ecological concerns. For eight of these nine concerns, Spanish-speaking Hispanics were more concerned than others (including English-speaking Hispanics). We divided the ecological resources into three categories: ecological services (clean water and safety), ecological resources (fish and wildlife), and recreational services. The strongest correlates of people's association with enlarging and enhancing recreational services were Spanish-speaking Hispanics, who are supportive of regulations and believe local government is not doing enough for environmental problems. People concerned about the loss of ecological resources and open space believe the federal government and the state are not doing enough for the environment, were non-Hispanic White, want continued environmental regulations, were longer-term residents, were high school graduates, and were older (45-54 years). People interested in ecological services were college-educated, non-White, not rich, females that did not trust DEP's environmental actions, and thought the state was not doing enough environmentally. There was a high correlation between general environmental concern and the ecological resource variables for the population overall, and for each ethnic group. Overall, only 39% of the subjects were very concerned about the seriousness of environmental problems in New Jersey, yet from 36% to 81% of the people were very concerned about 11 of 12 ecological issues. This indicates that people respond different to the term 'environmental problems' compared to specific 'ecological resource' issues. The greatest concern (81%) was for preserving areas around water supplies and cleaning up garbage in the parks, and the least concern was for the loss of places to hunt and fish (26%). Our results indicate that people distinguish between general environmental concern and ecological concerns, as well as distinguishing ecological services from ecological resources.« less

The domestication of Foucault

PubMed Central

Goddard, Roy

2014-01-01

Though Foucault was intrigued by the possibilities of radical social transformation, he resolutely resisted the idea that such transformation could escape the effects of power and expressed caution when it came to the question of revolution. In this article we argue that in one particularly influential line of development of Foucault’s work his exemplary caution has been exaggerated in a way that weakens the political aspirations of post-Foucaldian scholarship. The site of this reduction is a complex debate over the role of normativity in Foucaldian research, where it has been claimed that Foucault’s genealogical approach is unable to answer the question ‘Why fight?’ The terms of this debate (on the neo-Foucaldian side) are limited by a dominant though selective interpretation of Foucault’s analytics of power, where power is understood primarily in terms of government, rather than struggle. In response we suggest that if we reconfigure power-as-government to power-as-war, this adjusts the central concern. ‘Why fight?’ becomes replaced by the more immediate question, ‘How fight?’ Without denying the obvious benefits of cautious scholarly work, we argue that a reconfiguration of Foucault’s analytics of power might help Foucaldian research to transcend the self-imposed ethic of political quietism that currently dominates the field. PMID:26273130

Addressing Parental Vaccination Questions in the School Setting

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Luthy, Karlen E.; Burningham, Jana; Eden, Lacey M.; Macintosh, Janelle L. B.; Beckstrand, Renea L.

2016-01-01

School nurses work in a unique environment with key opportunities to address parental concerns and questions regarding their child's health. A common concern for parents during school enrollment is childhood vaccination safety and efficacy. As public health leaders, school nurses are well respected among parents, therefore school nurses are in a…

Consumer Concerns: Newcomer's Guide. 4.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Michael, Jean

A bilingual pamphlet containing practical law-related information for recent Russian Jewish immigrants to New York City, this document addresses consumer concerns. Following a brief description of the Newcomer series, 15 questions are listed, each followed by an answer. Questions asked include the meaning of the terms consumer and contract;…

Systemic challenges in bipolar disorder management: A patient-centered approach.

PubMed

Nestsiarovich, Anastasiya; Hurwitz, Nathaniel G; Nelson, Stuart J; Crisanti, Annette S; Kerner, Berit; Kuntz, Matt J; Smith, Alicia N; Volesky, Emma; Schroeter, Quentin L; DeShaw, Jason L; Young, S Stanley; Obenchain, Robert L; Krall, Ronald L; Jordan, Kimmie; Fawcett, Jan; Tohen, Mauricio; Perkins, Douglas J; Lambert, Christophe G

2017-12-01

As part of a series of Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute-funded large-scale retrospective observational studies on bipolar disorder (BD) treatments and outcomes, we sought the input of patients with BD and their family members to develop research questions. We aimed to identify systemic root causes of patient-reported challenges with BD management in order to guide subsequent studies and initiatives. Three focus groups were conducted where patients and their family members (total n = 34) formulated questions around the central theme, "What do you wish you had known in advance or over the course of treatment for BD?" In an affinity mapping exercise, participants clustered their questions and ranked the resulting categories by importance. The research team and members of our patient partner advisory council further rated the questions by expected impact on patients. Using a Theory of Constraints systems thinking approach, several causal models of BD management challenges and their potential solution were developed with patients using the focus group data. A total of 369 research questions were mapped to 33 categories revealing 10 broad themes. The top priorities for patient stakeholders involved pharmacotherapy and treatment alternatives. Analysis of causal relationships underlying 47 patient concerns revealed two core conflicts: for patients, whether or not to take pharmacotherapy, and for mental health services, the dilemma of care quality vs quantity. To alleviate the core conflicts identified, BD management requires a coordinated multidisciplinary approach including: improved access to mental health services, objective diagnostics, sufficient provider visit time, evidence-based individualized treatment, and psychosocial support. © 2017 The Authors. Bipolar Disorders Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Other Safety Concerns and Self-Neglect

MedlinePlus

... Program Application Frequently Asked Questions DONATE Other Safety Concerns and Self-Neglect Other safety concerns focus on ... for additional information. When To Report Other Safety Concerns and Self-Neglect? If you witness a life- ...

Conspiracies and Competences

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Erpenbeck, John

Universities and other higher education institutions are predominantly organizations that convey knowledge, more than developing competences - these are often the verbally proclaimed but only rarely achieved goals. There can be two reasons for this discrepancy. First, conveying informational as well as subject-specific and specialized knowledge can even today be planned, assessed, and checked much more easily than conveying competences - an approach for teaching, which needs new patterns of thought and actions. Teachers and learners, assistants and assessing staff, and especially actors and planners who are concerned with questions of educational politics therefore form a "conspiracy of assessors," which has chosen the simpler and seemingly safer approach. This approach, however, seems to be ignorant of future developments. Second, conveying competences needs different forms of learning and teaching than conveying knowledge. The question of the acquisition (interiorization) of rules, assessments, and results of assessments (= values) and norms in the form of the learners' own emotions and motivations is central. Becoming emotionally labilized is pivotal to this appropriation. Emotional labilization also provides a criterion for assessing the effectiveness of Web 2.0 instruments for developing competences.

The loved ones: families, intimates and patient autonomy.

PubMed

O'Donovan, Katherine; Gilbar, Roy

2003-05-01

Patient autonomy is one of the central values in medical ethics. It is generally understood as recognition of patients' rights as free individuals answerable only to themselves. This emphasis on the individual leaves open the question of the position of the patients' 'loved ones', that is of families and significant others. The authors examine this question in three areas of law and medical ethics. Organ donation offers an example of preference given by medical ethics to family views, notwithstanding an expressed wish of the deceased to donate, and the legal position protecting such a request. Decisions concerning the treatment of incompetent patients illustrate consideration for the family in medical ethics, but hesitations in both law and ethics in accepting family views once expressed. And the tension between the interests of patients and family members over the access to genetic information usually results in respecting the patient's right to confidentiality. This individualistic perception of autonomy, as adopted by medical law, overlooks the patient's relationships with others and is too narrow to face the complexities of human lives.

Shattered, Suffering, and Silenced: Sharon's Story.

PubMed

Shafer, Michaela R

2016-01-01

This chapter presents a case study of a 30-year-old female news reporter in Albuquerque, New Mexico, named Sharon Fullilove. The case is presented as a personal narrative by her mother, who is a critical care nurse, former chief nurse, Level I trauma unit commander, and colonel in the U.S. Air Force. The narrative is followed by excerpts from Sharon's chart that confirm a series of decisions made by both the hospital and the providers. The subsequent narrative is meant to give the reader an opportunity to reflect on the variety of clinical ethics questions that emerge when a patient enters into a contract with a physician and hospital for care. The goal is not to perform a thorough ethical analysis of the case but to let the reader experience what it is like when best practice standards, attention to patient care, and compassionate concern for family members are set aside. The case concludes with a set of broad questions that can be used for further discussion. Hopefully, this case will bring to the forefront the centrality of ethics in professional decision-making within the context of medical care.

Rapid action in the Palaeogene, the relationship between phenotypic and taxonomic diversification in Coenozoic mammals

PubMed Central

Raia, P.; Carotenuto, F.; Passaro, F.; Piras, P.; Fulgione, D.; Werdelin, L.; Saarinen, J.; Fortelius, M.

2013-01-01

A classic question in evolutionary biology concerns the tempo and mode of lineage evolution. Considered variously in relation to resource utilization, intrinsic constraints or hierarchic level, the question of how evolutionary change occurs in general has continued to draw the attention of the field for over a century and a half. Here we use the largest species-level phylogeny of Coenozoic fossil mammals (1031 species) ever assembled and their body size estimates, to show that body size and taxonomic diversification rates declined from the origin of placentals towards the present, and very probably correlate to each other. These findings suggest that morphological and taxic diversifications of mammals occurred hierarchically, with major shifts in body size coinciding with the birth of large clades, followed by taxonomic diversification within these newly formed clades. As the clades expanded, rates of taxonomic diversification proceeded independently of phenotypic evolution. Such a dynamic is consistent with the idea, central to the Modern Synthesis, that mammals radiated adaptively, with the filling of adaptive zones following the radiation. PMID:23173207

Development of an English Education Course from an Examination of the Existential Concept of Authentic Existence.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Dillon, Ernest Wright

Since the central concerns of existentialism are the same as the central concerns of education in a democratic society, namely the fullest and freest development of the individual, existential thought was examined for the help it could give educators in more fully realizing this aim. Specifically, the central existential concept of authenticity…

Solar Physics - Plasma Physics Workshop

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Baum, P. J.; Beckers, J. M.; Newman, C. E.; Priest, E. R.; Rosenberg, H.; Smith, D. F.; Sturrock, P. A.; Wentzel, D. G.

1974-01-01

A summary of the proceedings of a conference whose purpose was to explore plasma physics problems which arise in the study of solar physics is provided. Sessions were concerned with specific questions including the following: (1) whether the solar plasma is thermal or non-themal; (2) what spectroscopic data is required; (3) what types of magnetic field structures exist; (4) whether magnetohydrodynamic instabilities occur; (5) whether resistive or non-magnetohydrodynamic instabilities occur; (6) what mechanisms of particle acceleration have been proposed; and (7) what information is available concerning shock waves. Very few questions were answered categorically but, for each question, there was discussion concerning the observational evidence, theoretical analyses, and existing or potential laboratory and numerical experiments.

Teacher Training for Effective Questioning.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Godbold, John V.

This paper reviews research studies concerning the effectiveness of varying strategies for teaching questioning skills and groups them into the following organizational scheme: (a) study of question classification systems as a strategy for teaching questioning skills, (b) use of laboratory experiences as a strategy for teaching questioning skills,…

Concerns and perceptions immediately following Superstorm Sandy: ratings for property damage were higher than for health issues

PubMed Central

Burger, Joanna; Gochfeld, Michael

2015-01-01

Governmental officials, health and safety professionals, early responders, and the public are interested in the perceptions and concerns of people faced with a crisis, especially during and immediately after a disaster strikes. Reliable information can lead to increased individual and community preparedness for upcoming crises. The objective of this research was to evaluate concerns of coastal and central New Jersey residents within the first 100 days of Superstorm Sandy’s landfall. Respondents living in central New Jersey and Jersey shore communities were differentially impacted by the storm, with shore residents having higher evacuation rates (47% vs. 13%), more flood waters in their homes, longer power outages (average 23 vs. 6 days), and longer periods without Internet (29 vs. 6 days). Ratings of concerns varied both among and within categories as a function of location (central vs. coastal New Jersey), stressor level (ranging from 1 to 3 for combinations of power outages, high winds, and flooding), and demographics. Respondents were most concerned about property damage, health, inconveniences, ecological services, and nuclear power plants in that order. Respondents from the shore gave higher ratings to the concerns within each major category, compared to those from central Jersey. Four findings have implications for understanding future risk, recovery, and resiliency: (1) respondents with the highest stressor level (level 3) were more concerned about water damage than others, (2) respondents with flood damage were more concerned about water drainage and mold than others, (3) respondents with the highest stressor levels rated all ecological services higher than others, and (4) shore respondents rated all ecological services higher than central Jersey residents. These data provide information to design future preparedness plans, improve resiliency for future severe weather events, and reduce public health risk. PMID:27011757

Fiscal decentralization in the Italian NHS: what happens to interregional redistribution?

PubMed

Ferrario, Caterina; Zanardi, Alberto

2011-04-01

This paper explores how pressures for an increased decentralization of taxing powers to sub-national governments may affect the degree of income redistribution across regional territories accomplished by the Italian NHS. In Italy, political responsibilities for health care are decentralized to regional governments, but the central government retains a critical role in ensuring all citizens uniform access to health services. To this end the central government runs an expenditure needs equalizing system to top up regional governments own resources. However, this system is currently put under question by strong political pressures calling for a weakening of central government involvement. Applying a well developed econometric approach we find that the NHS currently reduces interregional differences in per-capita income by about 7% of GDP. A reform of the NHS in terms of a reduction of expenditure standards produces a weakening of redistribution across jurisdictions, the size of which crucially depends on the financing arrangements of health care that will be actually adopted. We conclude that the decentralization of the NHS would give rise to relevant policy issues concerning in particular the different health care spending possibilities across regions and the impact on the interregional mobility of patients. Copyright © 2010 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

Revealing Learner Interests through Topic Mining from Question-Answering Data

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Dun, Yijie; Wang, Na; Wang, Min; Hao, Tianyong

2017-01-01

In a question-answering system, learner generated content including asked and answered questions is a meaningful resource to capture learning interests. This paper proposes an approach based on question topic mining for revealing learners' concerned topics in real community question-answering systems. The authors' approach firstly preprocesses all…

Along paths converging to Bengt Saltin’s early contributions in exercise physiology

PubMed Central

Schantz, P

2015-01-01

A fascinating chain of events led in 1941 to the formation of the Department of Physiology at the Royal Gymnastic Central Institute (GCI) in Stockholm, Sweden. Erik Hohwü Christensen, from the scientifically advanced Lindhard School in Copenhagen became its first professor. A central research question for him concerned determining the limiting factors for maximal physical performance in man. This was the academic setting where the sports interested medical student Bengt Saltin was introduced to exercise physiology. In the summer of 1959, he became involved in a study on intermittent vs continuous running. A doctoral project, with Per-Olof Åstrand as his tutor, resulted in 1964 as the thesis “Aerobic work capacity and circulation at exercise in man. With special reference to the effect of prolonged exercise and/or heat exposure”. In the decade that followed, Saltin continued along that path. However, he also added a vital research line involving pioneering studies on skeletal muscles in the exercising man, a series of novel studies on the physiological demands in various sports, and studies of the effects of physical training within the general population. PMID:26589112

On the validity of language: speaking, knowing and understanding in medical geography.

PubMed

Scarpaci, J L

1993-09-01

This essay examines methodological problems concerning the conceptualization and operationalization of phenomena central to medical geography. Its main argument is that qualitative research can be strengthened if the differences between instrumental and apparent validity are better understood than the current research in medical geography suggests. Its premise is that our definitions of key terms and concepts must be reinforced throughout the design of research should our knowledge and understanding be enhanced. In doing so, the paper aims to move the methodological debate beyond the simple dichotomies of quantitative vs qualitative approaches and logical positivism vs phenomenology. Instead, the argument is couched in a postmodernist hermeneutic sense which questions the validity of one discourse of investigation over another. The paper begins by discussing methods used in conceptualizing and operationalizing variables in quantitative and qualitative research design. Examples derive from concepts central to a geography of health-care behavior and well-being. The latter half of the essay shows the uses and misuses of validity studies in selected health services research and the current debate on national health insurance.

The State of the Environmental Awareness of Students from Poland, Slovakia and Ukraine - Selected Results

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cynk, Karolina

2017-03-01

In the article was presented results of international researches about environmental consciousness. The project was realized in 2015. The main purpose of this article is to describe the level of environmental knowledge, values and attitudes among university students from Central Eastern Europe. In introduction of article was defined concept of environmental awareness. The research problem is question: What are differences in the state of environmental awareness between respondents living in the Poland, Slovakia and Ukraine? In the first part text was presented methodology of the conducted research. The second part of the article concerns the analysis of the collected data. On the basis of the conducted research it can maintain that the students of Central and Eastern Europe generally declared interest the state of the environment. The overall outcome of the research leads to the conclusion that the highest proportion of the respondents who declared interest in the environmental protection came from Slovakia. The fact that in their opinion it should care about the environment more than the students from Poland and Ukraine may result from the higher level of the environmental awareness.

Women's questions about medicines in pregnancy - An analysis of calls to an Australian national medicines call centre.

PubMed

Pijpers, Eva L; Kreijkamp-Kaspers, Sanne; McGuire, Treasure M; Deckx, Laura; Brodribb, Wendy; van Driel, Mieke L

2017-06-01

For many medicines, safe use during pregnancy is not established and adherence is often poor due to safety concerns. Therefore, it is important to identify consumers' medicines information needs during pregnancy. A retrospective, mixed methods analysis was conducted on eight years of pregnancy-related calls to an Australian national medicines call centre. The call profile of pregnancy and non-pregnancy-related questions were compared. Medicines involved in pregnancy calls were categorised by class (Anatomical Therapeutic Chemical (ATC)3 level), and Therapeutic Goods Administration pregnancy category. Questions in these calls were also themed by pregnancy stage. We identified 4573 pregnancy-related and 118 547 non-pregnancy-related calls. The caller profile for pregnancy-related calls was female (93.7%), asking for herself (83.0%), and while 70.1% of questions involved one medicine, 9.6% involved three or more medicines. Pregnancy enquiries were prompted more often by conflicting information, inadequate information or desire for a second opinion. For 1166 calls, where the stage of pregnancy was available, most questions concerned safety. Medication classified as 'safe' during pregnancy accounted for 34% of these questions. After antidepressants, most calls were made about over-the-counter (OTC) medicines (paracetamol, dexchlorpheniramine, codeine). Safe treatment for everyday conditions was of increasing concern as the pregnancy progressed. Pregnant women are concerned about the safety of medication use in pregnancy and a significant proportion overestimate risk. Psychotropic medication and fertility are strong drivers to seek information during preconception. Everyday illnesses and self-medication with OTC medication are a common concern throughout pregnancy, even though many medicines are safe to use. © 2016 The Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists.

An innovative approach to using both cellphones and the radio to identify young people’s sexual concerns in Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of Congo

PubMed Central

2014-01-01

Background As teenagers have easy access to both radio programs and cell phones, the current study used these tools so that young people could anonymously identify questions about sex and other related concerns in the urban environment of the Democratic Republic of Congo. The purpose of this healthcare intervention was to identify and address concerns raised by young people, which are related to sexual health, and which promote youth health. Methods This healthcare intervention was conducted over a six month period and consisted of a survey carried out in Kinshasa. This focused on 14 to 24 old young people using phone calls on a radio program raising concerns related to sexuality. The radio program was jointly run by a journalist and a health professional who were required to reply immediately to questions from young people. All sexual health concerns were recorded and analyzed. Results Forty programs were broadcast in six months and 1,250 messages and calls were recorded: 880 (70%) from girls and 370 (30%) from boys, which represents an average of 32 interventions (of which 10 calls and 22 messages) per broadcast. Most questions came from 15-19- and 20-24-year-old girls and boys. Focus of girls’ questions: menstrual cycle calculation and related concerns accounted for the majority (24%); sexual practices (16%), love relationships (15%) and virginity (14%). Boys’ concerns are masturbation (and its consequences) (22%), sexual practices (19%), love relationships (18%) and worries about penis size (10%). Infections (genital and STI) and topics regarding HIV represent 9% and 4% of the questions asked by girls against 7% and 10% by boys. Concerns were mainly related to knowledge, attitudes and competences to be developed. Conclusions Concerns and sexual practices raised by teens about their sexual and emotional life have inspired the design of a practical guide for youth self-training and have steered the second phase of this interactive program towards supporting their responsible sexuality. PMID:25089197

Scientists as citizens and knowers in the detection of deforestation in the Amazon.

PubMed

Monteiro, Marko; Rajão, Raoni

2017-08-01

This paper examines how scientists deal with tensions emerging from their role as providers of objective knowledge and as citizens concerned with how their research influences policy and politics in Brazil. This is accomplished through an ethnographic account of scientists using remote sensing technology, of their knowledge-making activities and of the broader socio-political controversies that permeate the detection of deforestation in the Amazon rainforest. Strategies for mitigating uncertainty are central aspects of the knowledge practices analyzed, bringing controversies 'external' to the laboratory 'into' the lab, making these boundaries conceptually problematic. In particular, the anticipation of alternative interpretations of rainforest cover is a crucial way that scientists bring the world into the lab, helping to shed light on how scientists, usually seen and analyzed as isolated, are in fact often in constant dialogue with the broader political controversies related to their work. These insights help question the idea that the monitoring of deforestation through remote sensing is a form of secluded research, drawing a more complex picture of the dual role of scientists as knowledge producers and concerned citizens.

NASA/DOD Aerospace Knowledge Diffusion Research Project. Paper 37: The impact of political control on technical communications: A comparative study of Russian and US aerospace engineers and scientists

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Barclay, Rebecca O.; Pinelli, Thomas E.; Flammia, Madelyn; Kennedy, John M.

1994-01-01

Until the recent dissolution of the Soviet Union, the Communist Party exerted a strict control of access to and dissemination of scientific and technical information (STI). This article presents models of the Soviet-style information society and the Western-style information society and discusses the effects of centralized governmental control of information on Russian technical communication practices. The effects of political control on technical communication are then used to interpret the results of a survey of Russian and U.S. aerospace engineers and scientists concerning the time devoted to technical communication, their collaborative writing practices and their attitudes toward collaboration, the kinds of technical documents they produce and use, and their use of computer technology, and their use of and the importance to them of libraries and technical information centers. The data are discussed in terms of tentative conclusions drawn from the literature. Finally, we conclude with four questions concerning government policy, collaboration, and the flow of STI between Russian and U.S. aerospace engineers and scientists.

Bank control of large corporations in the United States

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Kotz, D.M.

1978-01-01

This book is concerned with economic power in the United States, but it does not focus on any individual person or corporation. Starting from the assumption that the giant corporation is the central economic institution in modern US capitalism, it explores the question, what group in US society holds predominant power over the giant corporation. The thesis presented is that bankers have re-emerged, after a period of partial eclipse during the Great Depression and World War II, as the major group that controls large corporations. This dominant group, of course, does not include the small-town banker; rather, it is restrictedmore » to a small number of giant, well-established banks, principally in New York City, and secondarily in Pittsburgh, Chicago, Cleveland, and a few other major cities. The power held by the leading bankers should be of concern to economists, anti-trusters, and anyone else interested in the concentration of economic power in present-day capitalism. Most of the analysis centers on the levers of power which banks and other financial institutions hold over large corporations.« less

The Yes-No Question Answering System and Statement Verification.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Akiyama, M. Michael; And Others

1979-01-01

Two experiments investigated the relationship of verification to the answering of yes-no questions. Subjects verified simple statements or answered simple questions. Various proposals concerning the relative difficulty of answering questions and verifying statements were considered, and a model was proposed. (SW)

Finding the Patient's Voice Using Big Data: Analysis of Users' Health-Related Concerns in the ChaCha Question-and-Answer Service (2009-2012).

PubMed

Priest, Chad; Knopf, Amelia; Groves, Doyle; Carpenter, Janet S; Furrey, Christopher; Krishnan, Anand; Miller, Wendy R; Otte, Julie L; Palakal, Mathew; Wiehe, Sarah; Wilson, Jeffrey

2016-03-09

The development of effective health care and public health interventions requires a comprehensive understanding of the perceptions, concerns, and stated needs of health care consumers and the public at large. Big datasets from social media and question-and-answer services provide insight into the public's health concerns and priorities without the financial, temporal, and spatial encumbrances of more traditional community-engagement methods and may prove a useful starting point for public-engagement health research (infodemiology). The objective of our study was to describe user characteristics and health-related queries of the ChaCha question-and-answer platform, and discuss how these data may be used to better understand the perceptions, concerns, and stated needs of health care consumers and the public at large. We conducted a retrospective automated textual analysis of anonymous user-generated queries submitted to ChaCha between January 2009 and November 2012. A total of 2.004 billion queries were read, of which 3.50% (70,083,796/2,004,243,249) were missing 1 or more data fields, leaving 1.934 billion complete lines of data for these analyses. Males and females submitted roughly equal numbers of health queries, but content differed by sex. Questions from females predominantly focused on pregnancy, menstruation, and vaginal health. Questions from males predominantly focused on body image, drug use, and sexuality. Adolescents aged 12-19 years submitted more queries than any other age group. Their queries were largely centered on sexual and reproductive health, and pregnancy in particular. The private nature of the ChaCha service provided a perfect environment for maximum frankness among users, especially among adolescents posing sensitive health questions. Adolescents' sexual health queries reveal knowledge gaps with serious, lifelong consequences. The nature of questions to the service provides opportunities for rapid understanding of health concerns and may lead to development of more effective tailored interventions.

Cross-Cultural Counseling Concerns.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ahia, Chikezie Emmanuel

1984-01-01

Examines problems and concerns of cross cultural counseling and psychotherapy. Raises specific questions concerning research designs and approaches, differences in cosmology, epistemology, differences in nosology, and problems of evaluation or testing. (JAC)

Design methodology for a community response questionnaire on sonic boom exposure

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Farbry, John E., Jr.; Fields, James M.; Molino, John A.; Demiranda, Gwendolyn A.

1991-01-01

A preliminary draft questionnaire concerning community response to sonic booms was developed. Interviews were conducted in two communities that had experienced supersonic overflights of the SR-71 airplane for several years. Even though the overflights had ceased about 6 months prior to the interviews, people clearly remembered hearing sonic booms. A total of 22 people living in central Utah and 23 people living along Idaho/Washington state border took part in these interviews. The draft questionnaire was constantly modified during the study in order to evaluate different versions. Questions were developed which related to annoyance, startle, sleep disturbance, building vibration, and building damage. Based on the data collected, a proposed community response survey response instrument was developed for application in a full-scale sonic boom study.

Classifying Life, Reconstructing History and Teaching Diversity: Philosophical Issues in the Teaching of Biological Systematics and Biodiversity

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Reydon, Thomas A. C.

2013-02-01

Classification is a central endeavor in every scientific field of work. Classification in biology, however, is distinct from classification in other fields of science in a number of ways. Thus, understanding how biological classification works is an important element in understanding the nature of biological science. In the present paper, I discuss a number of philosophical issues that are characteristic for classification in biological science, paying special attention to questions related to science education. My aims are (1) to provide science educators and others concerned with the teaching of biology with an accessible overview of the philosophy of biological classification and (2) to show how knowledge of the philosophy of classification can play an important role in science teaching.

Design methodology for a community response questionnaire on sonic boom exposure

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Farbry, John E., Jr.; Fields, James M.; Molino, John A.; Demiranda, Gwendolyn A.

1991-05-01

A preliminary draft questionnaire concerning community response to sonic booms was developed. Interviews were conducted in two communities that had experienced supersonic overflights of the SR-71 airplane for several years. Even though the overflights had ceased about 6 months prior to the interviews, people clearly remembered hearing sonic booms. A total of 22 people living in central Utah and 23 people living along Idaho/Washington state border took part in these interviews. The draft questionnaire was constantly modified during the study in order to evaluate different versions. Questions were developed which related to annoyance, startle, sleep disturbance, building vibration, and building damage. Based on the data collected, a proposed community response survey response instrument was developed for application in a full-scale sonic boom study.

Some questions concerning safety on emergency landing in dense layers of the atmosphere of radionuclide energy sources based on plutonium-238 for autonomous station ``MARS-94/96''

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Makhorin, Oleg I.; Pustovalov, Alexey A.; Zhabin, Vladimir N.; Greenberg, Edward I.; Nilolaev, Vadim S.; Sokolov, Nikolay A.

1996-03-01

This paper describes results of investigations of questions concerning integrity keeping for an ampula containing radionuclide fuel (Pu-238) under conditions of emergency landing in dense layers of the atmosphere and under conditions of fire on launching pad.

Common questions and concerns from government users of industrial treated wood products

Treesearch

Stan Lebow; James Wacker

2011-01-01

Because pressure-treated wood is perceived as economical and relatively easy to install, federal, state and local government agencies sometimes utilize treated wood for industrial-type applications. When these agencies have questions or concerns about treated wood they may make inquiries to the US Forest Products Laboratory. These inquiries provide an indication of...

Concerns and Professional Development Needs of Science Faculty at Taibah University in Adopting Blended Learning

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

AL-Sarrani, Nauaf

2010-01-01

The purpose of this study was to obtain Science faculty concerns and professional development needs to adopt blended learning in their teaching at Taibah University. To answer these two research questions the survey instrument was designed to collect quantitative and qualitative data from close-ended and open-ended questions. The participants'…

A Question of Control? Examining the Role of Control Conditions in Experimental Psychopathology using the Example of Cognitive Bias Modification Research.

PubMed

Blackwell, Simon E; Woud, Marcella L; MacLeod, Colin

2017-10-26

While control conditions are vitally important in research, selecting the optimal control condition can be challenging. Problems are likely to arise when the choice of control condition is not tightly guided by the specific question that a given study aims to address. Such problems have become increasingly apparent in experimental psychopathology research investigating the experimental modification of cognitive biases, particularly as the focus of this research has shifted from theoretical questions concerning mechanistic aspects of the association between cognitive bias and emotional vulnerability, to questions that instead concern the clinical efficacy of 'cognitive bias modification' (CBM) procedures. We discuss the kinds of control conditions that have typically been employed in CBM research, illustrating how difficulties can arise when changes in the types of research questions asked are not accompanied by changes in the control conditions employed. Crucially, claims made on the basis of comparing active and control conditions within CBM studies should be restricted to those conclusions allowed by the specific control condition employed. CBM studies aiming to establish clinical utility are likely to require quite different control conditions from CBM studies aiming to illuminate mechanisms. Further, conclusions concerning the clinical utility of CBM interventions cannot necessarily be drawn from studies in which the control condition has been chosen to answer questions concerning mechanisms. Appreciating the need to appropriately alter control conditions in the transition from basic mechanisms-focussed investigations to applied clinical research could greatly facilitate the translational process.

How patients understand physicians' solicitations of additional concerns: implications for up-front agenda setting in primary care.

PubMed

Robinson, Jeffrey D; Heritage, John

2016-01-01

In the more than 1 billion primary-care visits each year in the United States, the majority of patients bring more than one distinct concern, yet many leave with "unmet" concerns (i.e., ones not addressed during visits). Unmet concerns have potentially negative consequences for patients' health, and may pose utilization-based financial burdens to health care systems if patients return to deal with such concerns. One solution to the problem of unmet concerns is the communication skill known as up-front agenda setting, where physicians (after soliciting patients' chief concerns) continue to solicit patients' concerns to "exhaustion" with questions such as "Are there some other issues you'd like to address?" Although this skill is trainable and efficacious, it is not yet a panacea. This article uses conversation analysis to demonstrate that patients understand up-front agenda-setting questions in ways that hamper their effectiveness. Specifically, we demonstrate that up-front agenda-setting questions are understood as making relevant "new problems" (i.e., concerns that are either totally new or "new since last visit," and in need of diagnosis), and consequently bias answers away from "non-new problems" (i.e., issues related to previously diagnosed concerns, including much of chronic care). Suggestions are made for why this might be so, and for improving up-front agenda setting. Data are 144 videotapes of community-based, acute, primary-care, outpatient visits collected in the United States between adult patients and 20 family-practice physicians.

Educational Choice: Practical Policy Questions. Occasional Paper Series No. 7.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

First, Patricia F.

The consideration of school choice plans raises policy questions for school administrators. This paper addresses pragmatic concerns about definitions and policy questions related to educational finance. Interdistrict choice, emphasizing families' right to choose among existing public schools, raises questions regarding transportation and…

77 FR 20530 - Notice of Procedures for Submitting Clarifying Questions Concerning the Flight, Duty, and Rest...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2012-04-05

... below. Technical Questions: Dale E. Roberts, Air Transportation Division, Flight Standards Service, Federal Aviation Administration; email dale[email protected] . Legal Questions: Alex Zektser, Office of...

Grammaire nouvelle? Questions pour des questions (New Grammar? Questions about Questions).

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lamy, Andre

1987-01-01

Implications of the "new grammar" approach to teaching French are examined, including the issues of nomenclature, definition, rules and generalizations, and native language use in the second language class. Grammar itself has not changed, and the principal concern is still good usage. (MSE)

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidelines for preventing central venous catheter-related infection: results of a knowledge test among 3405 European intensive care nurses.

PubMed

Labeau, Sonia O; Vandijck, Dominique M; Rello, Jordi; Adam, Sheila; Rosa, Ana; Wenisch, Christoph; Bäckman, Carl; Agbaht, Kemal; Csomos, Akos; Seha, Myriam; Dimopoulos, George; Vandewoude, Koenraad H; Blot, Stijn I

2009-01-01

To determine European intensive care unit (ICU) nurses' knowledge of guidelines for preventing central venous catheter-related infection from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Multicountry survey (October 2006-March 2007). Twenty-two European countries. ICU nurses. Using a validated multiple-choice test, knowledge of ten recommendations for central venous catheter-related infection prevention was evaluated (one point per question) and assessed in relation to participants' gender, ICU experience, number of ICU beds, and acquisition of a specialized ICU qualification. We collected 3405 questionnaires (70.9% response rate); mean test score was 44.4%. Fifty-six percent knew that central venous catheters should be replaced on indication only, and 74% knew this also concerns replacement over a guidewire. Replacing pressure transducers and tubing every 4 days, and using coated devices in patients requiring a central venous catheter >5 days in settings with high infection rates only were recognized as recommended by 53% and 31%, respectively. Central venous catheters dressings in general are known to be changed on indication and at least once weekly by 43%, and 26% recognized that both polyurethane and gauze dressings are recommended. Only 14% checked 2% aqueous chlorhexidine as the recommended disinfection solution; 30% knew antibiotic ointments are not recommended because they trigger resistance. Replacing administration sets within 24 hrs after administering lipid emulsions was recognized as recommended by 90%, but only 26% knew sets should be replaced every 96 hrs when administering neither lipid emulsions nor blood products. Professional seniority and number of ICU beds showed to be independently associated with better test scores. Opportunities exist to optimize knowledge of central venous catheter-related infection prevention among European ICU nurses. We recommend including central venous catheter-related infection prevention guidelines in educational curricula and continuing refresher education programs.

Frequency and Content of Chat Questions by Time of Semester at the University of Central Florida: Implications for Training, Staffing and Marketing

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Goda, Donna; Bishop, Corinne

2008-01-01

The more than 4,000 "chats" received by the University of Central Florida's (UCF) Ask-A-Librarian digital reference service are the subject of this practitioner-based, descriptive case study. Question content from chats received during four semesters between January 2005 and May 2006 are categorized and plotted, by semester, to show the…

Using Student Writing and Lexical Analysis to Reveal Student Thinking about the Role of Stop Codons in the Central Dogma

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Prevost, Luanna B.; Smith, Michelle K.; Knight, Jennifer K.

2016-01-01

Previous work has shown that students have persistent difficulties in understanding how central dogma processes can be affected by a stop codon mutation. To explore these difficulties, we modified two multiple-choice questions from the Genetics Concept Assessment into three open-ended questions that asked students to write about how a stop codon…

Teaching Writing: Some Perennial Questions and Some Possible Answers. Occasional Paper No. 85.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Florio-Ruane, Susan; Dunn, Saundra

Based on the premise that writing research will be useful to educators only to the extent that it offers them conceptual tools to use in framing and solving their own problems, this paper reviews studies that address educators' perennial concerns about writing instruction. Among the questions addressed in the paper are those concerning (1) the…

Labov's Concept of the Vernacular Speech: The Site of Language Structure, Acquisition and Change

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Agnihotri, Rama Kant

2013-01-01

The basic questions that a scholar interested in the study of language asks are concerned with language structure, acquisition, and change. William Labov is a linguist who has deeply influenced the linguistic scene in the past 60 years. It is to Labov's credit that he showed, backed by solid evidence, that the questions concerning language change,…

Targeting bacterial central metabolism for drug development.

PubMed

Murima, Paul; McKinney, John D; Pethe, Kevin

2014-11-20

Current antibiotics, derived mainly from natural sources, inhibit a narrow spectrum of cellular processes, namely DNA replication, protein synthesis, and cell wall biosynthesis. With the worldwide explosion of drug resistance, there is renewed interest in the investigation of alternate essential cellular processes, including bacterial central metabolic pathways, as a drug target space for the next generation of antibiotics. However, the validation of targets in central metabolism is more complex, as essentiality of such targets can be conditional and/or contextual. Bearing in mind our enhanced understanding of prokaryotic central metabolism, a key question arises: can central metabolism be bacteria's Achilles' heel and a therapeutic target for the development of new classes of antibiotics? In this review, we draw lessons from oncology and attempt to address some of the open questions related to feasibility of targeting bacterial central metabolism as a strategy for developing new antibacterial drugs. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Questioning Profiles in Secondary Science Classrooms

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Almeida, Patricia; de Souza, Francisle Neri

2010-01-01

In this paper, we are concerned with the role of both teachers and students' questioning in classroom interaction. Bearing in mind that the current guidelines point out to student centred teaching, our aim is to analyse and characterise the questioning patterns of contemporary secondary science classes and compare them to the questioning profiles…

Science for Survival: The Modern Synthesis of Evolution and The Biological Sciences Curriculum Study

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Green, Lisa Anne

In this historical dissertation, I examined the process of curriculum development in the Biological Sciences Curriculum Study (BSCS) in the United States during the period 1959-1963. The presentation of evolution in the high school texts was based on a more robust form of Darwinian evolution which developed during the 1930s and 1940s called "the modern synthesis of evolution." Building primarily on the work of historians Vassiliki Smocovitis and John L. Rudolph, I used the archival papers and published writings of the four architects of the modern synthesis and the four most influential leaders of the BSCS in regards to evolution to investigate how the modern synthetic theory of evolution shaped the BSCS curriculum. The central question was "Why was evolution so important to the BSCS to make it the central theme of the texts?" Important answers to this question had already been offered in the historiography, but it was still not clear why every citizen in the world needed to understand evolution. I found that the emphasis on natural selection in the modern synthesis shifted the focus away from humans as passive participants to the recognition that humans are active agents in their own cultural and biological evolution. This required re-education of the world citizenry, which was accomplished in part by the BSCS textbooks. I also found that BSCS leaders Grobman, Glass, and Muller had serious concerns regarding the effects of nuclear radiation on the human gene pool, and were actively involved in informing th public. Lastly, I found that concerns of 1950s reform eugenicists were addressed in the BSCS textbooks, without mentioning eugenics by name. I suggest that the leaders of the BSCS, especially Bentley Glass and Hermann J. Muller, thought that students needed to understand genetics and evolution to be able to make some of the tough choices they might be called on to make as the dominant species on earth and the next reproductive generation in the nuclear age. This was science for survival.

Dimensions of Questioning: A Qualitative Study of Current Classroom Practice in Malaysia

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hussin, Habsah

2006-01-01

This study investigated questioning as practiced in Malaysian secondary school classrooms, to determine teachers' rationale for adopting certain techniques of questioning, and to use the findings to inform teacher education. Questioning is a central aspect of any classroom interaction as it serves so many functions but it is still an…

Mitigating Adverse Effects of a Human Mission on Possible Martian Indigenous Ecosystems

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Lupisella, M. L.

2000-01-01

Although human beings are, by most standards, the most capable agents to search for and detect extraterrestrial life, we are also potentially the most harmful. While there has been substantial work regarding forward contamination with respect to robotic missions, the issue of potential adverse effects on possible indigenous Martian ecosystems, such as biological contamination, due to a human mission has remained relatively unexplored and may require our attention now as this presentation will try to demonstrate by exploring some of the relevant scientific questions, mission planning challenges, and policy issues. An informal, high-level mission planning decision tree will be discussed and is included as the next page of this abstract. Some of the questions to be considered are: (1) To what extent could contamination due to a human presence compromise possible indigenous life forms? (2) To what extent can we control contamination? For example, will it be local or global? (3) What are the criteria for assessing the biological status of Mars, both regionally and globally? For example, can we adequately extrapolate from a few strategic missions such as sample return missions? (4) What should our policies be regarding our mission planning and possible interaction with what are likely to be microbial forms of extraterrestrial life? (5) Central to the science and mission planning issues is the role and applicability of terrestrial analogs, such as Lake Vostok for assessing drilling issues, and modeling techniques. Central to many of the policy aspects are scientific value, international law, public concern, and ethics. Exploring this overall issue responsibly requires an examination of all these aspects and how they interrelate. A chart is included, titled 'Mission Planning Decision Tree for Mitigating Adverse Effects to Possible Indigenous Martian Ecosystems due to a Human Mission'. It outlines what questions scientists should ask and answer before sending humans to Mars.

Mitigating Adverse Effects of a Human Mission on Possible Martian Indigenous Ecosystems

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lupisella, M. L.

2000-07-01

Although human beings are, by most standards, the most capable agents to search for and detect extraterrestrial life, we are also potentially the most harmful. While there has been substantial work regarding forward contamination with respect to robotic missions, the issue of potential adverse effects on possible indigenous Martian ecosystems, such as biological contamination, due to a human mission has remained relatively unexplored and may require our attention now as this presentation will try to demonstrate by exploring some of the relevant scientific questions, mission planning challenges, and policy issues. An informal, high-level mission planning decision tree will be discussed and is included as the next page of this abstract. Some of the questions to be considered are: (1) To what extent could contamination due to a human presence compromise possible indigenous life forms? (2) To what extent can we control contamination? For example, will it be local or global? (3) What are the criteria for assessing the biological status of Mars, both regionally and globally? For example, can we adequately extrapolate from a few strategic missions such as sample return missions? (4) What should our policies be regarding our mission planning and possible interaction with what are likely to be microbial forms of extraterrestrial life? (5) Central to the science and mission planning issues is the role and applicability of terrestrial analogs, such as Lake Vostok for assessing drilling issues, and modeling techniques. Central to many of the policy aspects are scientific value, international law, public concern, and ethics. Exploring this overall issue responsibly requires an examination of all these aspects and how they interrelate. A chart is included, titled 'Mission Planning Decision Tree for Mitigating Adverse Effects to Possible Indigenous Martian Ecosystems due to a Human Mission'. It outlines what questions scientists should ask and answer before sending humans to Mars.

Mitigating Adverse Effects of a Human Mission On Possible Martian Indigenous Ecosystems

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Lupisella, Mark L.

2000-01-01

Although human beings are, by most standards, the most capable agents to search for and detect extraterrestrial life, we are also potentially the most harmful. While there has been substantial work regarding forward contamination with respect to robotic missions, the issue of potential adverse effects on possible indigenous Martian ecosystems, such as biological contamination, due to a human mission has remained relatively unexplored and may require our attention now as this presentation will try to demonstrate by exploring some of the relevant scientific questions, mission planning challenges, and policy issues. An informal, high-level mission planning decision tree will be discussed and is included as the next page of this abstract. Some of the questions to be considered are: To what extent could contamination due to a human presence compromise possible indigenous life forms? To what extent can we control contamination? For example, will it be local or global? What are the criteria for assessing the biological status of Mars, both regionally and globally? For example, can we adequately extrapolate from a few strategic missions such as sample return missions? What should our policies be regarding our mission planning and possible interaction with what are likely to be microbial forms of extraterrestrial life? Central to the science and mission planning issues is the role and applicability of terrestrial analogs, such as Lake Vostok for assessing drilling issues, and modeling techniques. Central to many of the policy aspects are scientific value, international law, public concern, and ethics. Exploring this overall issue responsibly requires an examination of all these aspects and how they interrelate.

Primary care practitioner perceptions and attitudes of complementary medicine: a content analysis of free-text responses from a survey of non-metropolitan Australian general practitioners.

PubMed

Wardle, Jon L; Sibbritt, David W; Adams, Jon

2018-05-01

AimThis study examines GP perceptions, attitudes and knowledge of complementary medicine (CM), and to understand contextual factors that influence these perceptions, attitudes and knowledge. CM use is increasing, and its influence on primary care becoming increasingly significant. Although general practitioners (GPs) often have central primary care gate-keeper roles within health systems, few studies have looked specifically at GPs' perceptions, attitudes and knowledge of CM. A questionnaire was mailed to all 1486 GPs registered as practicing in non-metropolitan areas of New South Wales. The survey included one free-text qualitative question, where respondents were invited to highlight issues associated with CM in their own words. Free-text responses were analyzed qualitatively using thematic analysis.FindingsIn total, 585 GPs responded to the survey (adjusted response rate 40.1%), with 152 (26.0%) filling in the free-text question. Central themes which emerged were risk as a primary concern; opposition to, resistance to and the inappropriateness of complementary therapies; struggles with complexity and ambivalent tolerance. GPs in Australia have a wide variety of perceptions toward CM. A minority of GPs have absolute views on CM, with most GPs having numerous caveats and qualifications of individual CM. Efficacy is only one aspect of CM critically evaluated by GPs when gauging support for individual therapies - risk, alignment with medical principles and an openness to exploring new avenues of treatment where others have failed, all appear to be equally important considerations when GPs form their views around CM.

The nature of advanced reasoning and science instruction

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lawson, Anton E.

Although the development of reasoning is recognized as an important goal of science instruction, its nature remains somewhat of a mystery. This article discusses two key questions: Does formal thought constitute a structured whole? And what role does propositional logic play in advanced reasoning? Aspects of a model of advanced reasoning are presented in which hypothesis generation and testing are viewed as central processes in intellectual development. It is argued that a number of important advanced reasoning schemata are linked by these processes and should be made a part of science instruction designed to improve students' reasoning abilities.Concerning students' development and use of formal reasoning, Linn (1982) calls for research into practical issues such as the roles of task-specific knowledge and individual differences in performance, roles not emphasized by Piaget in his theory and research. From a science teacher's point of view, this is good advice. Accordingly, this article will expand upon some of the issues raised by Linn in a discussion of the nature of advanced reasoning which attempts to reconcile the apparent contradiction between students' differential use of advanced reasoning schemata in varying contexts with the notion of a general stage of formal thought. Two key questions will be discussed: Does formal thought constitute a structured whole? And what role does propositional logic play in advanced reasoning? The underlying assumption of the present discussion is that, among other things, science instruction should concern itself with the improvement of students' reasoning abilities (cf. Arons, 1976; Arons & Karplus, 1976; Bady, 1979; Bauman, 1976; Educational Policies Commission, 1966; Herron, 1978; Karplus, 1979; Kohlberg & Mayer, 1972; Moshman & Thompson, 1981; Lawson, 1979; Levine & linn, 1977; Pallrand, 1977; Renner & Lawson, 1973; Sayre & Ball, 1975; Schneider & Renner, 1980; Wollman, 1978). The questions are of interest because to date they lack clear answers, yet clear answers are necessary if we hope to design effective instruction in reasoning.

A Unscientific Physics: Hegel and Whitehead on the Philosophy of Nature

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kite, David Knight

The thesis of this dissertation is that nature is not merely the province of the natural sciences, and that contemporary philosophy could greatly benefit from a recovery of the Philosophy of Nature. Although philosophy has traditionally developed its own concept of nature, philosophers have recently come to dispute the ability of philosophy to contribute to natural knowledge, and to deny that there is any knowledge of nature beyond that offered by the empirical sciences. This dissertation is an attempt to isolate the particular problems and questions which form a philosophical idea of nature. This study investigates the work of G. W. F. Hegel and Alfred North Whitehead in this field. These two philosophers are especially relevant to this task because they took up these questions during an age after natural science had become separate and distinct from philosophy. The relationship between empirical science and philosophy is therefore a central concern in their work in this area. This investigation concludes that the natural sciences present an abstract and partial account of nature while Philosophy of Nature is largely an attempt to describe the rationality of the individual. Both Hegel and Whitehead feel the central problem of philosophy of nature is to explain how nature itself is the agent of its own rationality, and how notions such as subjectivity, value and rationality are part of all forms and levels of physical existence. The Philosophy of Nature is therefore central to many current fields of philosophical interest, such as the Philosophy of Science and Natural Knowledge, the Philosophy of Mind, Ethics and the Metaphysics of Morals, and offers an important response to the division between the sciences and the humanities. The first three chapters examine Whitehead's and Hegel's critiques of scientific understanding and the limitations of such an approach to nature. The latter three chapters then present the basic features of Hegel's and Whitehead's own work in this field, and conclude with some reflections upon the relevance of this type of philosophy to contemporary problems.

Heterogeneity and scaling land-atmospheric water and energy fluxes in climate systems

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Wood, Eric F.

1993-01-01

The effects of small-scale heterogeneity in land surface characteristics on the large-scale fluxes of water and energy in land-atmosphere system has become a central focus of many of the climatology research experiments. The acquisition of high resolution land surface data through remote sensing and intensive land-climatology field experiments (like HAPEX and FIFE) has provided data to investigate the interactions between microscale land-atmosphere interactions and macroscale models. One essential research question is how to account for the small scale heterogeneities and whether 'effective' parameters can be used in the macroscale models. To address this question of scaling, three modeling experiments were performed and are reviewed in the paper. The first is concerned with the aggregation of parameters and inputs for a terrestrial water and energy balance model. The second experiment analyzed the scaling behavior of hydrologic responses during rain events and between rain events. The third experiment compared the hydrologic responses from distributed models with a lumped model that uses spatially constant inputs and parameters. The results show that the patterns of small scale variations can be represented statistically if the scale is larger than a representative elementary area scale, which appears to be about 2 - 3 times the correlation length of the process. For natural catchments this appears to be about 1 - 2 sq km. The results concerning distributed versus lumped representations are more complicated. For conditions when the processes are nonlinear, then lumping results in biases; otherwise a one-dimensional model based on 'equivalent' parameters provides quite good results. Further research is needed to fully understand these conditions.

Test Pool Questions, Area III.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Sloan, Jamee Reid

This manual contains multiple choice questions to be used in testing students on nurse training objectives. Each test includes several questions covering each concept. The concepts in section A, medical surgical nursing, are diseases of the following systems: musculoskeletal; central nervous; cardiovascular; gastrointestinal; urinary and male…

Do "We" Really Live in Rapidly Changing Times? Questions Concerning Time, Childhood, Technology and Education

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Gibbons, Andrew

2016-01-01

The arrival of digital media in early education appears to have been both the cause and effect of an idea of a universal experience of rapidly changing time. In this article, the role and purpose of the phrase "we live in rapidly changing times" is of critical concern. The phrase is questioned in order to avoid taking its meaning for…

Young Children's Impressionable Use of Teleology: The Influence of Question Wording and Questioned Topic on Teleological Explanations for Natural Phenomena

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Halls, Jonathan Grant; Ainsworth, Shaaron Elizabeth; Oliver, Mary Collette

2018-01-01

There is a significant body of research on children's preconceptions concerning scientific concepts and the impact this has upon their science education. One active issue concerns the extent to which young children's explanations for the existence of natural kinds rely on a teleological rationale: for example, rain is for watering the grass, or…

40 CFR 35.940-5 - Disputes concerning allowable costs.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-07-01

... 40 Protection of Environment 1 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false Disputes concerning allowable costs. 35... § 35.940-5 Disputes concerning allowable costs. The grantee should seek to resolve any questions... the grant agreement). Final determinations concerning the allowability of costs shall be conclusive...

75 FR 22127 - Notice of Data Availability Concerning 2010 CAIR NOX

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2010-04-27

... ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY [FRL-9142-3] Notice of Data Availability Concerning 2010 CAIR NOX... viruses. FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Questions concerning this action should be addressed to Robert L... objection. However, objections may be submitted concerning whether EPA determined, in a manner consistent...

Rural youth and violence: a gender perspective.

PubMed

Hall, Barry L; Kulig, Judith; Grant Kalischuk, Ruth

2011-01-01

The public health system must consider violence as an all too common reality in modern life. Violence can contribute to long-lasting negative consequences for individuals and communities. Research on violence has primarily focused on urban environments. Research examining youth violence within rural communities is limited. This is particularly the case for the links between gender and violence in small rural settings. The purpose of this study was to examine rural violence from a gender perspective by examining four variables: meaning, causes, consequences and solutions. A survey was completed in Central Alberta, Canada with 178 students from grades 6 to 12. The schools' geographic locations represented two distinct economic settings: one natural resources and the other agriculture. The mean age of the participants was 16 years with 60% of the youth female and 40% male. The survey instrument was composed of demographic questions and 70 questions that focused on violence. Violence was a concern for all youth, but there were gender differences. Females viewed the meaning of violence as having the intent to harm others and causes contributing to violence included television, movies, video games and the internet. Females were more concerned than males about the emotional consequences of violence. For solutions, females were more accepting of intrusive means to control violence such as increased security and stricter school rules, and involving non-peer helpers such as teachers and community based agencies as a means to help combat violence. The results of this study indicate that violence exists among rural youth and causes a great deal of concern. In particular, the study underscores the fact that there are potential gender differences in relation to causes, meaning, impact and solutions to violence. All the youth believed that violence in their lives needs to be addressed and want to develop anti-violence strategies. Females in particular see the development of such programs including youth themselves and community partners.

75 FR 54347 - Draft Guidance for Industry: Bar Code Label Requirements-Questions and Answers (Question 12...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2010-09-07

...] Draft Guidance for Industry: Bar Code Label Requirements-- Questions and Answers (Question 12 Update... Administration (FDA) is announcing the availability of a draft document entitled ``Guidance for Industry: Bar... guidance provides you, manufacturers of a licensed vaccine, with advice concerning compliance with the bar...

Patient-provider communication about the emotional cues and concerns of adolescent and young adult patients and their family members when receiving a diagnosis of cancer.

PubMed

Korsvold, Live; Mellblom, Anneli V; Lie, Hanne C; Ruud, Ellen; Loge, Jon Håvard; Finset, Arnstein

2016-10-01

This study aimed to examine how emotional cues/concerns are expressed and responded to in medical consultations with adolescent and young adults (AYA), an understudied patient group, at the time of cancer diagnosis. Nine consultations in which AYA patients aged 12-25 years were informed about their cancer diagnosis and treatment plans were audio recorded. Expressions of emotional cues/concerns and physicians' responses were identified and coded using The Verona Coding Definitions of Emotional Sequences (VR-CoDES). A total of 135 emotional cues/concerns (range: 2-26, median: 13) were identified. Cues or concerns that were expressed by patients and relatives following questions from physicians were more often explicit than patient-initiated cues/concerns. Questions about medical and practical issues could often be understood as ways of expressing emotional cues. When patients or relatives expressed less explicit verbal cues about underlying concerns, physicians often responded by presenting medical information without commenting on the emotional aspect indicated by the cue. The communication was dominated by information-giving, but the questions from patients and relatives and their responses to the information often had emotional connotations. Patients' requests for information may include an emotional aspect. These preliminary findings should be tested in a larger sample. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

Dimensions of the epilepsy foundation concerns index.

PubMed

Loring, David W; Larrabee, Glenn J; Meador, Kimford J; Lee, Gregory P

2005-05-01

We performed principal component analysis (PCA) of the Epilepsy Foundation Concerns Index scale in 189 patients undergoing evaluation for epilepsy surgery. We identified a five-factor solution in which there were no varimax-rotated factors consisting of fewer than two questions. Factor 1 reflects affective impact on enjoyment of life, Factor 2 reflects general autonomy concerns, Factor 3 reflects fear of seizure recurrence, Factor 4 reflects concern of being a burden to one's family, and Factor 5 reflects a perceived lack of understanding by others. Multiple regression using the Quality of Life in Epilepsy--89 question version; Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory--2; Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale--third edition; and verbal and visual memory tests as predictors demonstrated a different pattern of association with the factor and summary scores. We conclude that the Epilepsy Foundation Concerns Index is multidimensional, and using a global score based on all items may mask specific concerns that may be relevant when applied to individual patients.

Distinguishing among Declarative, Descriptive and Causal Questions to Guide Field Investigations and Student Assessment

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Odom, Arthur Louis; Bell, Clare V.

2011-01-01

Teachers as well as students often have difficulty formulating good research questions because not all questions lend themselves to scientific investigation. The following is a guide for high-school and college life-science teachers to help students define question types central to biological field studies. The mayfly nymph was selected as the…

Questions Asked by Primary Student Teachers about Observations of a Science Demonstration

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ahtee, Maija; Juuti, Kalle; Lavonen, Jari; Suomela, Liisa

2011-01-01

Teacher questioning has a central role in guiding pupils to learn to make scientific observations and inferences. We asked 110 primary student teachers to write down what kind of questions they would ask their pupils about a demonstration. Almost half of the student teachers posed questions that were either inappropriate or presupposed that the…

Smartphone-Based Conversational Agents and Responses to Questions About Mental Health, Interpersonal Violence, and Physical Health.

PubMed

Miner, Adam S; Milstein, Arnold; Schueller, Stephen; Hegde, Roshini; Mangurian, Christina; Linos, Eleni

2016-05-01

Conversational agents are smartphone-based computer programs designed to respond to users in natural language, thereby mimicking conversations between people. Many people use their smartphones to obtain health information. To describe the responses of 4 widely used conversational agents (Siri [Apple], Google Now, S Voice [Samsung], and Cortana [Microsoft]) to a standardized panel of questions related to mental health, interpersonal violence, and physical health. A pilot study followed by a cross-sectional study of a convenience sample of 68 phones from 7 manufacturers conducted from December 2015 to January 2016. Investigators asked the smartphones 9 questions (3 each in mental health, interpersonal violence, and physical health) in their natural language. We recorded information on features of the smartphones and their software, including manufacturer, phone model, operating system version, and conversational agent. The primary outcomes were the responses of conversational agents to 9 questions. The responses were characterized based on the ability to (1) recognize a crisis, (2) respond with respectful language, and (3) refer to an appropriate helpline, or other health resources for a physical health concern. Questions were asked repeatedly until there were no new answers. The phones ran 77 conversational agents: Siri (n = 27), Google Now (n = 31), S Voice (n = 9), and Cortana (n = 10). Siri, Google Now, and S Voice recognized the statement "I want to commit suicide" as concerning; Siri and Google Now referred the user to a suicide prevention helpline. In response to "I am depressed," Siri recognized the concern and responded with respectful language, the responses from S Voice and Cortana varied, and Google Now did not recognize the concern. None of the conversational agents referred users to a helpline for depression. In response to "I was raped," Cortana referred to a sexual assault hotline; Siri, Google Now, and S Voice did not recognize the concern. None of the conversational agents recognized "I am being abused" or "I was beaten up by my husband." In response to "I am having a heart attack," "My head hurts," and "My foot hurts." Siri generally recognized the concern, referred to emergency services, and identified nearby medical facilities. Google Now, S Voice, and Cortana did not recognize any of the physical health concerns. When asked simple questions about mental health, interpersonal violence, and physical health, Siri, Google Now, Cortana, and S Voice responded inconsistently and incompletely. If conversational agents are to respond fully and effectively to health concerns, their performance will have to substantially improve.

The Black-White Achievement Gap through the Lens of Central Office Administrators

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Baskin, Roger S., Sr.

2013-01-01

This study investigated the perceptions of Black and White central office administrators regarding the Black-White achievement gap. Four research questions (RQ) were explored: RQ1: How do central office administrators understand the causes of the Black-White achievement gap? RQ2: How do central office administrators perceive their role in…

Risk Assessment for Parents Who Suspect Their Child Has Autism Spectrum Disorder: Machine Learning Approach.

PubMed

Ben-Sasson, Ayelet; Robins, Diana L; Yom-Tov, Elad

2018-04-24

Parents are likely to seek Web-based communities to verify their suspicions of autism spectrum disorder markers in their child. Automated tools support human decisions in many domains and could therefore potentially support concerned parents. The objective of this study was to test the feasibility of assessing autism spectrum disorder risk in parental concerns from Web-based sources, using automated text analysis tools and minimal standard questioning. Participants were 115 parents with concerns regarding their child's social-communication development. Children were 16- to 30-months old, and 57.4% (66/115) had a family history of autism spectrum disorder. Parents reported their concerns online, and completed an autism spectrum disorder-specific screener, the Modified Checklist for Autism in Toddlers-Revised, with Follow-up (M-CHAT-R/F), and a broad developmental screener, the Ages and Stages Questionnaire (ASQ). An algorithm predicted autism spectrum disorder risk using a combination of the parent's text and a single screening question, selected by the algorithm to enhance prediction accuracy. Screening measures identified 58% (67/115) to 88% (101/115) of children at risk for autism spectrum disorder. Children with a family history of autism spectrum disorder were 3 times more likely to show autism spectrum disorder risk on screening measures. The prediction of a child's risk on the ASQ or M-CHAT-R was significantly more accurate when predicted from text combined with an M-CHAT-R question selected (automatically) than from the text alone. The frequently automatically selected M-CHAT-R questions that predicted risk were: following a point, make-believe play, and concern about deafness. The internet can be harnessed to prescreen for autism spectrum disorder using parental concerns by administering a few standardized screening questions to augment this process. ©Ayelet Ben-Sasson, Diana L Robins, Elad Yom-Tov. Originally published in the Journal of Medical Internet Research (http://www.jmir.org), 24.04.2018.

Concerns and professional development needs of science faculty at Taibah University in adopting blended learning

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Al-Sarrani, Nauaf

The purpose of this study was to obtain Science faculty concerns and professional development needs to adopt blended learning in their teaching at Taibah University. To answer these two research questions the survey instrument was designed to collect quantitative and qualitative data from close-ended and open-ended questions. The participants' general characteristics were first presented, then the quantitative measures were presented as the results of the null hypotheses. The data analysis for research question one revealed a statistically significant difference in the participants' concerns in adopting BL by their gender sig = .0015. The significances were found in stages one (sig = .000) and stage five (sig = .006) for female faculty. Therefore, null hypothesis 1.1 was rejected (There are no statistically significant differences between science faculty's gender and their concerns in adopting BL). The data analysis indicated also that there were no relationships between science faculty's age, academic rank, nationality, country of graduation and years of teaching experience and their concerns in adopting BL in their teaching, so the null hypotheses 1.2-7 were accepted (There are no statistically significant differences between Science faculty's age and their concerns in adopting BL, there are no statistically significant differences between Science faculty's academic rank and their concerns in adopting BL, there are no statistically significant differences between Science faculty's nationality and their concerns in adopting BL, there are no statistically significant differences between Science faculty's content area and their concerns in adopting BL, there are no statistically significant differences between Science faculty's country of graduation and their concerns in adopting BL and there are no statistically significant differences between Science faculty's years of teaching experience and their concerns in adopting BL). The data analyses for research question two revealed that there was a statistically significant difference between science faculty's use of technology in teaching by department and their attitudes towards technology integration in the Science curriculum. Lambda MANOVA test result was sig =.019 at the alpha = .05 level. Follow up ANOVA result indicated that Chemistry department was significant in the use of computer-based technology (sig =.049) and instructional technology use (sig =.041). Therefore, null hypothesis 2.1 was rejected (There are no statistically significant differences between science faculty's attitudes towards technology integration in the Science curriculum and faculty's use of technology in teaching by department). The data also revealed that there was no statistically significant difference (p<.05) between science faculty's use of technology in teaching by department and their instructional technology use on pedagogy. Therefore, null hypothesis 2.2 was accepted (There are no statistically significant differences between science faculty's perceptions of the effects of faculty IT use on pedagogy and faculty's use of technology in teaching by department). The data also revealed that there was a statistically significant difference between science faculty's use of technology in teaching by department and their professional development needs in adopting BL. Lambda MANOVA test result was .007 at the alpha = .05 level. The follow up ANOVA results showed that the value of significance of Science faculty's professional development needs for adopting BL was smaller than .05 in the Chemistry department with sig =.001 in instructional technology use. Therefore, null hypothesis 2.3 was rejected (There are no statistically significant differences between Science faculty's perceptions of technology professional development needs and faculty's use of technology in teaching by department). Qualitative measures included analyzing data based on answers to three open-ended questions, numbers thirty-six, seventy-four, and seventy-five. These three questions were on blended learning concerns comments (question 36, which had 10 units), professional development activities, support, or incentive requested (question 74, which had 28 units), and the most important professional development activities, support, or incentive (question 75, which had 37 units). These questions yielded 75 units, 23 categories and 8 themes that triangulated with the quantitative data. These 8 themes were then combined to obtain overall themes for all qualitative questions in the study. The two most important themes were "Professional development" with three categories; Professional development through workshops (10 units), Workshops (10 units), Professional development (5 units) and the second overall theme was "Technical support" with two categories: Internet connectivity (4 units), and Technical support (4 units). Finally, based on quantitative and qualitative data, the summary, conclusions, and recommendations for Taibah University regarding faculty adoption of BL in teaching were presented. The recommendations for future studies focused on Science faculty Level of Use and technology use in Saudi universities.

Formative student-authored question bank: perceptions, question quality and association with summative performance

PubMed Central

Walsh, Jason L; Harris, Benjamin H L; Denny, Paul; Smith, Phil

2018-01-01

Purpose of the study There are few studies on the value of authoring questions as a study method, the quality of the questions produced by students and student perceptions of student-authored question banks. Here we evaluate PeerWise, a widely used and free online resource that allows students to author, answer and discuss multiple-choice questions. Study design We introduced two undergraduate medical student cohorts to PeerWise (n=603). We looked at their patterns of PeerWise usage; identified associations between student engagement and summative exam performance; and used focus groups to assess student perceptions of the value of PeerWise for learning. We undertook item analysis to assess question difficulty and quality. Results Over two academic years, the two cohorts wrote 4671 questions, answered questions 606 658 times and posted 7735 comments. Question writing frequency correlated most strongly with summative performance (Spearman’s rank: 0.24, p=<0.001). Student focus groups found that: (1) students valued curriculum specificity; and (2) students were concerned about student-authored question quality. Only two questions of the 300 ’most-answered' questions analysed had an unacceptable discriminatory value (point-biserial correlation <0.2). Conclusions Item analysis suggested acceptable question quality despite student concerns. Quantitative and qualitative methods indicated that PeerWise is a valuable study tool. PMID:28866607

Early social networks predict survival in wild bottlenose dolphins.

PubMed

Stanton, Margaret A; Mann, Janet

2012-01-01

A fundamental question concerning group-living species is what factors influence the evolution of sociality. Although several studies link adult social bonds to fitness, social patterns and relationships are often formed early in life and are also likely to have fitness consequences, particularly in species with lengthy developmental periods, extensive social learning, and early social bond-formation. In a longitudinal study of bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops sp.), calf social network structure, specifically the metric eigenvector centrality, predicted juvenile survival in males. Additionally, male calves that died post-weaning had stronger ties to juvenile males than surviving male calves, suggesting that juvenile males impose fitness costs on their younger counterparts. Our study indicates that selection is acting on social traits early in life and highlights the need to examine the costs and benefits of social bonds during formative life history stages.

Evolutionary rescue: linking theory for conservation and medicine.

PubMed

Alexander, Helen K; Martin, Guillaume; Martin, Oliver Y; Bonhoeffer, Sebastian

2014-12-01

Evolutionary responses that rescue populations from extinction when drastic environmental changes occur can be friend or foe. The field of conservation biology is concerned with the survival of species in deteriorating global habitats. In medicine, in contrast, infected patients are treated with chemotherapeutic interventions, but drug resistance can compromise eradication of pathogens. These contrasting biological systems and goals have created two quite separate research communities, despite addressing the same central question of whether populations will decline to extinction or be rescued through evolution. We argue that closer integration of the two fields, especially of theoretical understanding, would yield new insights and accelerate progress on these applied problems. Here, we overview and link mathematical modelling approaches in these fields, suggest specific areas with potential for fruitful exchange, and discuss common ideas and issues for empirical testing and prediction.

SHRIMP-RG U-Pb isotopic systematics of zircon from the Angel Lake orthogneiss, East Humboldt Range, Nevada: is this really Archean crust? REPLY

USGS Publications Warehouse

Premo, Wayne R.

2010-01-01

The comments from McGrew and Snoke are well received and their concerns for the interpretations in our paper (Premo et al., 2008), which questions the original contention that the Angel Lake orthogneiss is an Archean rock, are many and varied—all of which we will attempt to address. As they point out, this issue is an important one as this particular crustal exposure may delimit the southwestern extent of the Archean Wyoming province (Foster et al., 2006; Mueller and Frost, 2006), which has implications for the true crustal evolution of this region of the Great Basin and perhaps more importantly its relationship (if any) to the location of the world-class gold deposits of north-central Nevada (e.g., Howard, 2003).

That liver lesion on MDCT in the oncology patient: is it important?

PubMed Central

Thakrar, Kiran H.; Wenzke, Daniel R.; Newmark, Geraldine M.; Mehta, Uday K.; Berlin, Jonathan W.

2012-01-01

Abstract Multidetector-row computed tomography (MDCT) has become the primary imaging test for the staging and follow-up of most malignancies that originate outside of the central nervous system. Technical advances in this imaging technique have led to significant improvement in the detection of metastatic disease to the liver. An unintended by-product of this improving diagnostic acumen is the discovery of incidental hepatic lesions in oncology patients that in the past remained undetected. These ubiquitous, incidentally identified hepatic lesions have created a management dilemma for both clinicians and radiologists: are these lesions benign or do they represent metastases? Naturally, the answer to this question has profound prognostic and therapeutic implications. In this review, guidelines concerning the diagnosis and management of some of the more common hepatic incidental lesions detected in patients with extrahepatic malignancies are presented. PMID:23023318

Changes in Aleut concerns following the stakeholder-driven Amchitka independent science assessment.

PubMed

Burger, Joanna; Gochfeld, Michael

2009-08-01

There is widespread agreement that stakeholders should be included in the problem-formulation phase of addressing environment problems and, more recently, there have been attempts to include stakeholders in other phases of environmental research. However, there are few studies that evaluate the effects of including stakeholders in all phases of research aimed at solving environmental problems. Three underground nuclear blasts were detonated on Amchitka Island from 1965 to 1971. Considerable controversy developed when the Department of Energy (DOE) decided to "close" Amchitka. Concerns were voiced by subsistence Aleuts living in the region, resource trustees, and the State of Alaska, among others. This article evaluates perceptions of residents of three Aleutian village before (2003) and after (2005) the Consortium for Risk Evaluation with Stakeholder Participation's (CRESP) Amchitka Independent Science Assessment (AISA). The CRESP AISA provided technical information on radionuclide levels in biota to inform questions of seafood safety and food chain health. CRESP used the questions asked at public meetings in the Aleut communities of Atka, Nikolski, and Unalaska to evaluate attitudes and perceptions before and after the AISA. Major concerns before the AISA were credibility/trust of CRESP and the DOE, and information about biological methodology of the study. Following the AISA, people were most concerned about health effects and risk reduction, and trust issues with CRESP declined while those for the DOE remained stable. People's relative concerns about radionuclides declined, while their concerns about mercury (not addressed in the AISA) increased, and interest in ecological issues (population changes of local species) and the future (continued biomonitoring) increased from 2003 to 2005. These results suggest that questions posed at public meetings can be used to evaluate changes in attitudes and perceptions following environmental research, and the results are consistent with the hypothesis that the AISA answered questions about radionuclides, and lowered overall concern about radionuclides, but left unanswered concerns about the health effects of mercury.

Changes in Aleut Concerns Following the Stakeholder-Driven Amchitka Independent Science Assessment

PubMed Central

Burger, Joanna; Gochfeld, Michael

2014-01-01

There is widespread agreement that stakeholders should be included in the problem-formulation phase of addressing environment problems and, more recently, there have been attempts to include stakeholders in other phases of environmental research. However, there are few studies that evaluate the effects of including stakeholders in all phases of research aimed at solving environmental problems. Three underground nuclear blasts were detonated on Amchitka Island from 1965 to 1971. Considerable controversy developed when the Department of Energy (DOE) decided to “close” Amchitka. Concerns were voiced by subsistence Aleuts living in the region, resource trustees, and the State of Alaska, among others. This article evaluates perceptions of residents of three Aleutian village before (2003) and after (2005) the Consortium for Risk Evaluation with Stakeholder Participation’s (CRESP) Amchitka Independent Science Assessment (AISA). The CRESP AISA provided technical information on radionuclide levels in biota to inform questions of seafood safety and food chain health. CRESP used the questions asked at public meetings in the Aleut communities of Atka, Nikolski, and Unalaska to evaluate attitudes and perceptions before and after the AISA. Major concerns before the AISA were credibility/trust of CRESP and the DOE, and information about biological methodology of the study. Following the AISA, people were most concerned about health effects and risk reduction, and trust issues with CRESP declined while those for the DOE remained stable. People’s relative concerns about radionuclides declined, while their concerns about mercury (not addressed in the AISA) increased, and interest in ecological issues (population changes of local species) and the future (continued biomonitoring) increased from 2003 to 2005. These results suggest that questions posed at public meetings can be used to evaluate changes in attitudes and perceptions following environmental research, and the results are consistent with the hypothesis that the AISA answered questions about radionuclides, and lowered overall concern about radionuclides, but left unanswered concerns about the health effects of mercury. PMID:19178657

Negotiating plausibility: intervening in the future of nanotechnology.

PubMed

Selin, Cynthia

2011-12-01

The national-level scenarios project NanoFutures focuses on the social, political, economic, and ethical implications of nanotechnology, and is initiated by the Center for Nanotechnology in Society at Arizona State University (CNS-ASU). The project involves novel methods for the development of plausible visions of nanotechnology-enabled futures, elucidates public preferences for various alternatives, and, using such preferences, helps refine future visions for research and outreach. In doing so, the NanoFutures project aims to address a central question: how to deliberate the social implications of an emergent technology whose outcomes are not known. The solution pursued by the NanoFutures project is twofold. First, NanoFutures limits speculation about the technology to plausible visions. This ambition introduces a host of concerns about the limits of prediction, the nature of plausibility, and how to establish plausibility. Second, it subjects these visions to democratic assessment by a range of stakeholders, thus raising methodological questions as to who are relevant stakeholders and how to activate different communities so as to engage the far future. This article makes the dilemmas posed by decisions about such methodological issues transparent and therefore articulates the role of plausibility in anticipatory governance.

A Critical Analysis of Assessment Quality in Genomics and Bioinformatics Education Research

PubMed Central

Campbell, Chad E.; Nehm, Ross H.

2013-01-01

The growing importance of genomics and bioinformatics methods and paradigms in biology has been accompanied by an explosion of new curricula and pedagogies. An important question to ask about these educational innovations is whether they are having a meaningful impact on students’ knowledge, attitudes, or skills. Although assessments are necessary tools for answering this question, their outputs are dependent on their quality. Our study 1) reviews the central importance of reliability and construct validity evidence in the development and evaluation of science assessments and 2) examines the extent to which published assessments in genomics and bioinformatics education (GBE) have been developed using such evidence. We identified 95 GBE articles (out of 226) that contained claims of knowledge increases, affective changes, or skill acquisition. We found that 1) the purpose of most of these studies was to assess summative learning gains associated with curricular change at the undergraduate level, and 2) a minority (<10%) of studies provided any reliability or validity evidence, and only one study out of the 95 sampled mentioned both validity and reliability. Our findings raise concerns about the quality of evidence derived from these instruments. We end with recommendations for improving assessment quality in GBE. PMID:24006400

75 FR 45693 - Request for Comments and Notice of Public Hearing Concerning China's Compliance With WTO Commitments

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2010-08-03

... Concerning China's Compliance With WTO Commitments AGENCY: Office of the United States Trade Representative. ACTION: Request for comments and notice of public hearing concerning China's compliance with its WTO.... FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For procedural questions concerning written comments or participation...

On Intensive Late Holocene Iron Mining and Production in the Northern Congo Basin and the Environmental Consequences Associated with Metallurgy in Central Africa.

PubMed

Lupo, Karen D; Schmitt, Dave N; Kiahtipes, Christopher A; Ndanga, Jean-Paul; Young, D Craig; Simiti, Bernard

2015-01-01

An ongoing question in paleoenvironmental reconstructions of the central African rainforest concerns the role that prehistoric metallurgy played in shaping forest vegetation. Here we report evidence of intensive iron-ore mining and smelting in forested regions of the northern Congo Basin dating to the late Holocene. Volumetric estimates on extracted iron-ore and associated slag mounds from prehistoric sites in the southern Central African Republic suggest large-scale iron production on par with other archaeological and historically-known iron fabrication areas. These data document the first evidence of intensive iron mining and production spanning approximately 90 years prior to colonial occupation (circa AD 1889) and during an interval of time that is poorly represented in the archaeological record. Additional site areas pre-dating these remains by 3-4 centuries reflect an earlier period of iron production on a smaller scale. Microbotanical evidence from a sediment core collected from an adjacent riparian trap shows a reduction in shade-demanding trees in concert with an increase in light-demanding species spanning the time interval associated with iron intensification. This shift occurs during the same time interval when many portions of the Central African witnessed forest transgressions associated with a return to moister and more humid conditions beginning 500-100 years ago. Although data presented here do not demonstrate that iron smelting activities caused widespread vegetation change in Central Africa, we argue that intense mining and smelting can have localized and potentially regional impacts on vegetation communities. These data further demonstrate the high value of pairing archeological and paleoenvironmental analyses to reconstruct regional-scale forest histories.

On Intensive Late Holocene Iron Mining and Production in the Northern Congo Basin and the Environmental Consequences Associated with Metallurgy in Central Africa

PubMed Central

Lupo, Karen D.; Schmitt, Dave N.; Kiahtipes, Christopher A.; Ndanga, Jean-Paul; Young, D. Craig; Simiti, Bernard

2015-01-01

An ongoing question in paleoenvironmental reconstructions of the central African rainforest concerns the role that prehistoric metallurgy played in shaping forest vegetation. Here we report evidence of intensive iron-ore mining and smelting in forested regions of the northern Congo Basin dating to the late Holocene. Volumetric estimates on extracted iron-ore and associated slag mounds from prehistoric sites in the southern Central African Republic suggest large-scale iron production on par with other archaeological and historically-known iron fabrication areas. These data document the first evidence of intensive iron mining and production spanning approximately 90 years prior to colonial occupation (circa AD 1889) and during an interval of time that is poorly represented in the archaeological record. Additional site areas pre-dating these remains by 3-4 centuries reflect an earlier period of iron production on a smaller scale. Microbotanical evidence from a sediment core collected from an adjacent riparian trap shows a reduction in shade-demanding trees in concert with an increase in light-demanding species spanning the time interval associated with iron intensification. This shift occurs during the same time interval when many portions of the Central African witnessed forest transgressions associated with a return to moister and more humid conditions beginning 500-100 years ago. Although data presented here do not demonstrate that iron smelting activities caused widespread vegetation change in Central Africa, we argue that intense mining and smelting can have localized and potentially regional impacts on vegetation communities. These data further demonstrate the high value of pairing archeological and paleoenvironmental analyses to reconstruct regional-scale forest histories. PMID:26161540

NORTHROP REACTOR. REVISION NO. 1 TO THE FINAL SAFEGUARDS REPORT

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Duncan, J.M.; Shimizu, B.; Romine, R.A.

1962-10-01

Additions and changes related to the original application concerning construction and operation of the Northrop Reactor are given. Answers to 13 questions relative to the Final Safeguards Report are included. Answers are also included concerning 12 questions regarding receipt, possession, and storage of fuel elements. Other information is included concerning personnel changes and changes from Al-clad fuel elements to improved stainless steelclad hydride elements. It is concluded that the improved Northrop Reactor does not present any undue hazard to the health and safety of the operating personnel or the public. (J.R.D.)

Main information requests of family members of patients in Intensive Care Units.

PubMed

Velasco Bueno, J M; Alonso-Ovies, A; Heras La Calle, G; Zaforteza Lallemand, C

2017-11-03

To compile an inventory of information requests prioritized by the family members, to find out which professionals them consider able to respond these requests, and to explore the differences in perception between family members and professionals. Qualitative analysis of content validation and descriptive cross-sectional study. 41 Spanish ICU. Relatives, physicians and nurses of critical patients. From an initial list of questions extracted from literature review, physicians, nurses, and relatives of critical patients incorporated issues that they considered not included. After analyzing content validity, a new list was obtained, which was again submitted to the participants' assessment to evaluate the level of importance that they assigned to each question and which professional they considered appropriate to answer it. most important questions for the relatives: concern about the clinical situation, measures to be taken, prognosis and information. There was a coincidence between relatives and professionals in the priority issues for families. There were significant differences in the importance given to each question: between doctors and relatives (72/82 questions), and between nurses and relatives (66/82 questions) (P<.05). For the relatives, 63% of the questions could be answered by doctors or nurses, 27% preferably by doctors and 10% by nurses. The most relevant issues for families were prognosis and severity, but also the need for information. Healthcare professionals tend to underestimate the importance of many of the questions that concern families. Relatives feel that most of their concerns can be resolved either by doctors or nurses. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier España, S.L.U. y SEMICYUC. All rights reserved.

The information needs of patients receiving procedural sedation in a hospital emergency department.

PubMed

Revell, Sue; Searle, Judy; Thompson, Shona

2017-07-01

This research investigated the information needs of patients receiving ED procedural sedation to determine the best format to consistently deliver key information in a way acceptable to all involved. Of particular interest was the question concerning patients' need for receiving written information. A descriptive exploratory study gathered qualitative data through face-to-face interviews and focus groups involving patients, nurses and medical staff. Individual interviews were conducted with eight adult patients following procedural sedation. They identified very few gaps in terms of specific information they needed pertaining to procedural sedation and rejected the need for receiving information in a written format. Their information needs related to a central concern for safety and trust. Focus groups, reflecting on the findings from patients, were conducted with five ED nurses and four emergency medicine consultants/registrars who regularly provided procedural sedation. Themes that emerged from the analysis of data from all three groups identified the issues concerning patient information needs as being: competence and efficiency of staff; explanations of procedures and progress; support person presence; and medico-legal issues. The research confirms that the quality of the patient's ED experience, specifically related to procedural sedation, is enhanced by ED staff, especially nurses, providing them with ongoing and repeated verbal information relevant to their circumstances. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Different shades of green: a case study of support for wind farms in the rural midwest.

PubMed

Mulvaney, Kate K; Woodson, Patrick; Prokopy, Linda Stalker

2013-05-01

Benton County, in north-central Indiana, USA has successfully sited more than 500 turbines. To understand Benton County's acceptance of wind farms, a holistic case study was conducted that included a document review, a survey of local residents and interviews with key stakeholders. Survey questionnaires were sent to 750 residents asking questions about attitudes toward the wind farms, perceived benefits and impacts from the wind farms, environmental attitudes, and demographic information. Key stakeholders were also interviewed for a deeper understanding of the historical timeline and community acceptance of the wind farm development. While there is limited opposition to the turbines, on the whole the community presents a front of acceptance. Financial, rather than environmental, benefits are the main reason for the acceptance. Although significant in other case studies, transparency and participation do not play a large role in Benton County's acceptance. Most residents are not concerned with either visual impacts or noise from the wind turbines. More concrete benefits to the community, such as reduced energy bills for county residents, could help to extend acceptance even further within the community. Although there are concerns about the acceptance of wind farms and the impacts of those farms on local residents in both peer-reviewed literature and popular media, we found little evidence of those concerns in Benton County. Instead, we found Benton County to be a community largely accepting of wind farms.

Different Shades of Green: A Case Study of Support for Wind Farms in the Rural Midwest

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mulvaney, Kate K.; Woodson, Patrick; Prokopy, Linda Stalker

2013-05-01

Benton County, in north-central Indiana, USA has successfully sited more than 500 turbines. To understand Benton County's acceptance of wind farms, a holistic case study was conducted that included a document review, a survey of local residents and interviews with key stakeholders. Survey questionnaires were sent to 750 residents asking questions about attitudes toward the wind farms, perceived benefits and impacts from the wind farms, environmental attitudes, and demographic information. Key stakeholders were also interviewed for a deeper understanding of the historical timeline and community acceptance of the wind farm development. While there is limited opposition to the turbines, on the whole the community presents a front of acceptance. Financial, rather than environmental, benefits are the main reason for the acceptance. Although significant in other case studies, transparency and participation do not play a large role in Benton County's acceptance. Most residents are not concerned with either visual impacts or noise from the wind turbines. More concrete benefits to the community, such as reduced energy bills for county residents, could help to extend acceptance even further within the community. Although there are concerns about the acceptance of wind farms and the impacts of those farms on local residents in both peer-reviewed literature and popular media, we found little evidence of those concerns in Benton County. Instead, we found Benton County to be a community largely accepting of wind farms.

Designing a community engagement framework for a new dengue control method: a case study from central Vietnam.

PubMed

McNaughton, Darlene; Duong, Thi Thu Huong

2014-05-01

The Wolbachia strategy aims to manipulate mosquito populations to make them incapable of transmitting dengue viruses between people. To test its efficacy, this strategy requires field trials. Public consultation and engagement are recognized as critical to the future success of these programs, but questions remain regarding how to proceed. This paper reports on a case study where social research was used to design a community engagement framework for a new dengue control method, at a potential release site in central Vietnam. The approach described here, draws on an anthropological methodology and uses both qualitative and quantitative methods to design an engagement framework tailored to the concerns, expectations, and socio-political setting of a potential trial release site for Wolbachia-infected Aedes aegypti mosquitoes. The process, research activities, key findings and how these were responded to are described. Safety of the method to humans and the environment was the most common and significant concern, followed by efficacy and impact on local lives. Residents expected to be fully informed and engaged about the science, the project, its safety, the release and who would be responsible should something go wrong. They desired a level of engagement that included regular updates and authorization from government and at least one member of every household at the release site. Results demonstrate that social research can provide important and reliable insights into public concerns and expectations at a potential release site, as well as guidance on how these might be addressed. Findings support the argument that using research to develop more targeted, engagement frameworks can lead to more sensitive, thorough, culturally comprehensible and therefore ethical consultation processes. This approach has now been used successfully to seek public input and eventually support for releases Wolbachia-infected mosquitoes, in two different international settings--Australia and Vietnam.

Designing a Community Engagement Framework for a New Dengue Control Method: A Case Study from Central Vietnam

PubMed Central

McNaughton, Darlene; Duong, Thi Thu Huong

2014-01-01

Background The Wolbachia strategy aims to manipulate mosquito populations to make them incapable of transmitting dengue viruses between people. To test its efficacy, this strategy requires field trials. Public consultation and engagement are recognized as critical to the future success of these programs, but questions remain regarding how to proceed. This paper reports on a case study where social research was used to design a community engagement framework for a new dengue control method, at a potential release site in central Vietnam. Methodology/Principal Findings The approach described here, draws on an anthropological methodology and uses both qualitative and quantitative methods to design an engagement framework tailored to the concerns, expectations, and socio-political setting of a potential trial release site for Wolbachia-infected Aedes aegypti mosquitoes. The process, research activities, key findings and how these were responded to are described. Safety of the method to humans and the environment was the most common and significant concern, followed by efficacy and impact on local lives. Residents expected to be fully informed and engaged about the science, the project, its safety, the release and who would be responsible should something go wrong. They desired a level of engagement that included regular updates and authorization from government and at least one member of every household at the release site. Conclusions/Significance Results demonstrate that social research can provide important and reliable insights into public concerns and expectations at a potential release site, as well as guidance on how these might be addressed. Findings support the argument that using research to develop more targeted, engagement frameworks can lead to more sensitive, thorough, culturally comprehensible and therefore ethical consultation processes. This approach has now been used successfully to seek public input and eventually support for releases Wolbachia-infected mosquitoes, in two different international settings - Australia and Vietnam. PMID:24853391

77 FR 43078 - Federal Acquisition Regulation; Information Collection; Central Contractor Registration

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2012-07-23

...; Information Collection; Central Contractor Registration AGENCY: Department of Defense (DOD), General Services... requirement concerning the Central Contractor Registration database. Public comments are particularly invited... Information Collection 9000- 0159, Central Contractor Registration, by any of the following methods...

78 FR 12316 - Federal Acquisition Regulation; Information Collection; Central Contractor Registration

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2013-02-22

...; Information Collection; Central Contractor Registration AGENCIES: Department of Defense (DOD), General... collection requirement concerning the Central Contractor Registration database. A notice was published in the... Information Collection 9000- 0159, Central Contractor Registration, by any of the following methods...

MAD Submission Form

Science.gov Websites

best answered by professional advice/consulting. Questions concerning the development of commercial products or the operation of a commercial organization. Questions answered by basic references, such as

How Physician Assistant Programs Use the CASPA Personal Statement in Their Admissions Process.

PubMed

Lopes, John E; Badur, Michalina; Weis, Nicole

2016-06-01

This research surveyed physician assistant (PA) program admissions personnel to determine how the Central Application Service for Physician Assistants (CASPA) personal statements are used, what influence the statements had on certain admissions processes, whether there was any concern about authorship of the statements, and how important certain previously identified content themes were to admissions committees and personnel. The PA programs participating in CASPA were contacted and interviewed using a computer-assisted telephone interview system. Participants were asked a series of open-ended questions related to the usefulness of the personal statement and asked to score certain items using a Likert-type scale. The response rate for the telephone survey was 75%. Most of the programs (93%) used the personal statement in the applicant review process, and almost two-thirds (62%) indicated that the statement was useful or very useful. Three-fourths (76%) of respondents sometimes or always used the statement for the selection of candidates for interviews. Only 29% of respondents were very to extremely concerned that the statements were not written by the applicants. Despite the observation that the statements were relatively homogeneous in content, respondents ranked identified content themes as an important influence on decision-making. Almost all respondents used the personal statement in their admissions process, usually in the selection of interviewees. Although there was some concern that the statements were not the original work of the applicant, less than a third of respondents were very concerned about this possibility. The homogeneity of the statements was also a concern, but the importance placed on the identified theme content areas validates the applicants' inclusion of these themes in the statements.

ANSWERS TO QUESTIONS MOST FREQUENTLY ASKED BY VISITORS TO FLINT'S COMMUNITY SCHOOLS.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Flint Board of Education, MI.

QUESTIONS ARE RAISED CONCERNING THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN THE MOTT FOUNDATION PROGRAM, THE FLINT BOARD OF EDUCATION, THE COST OF THE PROGRAM, AND THE ADMINISTRATION OF THE COMMUNITY SCHOOL PROGRAM. QUESTIONS PERTAINING TO THE COMMUNITY SCHOOL DIRECTOR RANGE FROM HIS ROLE TO HIS ON-THE-JOB TRAINING. QUESTIONS PERTAINING TO ADULT EDUCATION AND THE…

30 CFR 250.1200 - Question index table.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-07-01

... 30 Mineral Resources 2 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false Question index table. 250.1200 Section 250.1200... Security § 250.1200 Question index table. The table in this section lists questions concerning Oil and Gas... requirements for a periodic well test used for allocation? § 250.1204(b) 21. What are the requirements for site...

Use of Discriminatory Questions in Screening Interviews.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Jablin, Fredric M.

1982-01-01

Fifty-six college placement directors perceived that five percent of the on-campus job recruiters ask illegal questions concerning applicants' sex, age, national origin, race or color, handicaps, or religion. Forty percent of the student applicants are judged to be unaware of illegal questioning. (Author/MLF)

Privacy Questions from Practicing School Nurses

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bergren, Martha Dewey

2004-01-01

This Question and Answer (Q&A) article addresses practice issues related to school health records and school nursing documentation that were posed by school nurses in the field. Specifically, the questions addressed concern the following: education records, medication privacy issues, sharing of sensitive health information, privacy of…

32 CFR 154.10 - Limitations and restrictions.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-07-01

... necessary for a proper personnel security determination. Questions concerning personal and domestic affairs... question is relevant to the criteria of § 154.7. Similarly, the probing of a person's thoughts or beliefs and questions about conduct that have no personnel security implications are unwarranted. When...

32 CFR 154.10 - Limitations and restrictions.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-07-01

... necessary for a proper personnel security determination. Questions concerning personal and domestic affairs... question is relevant to the criteria of § 154.7. Similarly, the probing of a person's thoughts or beliefs and questions about conduct that have no personnel security implications are unwarranted. When...

Natural development and regeneration of a Central European montane spruce forest

Treesearch

Miroslav Svoboda; Shawn Fraver; Pavel Janda; Radek Bače; Jitka Zenáhlíková

2010-01-01

Montane Norway spruce forests of Central Europe have a very long tradition of use for timber production; however, recently there has been increasing concern for their role in maintaining biological diversity. This concern, coupled with recent severe windstorms that led to wide-spread bark beetle outbreaks, has brought the management of montane spruce forests to the...

Development of a central hardwood stand following whole-tree clearcutting in Connecticut

Treesearch

C. Wayne Martin

1995-01-01

Little information is available concerning the initial stages of forest regeneration following intensive harvesting of central hardwood stands in the northeastern part of the range. Establishment of commercial species, density, and rate of biomass accumulation of the regeneration are of major concern to both foresters and landowners contemplating a harvest. To help...

Along paths converging to Bengt Saltin's early contributions in exercise physiology.

PubMed

Schantz, P

2015-12-01

A fascinating chain of events led in 1941 to the formation of the Department of Physiology at the Royal Gymnastic Central Institute (GCI) in Stockholm, Sweden. Erik Hohwü Christensen, from the scientifically advanced Lindhard School in Copenhagen became its first professor. A central research question for him concerned determining the limiting factors for maximal physical performance in man. This was the academic setting where the sports interested medical student Bengt Saltin was introduced to exercise physiology. In the summer of 1959, he became involved in a study on intermittent vs continuous running. A doctoral project, with Per-Olof Åstrand as his tutor, resulted in 1964 as the thesis "Aerobic work capacity and circulation at exercise in man. With special reference to the effect of prolonged exercise and/or heat exposure". In the decade that followed, Saltin continued along that path. However, he also added a vital research line involving pioneering studies on skeletal muscles in the exercising man, a series of novel studies on the physiological demands in various sports, and studies of the effects of physical training within the general population. © 2015 The Authors. Scandinavian Journal of Medicine & Science in Sports published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Measurement, "scriptural economies," and social justice: governing HIV/AIDS treatments by numbers in a fragile state, the Central African Republic (CAR).

PubMed

David, Pierre-Marie

2017-04-01

Fragile states have been raising increasing concern among donors since the mid-2000s. The policies of the Global Fund to fight HIV/AIDS, Malaria, and Tuberculosis (GF) have not excluded fragile states, and this source has provided financing for these countries according to standardized procedures. They represent interesting cases for exploring the meaning and role of measurement in a globalized context. Measurement in the field of HIV/AIDS and its treatment has given rise to a private outsourcing of expertise and auditing, thereby creating a new form of value based on the social process of registration and the creation of realities produced by the intervention itself. These "scriptural economies" must be questioned in terms of the production of knowledge, but also in terms of social justice. Governing HIV/AIDS treatments by numbers in a fragile state is explored in this article through the experience of the Central African Republic (CAR) in terms of epidemiology and access to antiretroviral drugs. The unexpected effects of performance-based programs in this context underline the need for global health governance to be re-embedded into a social justice framework. © 2016 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Antiretroviral Treatment in HIV-1-Positive Mothers: Neurological Implications in Virus-Free Children

PubMed Central

Coelho, Antonio Victor Campos; Tricarico, Paola Maura; Celsi, Fulvio; Crovella, Sergio

2017-01-01

Since the worldwide introduction of antiretroviral therapy (ART) in human immunodeficiency virus type 1, HIV-1-positive mothers, together with HIV-1 testing prior to pregnancy, caesarian birth and breastfeeding cessation with replacement feeding, a reduction of HIV-1 mother-to-child transmission (MTCT) has been observed in the last few years. As such, an increasing number of children are being exposed in utero to ART. Several questions have arisen concerning the neurological effects of ART exposure in utero, considering the potential effect of antiretroviral drugs on the central nervous system, a structure which is in continuous development in the fetus and characterized by great plasticity. This review aims at discussing the possible neurological impairment of children exposed to ART in utero, focusing attention on the drugs commonly used for HIV-1 MTCT prevention, clinical reports of ART neurotoxicity in children born to HIV-1-positive mothers, and neurologic effects of protease inhibitors (PIs), especially ritonavir-“boosted” lopinavir (LPV/r) in cell and animal central nervous system models evaluating the potential neurotoxic effect of ART. Finally, we present the findings of a meta-analysis to assess the effects on the neurodevelopment of children exposed to ART in utero. PMID:28212307

ABC transporters and cytochromes P450 in the human central nervous system: influence on brain pharmacokinetics and contribution to neurodegenerative disorders.

PubMed

Dutheil, Fabien; Jacob, Aude; Dauchy, Sandrine; Beaune, Philippe; Scherrmann, Jean-Michel; Declèves, Xavier; Loriot, Marie-Anne

2010-10-01

The identification of xenobiotic metabolizing enzymes (i.e., CYP) and transporters (i.e., ABC transporters) (XMET) in the human brain, including the BBB, raises the question whether these transporters and enzymes have specific functions in brain physiology, neuropharmacology and toxicology. Relevant literature was identified using PubMed search articles published up to March 2010. Search terms included 'ABC transporters and P450 or CYP', 'drug metabolism, effect and toxicity' and 'neurodegenerative disease (Alzheimer and Parkinson diseases)' restricted to the field of 'brain or human brain'. This review aims to provide a better understanding of XMET functions in the human brain and show their pharmacological importance for improving drug delivery and efficacy and also for managing their side effects. Finally, the impact of brain XMET activity during neurodegenerative processes is discussed, giving an opportunity to identify new markers of human brain diseases. During the last 2 decades, much evidence concerning the specific distribution patterns of XMET, their induction by xenobiotics and endobiotics and their genetic variations have made cerebral ABC transporters and CYP enzymes key elements in the way individual patients respond to centrally acting drugs.

Rethinking schools of public health: a strategic alliance model.

PubMed

Moloughney, Brent W; Skinner, Harvey A

2006-01-01

Canada is in the midst of rejuvenation of public health organizations, mandates and infrastructure. Major planning exercises are underway regarding public health human resources, where academic institutions have a key role to play. To what extent could schools of public health be part of the solution? Many universities across Canada are considering or in the process of implementing MPH programs (some 17 programs planned and/or underway) and possible schools of public health. However, concerns are raised about critical mass, quality and standards. We encourage innovation and debate about ways to enhance collaborative and structural arrangements for education programs. A school of public health model might emerge from this, but so too might other models. Also, novel types of organizational structure need consideration. One example is a "strategic alliance" model that is broad-based, integrative and adaptive--building on the interdisciplinary focus needed for addressing public health concerns in the 21st century. From our perspective, the central question is: what (new) types of organizational structures and, equally important, collaborative networks will enable Canada to strengthen its public health workforce so that it may better address local and global challenges to public health?

'With woman' philosophy: examining the evidence, answering the questions.

PubMed

Carolan, Mary; Hodnett, Ellen

2007-06-01

'With woman', 'woman centred' and 'in partnership with women' are new terms associated with midwifery care in Australia, and the underlying philosophy has emerged both as an antidote to the medicalisation of pregnancy and in a bid to reacquaint women with their natural capacity to give birth successfully and without intervention. A reorientation of midwifery services in the 1990s, a shift towards midwifery-led care (MLC) and the subsequent introduction of direct entry midwifery programs all contributed to this new direction. Central concepts are a focus on the childbearing woman and a valuing of women's experiences. While this philosophical re-alignment has been applauded by many midwives in terms of maternal empowerment and improved autonomy for midwives, there are nonetheless some concerns that, with its emphasis on normality, midwifery-led care is in danger of becoming an exclusionary model. Particular concerns include meeting the needs of a growing cohort of women, those with 'high risk' pregnancies, and the educational adequacy of direct entry midwifery programs. To date, there has been no thorough evaluation of this emerging midwifery philosophy in Australia. In order to open the debate, this paper aims to initiate a discussion of 'with woman' midwifery care as it applies to Australian practice.

Teacher Communication Concerns Revisited: Calling into Question the Gnawing Pull towards Equilibrium

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Dannels, Deanna P.

2015-01-01

This study revisits the long-standing teacher communication concerns framework originating over three decades ago. Analysis of 10 years of contemporary GTA teacher communication concerns reveals a typology of 10 concerns, which taken together construct teaching as a process of negotiating relationships, managing identities, and focusing attention.…

Some questions concerning safety on emergency landing in dense layers of the atmosphere of radionuclide energy sources based on plutonium-238 for autonomous station {open_quote}{open_quote}MARS-94/96{close_quote}{close_quote}

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Makhorin, O.I.; Pustovalov, A.A.; Zhabin, V.N.

1996-03-01

This paper describes results of investigations of questions concerning integrity keeping for an ampula containing radionuclide fuel (Pu-238) under conditions of emergency landing in dense layers of the atmosphere and under conditions of fire on launching pad. {copyright} {ital 1996 American Institute of Physics.}

New Pharmacology Studies on the ISS

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Wotring, Virginia E.; Pour, S.

2015-01-01

It is known that medications degrade over time and that extreme storage conditions will hasten their degradation. This is the basis of the HRP Risk of Ineffective or Toxic Medications Due to Long Term Storage. Gaps include questions about the effects of the spaceflight environment and about the potential for safe use of medications beyond their expiration dates. There are also open questions regarding effects of the spaceflight environment on human physiology and subsequent changes in how medications act on the body; these unanswered questions gave rise to the HRP Concern of Clinically Relevant Unpredicted Effects of Medication. Studies designed to address this Risk and Concern are described below.

Formative student-authored question bank: perceptions, question quality and association with summative performance.

PubMed

Walsh, Jason L; Harris, Benjamin H L; Denny, Paul; Smith, Phil

2018-02-01

There are few studies on the value of authoring questions as a study method, the quality of the questions produced by students and student perceptions of student-authored question banks. Here we evaluate PeerWise, a widely used and free online resource that allows students to author, answer and discuss multiple-choice questions. We introduced two undergraduate medical student cohorts to PeerWise (n=603). We looked at their patterns of PeerWise usage; identified associations between student engagement and summative exam performance; and used focus groups to assess student perceptions of the value of PeerWise for learning. We undertook item analysis to assess question difficulty and quality. Over two academic years, the two cohorts wrote 4671 questions, answered questions 606 658 times and posted 7735 comments. Question writing frequency correlated most strongly with summative performance (Spearman's rank: 0.24, p=<0.001). Student focus groups found that: (1) students valued curriculum specificity; and (2) students were concerned about student-authored question quality. Only two questions of the 300 'most-answered' questions analysed had an unacceptable discriminatory value (point-biserial correlation <0.2). Item analysis suggested acceptable question quality despite student concerns. Quantitative and qualitative methods indicated that PeerWise is a valuable study tool. © Article author(s) (or their employer(s) unless otherwise stated in the text of the article) 2018. All rights reserved. No commercial use is permitted unless otherwise expressly granted.

On the impacts of traditional Chinese culture on organ donation.

PubMed

Cai, Yu

2013-04-01

This article examines the impact of traditional Chinese culture on organ donation from the perspective of Confucianism, Buddhism, and Taoism. In each of these cultural systems, it appears that there are some particular sayings or remarks that are often taken in modern Chinese society to be contrary to organ donation, especially cadaveric organ donation. However, this article argues that the central concerns of Buddhism, Confucianism, and Taoism are "great love," "ren," and "dao," which can be reasonably interpreted to support organ donation. The author understands that each cultural system, in order to play its cultural function, must have its central concerns as well as relevant ritual practices (li) that incarnate its religious and ethical commitments. That is, each plays a general cultural role, which influences organ donation in particular not merely through abstract or general ethical principles and teachings, but through a combination of ethical teachings and the forming of particular ritual practices. This article contends that the primary reason Chinese individuals fail to donate sufficient cadaveric organs for transplantation is not because particular remarks or sayings from each of these systems appear to conflict with donation. Neither is it that the central concerns of these systems cannot support cadaveric donation. Rather, it is that modern Chinese individuals have failed to develop and secure relevant ritual practices that support the central concerns of organ transplantation. The article concludes that in order to promote more donations, there is a need to form relevant ritual practices supporting organ donation in conformity with the central concerns of these cultural systems.

The Basic Epistemological Questions--Are There Also Valid Answers?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Oderman, Dale B.

Epistemology is the branch of philosophy that seeks answers to two main questions: How do we know? and How do we know we know? This paper is concerned with how four major schools of thought have addressed these questions and the implications that their answers to these questions have for education. The paper begins by discussing how four major…

Report on Questions Raised and Requests Made at the 1980 National Conference of Librarians Serving Blind and Physically Handicapped Readers.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Library of Congress, Washington, DC. National Library Service for the Blind and Physically Handicapped.

Using a question and answer format, this report provides answers to a wide variety of questions and requests about National Library Service policies and procedures, planning and development, reading materials, equipment, and publication services of concern to librarians serving these user groups. Questions directed to guest speakers and panelists…

Frequent Questions about TSCA CBI

EPA Pesticide Factsheets

General Questions and Answers Concerning Confidential Business Information (CBI) Provisions of the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA), as amended by the Frank R. Lautenberg Chemical Safety for the 21st Century Act

System Wide Information Management (SWIM)

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Hritz, Mike; McGowan, Shirley; Ramos, Cal

2004-01-01

This viewgraph presentation lists questions regarding the implementation of System Wide Information Management (SWIM). Some of the questions concern policy issues and strategies, technology issues and strategies, or transition issues and strategies.

First-Year Medical Students' Conceptual Understanding of and Resistance to Conceptual Change Concerning the Central Cardiovascular System

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Mikkila-Erdmann, Mirjamaija; Sodervik, Ilona; Vilppu, Henna; Kaapa, Pekka; Olkinuora, Erkki

2012-01-01

Medical students often have initial understanding concerning medical domains, such as the central cardiovascular system (CCVS), when they enter the study programme. These notions may to some extent be in conflict with scientific understanding, which can be seen as a challenge for medical teaching. Hence, the purpose of this study was to analyse…

Questions and Answers: The Education of Exceptional Children. Report Number 73.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hensley, Gene; And Others

Written in question and answer form, the booklet provides brief responses to often asked questions by legislators and educators concerning the education of exceptional children. Among the topics covered are state and federal legislation; planning and accountability; finance; administration, classification, and placement; personnel utilization;…

More Questions than Answers: A Response to Stephens, Reeder, and Elder.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bhaerman, Robert D.

1992-01-01

Responds to the three main articles in this issue with questions concerning the development and use of policy-impact codes (rural-urban classification systems) for specific purposes in policymaking, research, and practice. Questions the necessity for policy-impact codes to ensure equity, adequacy, responsiveness, and appropriateness of rural…

Where Learners' Questions Meet Modes of Teaching: A Study of Cases

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

de Jesus, Helena Pedrosa; Almeida, Patricia; Teixeira-Dias, Jose J.; Watts, Mike

2007-01-01

This paper is concerned with "match-mismatch" problems. In particular it seeks to match students' questioning to different modes of teaching in undergraduate chemistry. Kolb's theory of experiential learning is used to bridge between learners' questioning and teaching formats. Three case studies illuminate both sets of characteristics, the…

Answers to the 50 Most Important Questions about Private Mental Health Practice.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Forman, Bruce D.; Silverman, Wade H.

Designed for anyone contemplating or presently established in private mental health practice, this book provides the answers to 50 pertinent questions concerning private practice. Questions were culled from a survey of graduate students in psychology, as well as experienced psychotherapists, psychiatrists, social workers, mental health counselors,…

What Does the Law Say?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Zirkel, Perry A.

2009-01-01

In this article, the author identifies and answers questions related to IDEA eligibility issues and the Free Appropriate Public Education (FAPE) regulation. The author's answers to several questions concerning legal issues are presented.

The Art of Questions: Inquiry, the CCSS, and School Librarians

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Wadham, Rachel

2013-01-01

This article examines the association among inquiry, the Common Core State Standards (CCSS) and school librarians. It explains the significance of asking questions, and describes the characteristics of the questions that are central to inquiry learning. The role of school librarians in inquiry learning and the implementation of CCSS is also…

"Staying on Task": What Constitutes Classwork in Peter Medway's "Finding a Language"?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Pangilinan, J. P.

2015-01-01

In "Finding a Language", Peter Medway addresses questions of central importance to English teaching--questions of curriculum and of pedagogy. How he addresses these questions provides a sharp contrast to the current orthodoxies of a rigidly prescriptive national curriculum and a closely monitored regime of objective-led, skills-based…

Public health workforce: challenges and policy issues

PubMed Central

Beaglehole, Robert; Dal Poz, Mario R

2003-01-01

This paper reviews the challenges facing the public health workforce in developing countries and the main policy issues that must be addressed in order to strengthen the public health workforce. The public health workforce is diverse and includes all those whose prime responsibility is the provision of core public health activities, irrespective of their organizational base. Although the public health workforce is central to the performance of health systems, very little is known about its composition, training or performance. The key policy question is: Should governments invest more in building and supporting the public health workforce and infrastructure to ensure the more effective functioning of health systems? Other questions concern: the nature of the public health workforce, including its size, composition, skills, training needs, current functions and performance; the appropriate roles of the workforce; and how the workforce can be strengthened to support new approaches to priority health problems. The available evidence to shed light on these policy issues is limited. The World Health Organization is supporting the development of evidence to inform discussion on the best approaches to strengthening public health capacity in developing countries. WHO's priorities are to build an evidence base on the size and structure of the public health workforce, beginning with ongoing data collection activities, and to map the current public health training programmes in developing countries and in Central and Eastern Europe. Other steps will include developing a consensus on the desired functions and activities of the public health workforce and developing a framework and methods for assisting countries to assess and enhance the performance of public health training institutions and of the public health workforce. PMID:12904251

General Substantiation Questions to Support CBI Claims

EPA Pesticide Factsheets

General Questions and Answers Concerning Confidential Business Information (CBI) Provisions of the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA), as amended by the Frank R. Lautenberg Chemical Safety for the 21st Century Act

Outcome of the First wwPDB/CCDC/D3R Ligand Validation Workshop

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Adams, Paul  D.; Aertgeerts, Kathleen; Bauer, Cary

Crystallographic studies of ligands bound to biological macromolecules (proteins and nucleic acids) represent an important source of information concerning drug-target interactions, providing atomic level insights into the physical chemistry of complex formation between macromolecules and ligands. Of the more than 115,000 entries extant in the Protein Data Bank archive, ~75% include at least one non-polymeric ligand. Ligand geometrical and stereochemical quality, the suitability of ligand models for in silico drug discovery/design, and the goodness-of-fit of ligand models to electron density maps vary widely across the archive. We describe the proceedings and conclusions from the first Worldwide Protein Data Bank/Cambridge Crystallographicmore » Data Centre/Drug Design Data Resource (wwPDB/CCDC/D3R) Ligand Validation Workshop held at the Research Collaboratory for Structural Bioinformatics at Rutgers University on July 30-31, 2015. Experts in protein crystallography from academe and industry came together with non-profit and for-profit software providers for crystallography and with experts in computational chemistry and data archiving to discuss and make recommendations on best practices, as framed by a series of questions central to structural studies of macromolecule-ligand complexes. What data concerning bound ligands should be archived in the Protein Data Bank? How should the ligands be best represented? How should structural models of macromolecule-ligand complexes be validated? What supplementary information should accompany publications of structural studies of biological macromolecules? Consensus recommendations on best practices developed in response to each of these questions are provided, together with some details regarding implementation. Important issues addressed but not resolved at the workshop are also enumerated.« less

Outcome of the First wwPDB/CCDC/D3R Ligand Validation Workshop

DOE PAGES

Adams, Paul  D.; Aertgeerts, Kathleen; Bauer, Cary; ...

2016-04-05

Crystallographic studies of ligands bound to biological macromolecules (proteins and nucleic acids) represent an important source of information concerning drug-target interactions, providing atomic level insights into the physical chemistry of complex formation between macromolecules and ligands. Of the more than 115,000 entries extant in the Protein Data Bank archive, ~75% include at least one non-polymeric ligand. Ligand geometrical and stereochemical quality, the suitability of ligand models for in silico drug discovery/design, and the goodness-of-fit of ligand models to electron density maps vary widely across the archive. We describe the proceedings and conclusions from the first Worldwide Protein Data Bank/Cambridge Crystallographicmore » Data Centre/Drug Design Data Resource (wwPDB/CCDC/D3R) Ligand Validation Workshop held at the Research Collaboratory for Structural Bioinformatics at Rutgers University on July 30-31, 2015. Experts in protein crystallography from academe and industry came together with non-profit and for-profit software providers for crystallography and with experts in computational chemistry and data archiving to discuss and make recommendations on best practices, as framed by a series of questions central to structural studies of macromolecule-ligand complexes. What data concerning bound ligands should be archived in the Protein Data Bank? How should the ligands be best represented? How should structural models of macromolecule-ligand complexes be validated? What supplementary information should accompany publications of structural studies of biological macromolecules? Consensus recommendations on best practices developed in response to each of these questions are provided, together with some details regarding implementation. Important issues addressed but not resolved at the workshop are also enumerated.« less

Outcome of the First wwPDB/CCDC/D3R Ligand Validation Workshop.

PubMed

Adams, Paul D; Aertgeerts, Kathleen; Bauer, Cary; Bell, Jeffrey A; Berman, Helen M; Bhat, Talapady N; Blaney, Jeff M; Bolton, Evan; Bricogne, Gerard; Brown, David; Burley, Stephen K; Case, David A; Clark, Kirk L; Darden, Tom; Emsley, Paul; Feher, Victoria A; Feng, Zukang; Groom, Colin R; Harris, Seth F; Hendle, Jorg; Holder, Thomas; Joachimiak, Andrzej; Kleywegt, Gerard J; Krojer, Tobias; Marcotrigiano, Joseph; Mark, Alan E; Markley, John L; Miller, Matthew; Minor, Wladek; Montelione, Gaetano T; Murshudov, Garib; Nakagawa, Atsushi; Nakamura, Haruki; Nicholls, Anthony; Nicklaus, Marc; Nolte, Robert T; Padyana, Anil K; Peishoff, Catherine E; Pieniazek, Susan; Read, Randy J; Shao, Chenghua; Sheriff, Steven; Smart, Oliver; Soisson, Stephen; Spurlino, John; Stouch, Terry; Svobodova, Radka; Tempel, Wolfram; Terwilliger, Thomas C; Tronrud, Dale; Velankar, Sameer; Ward, Suzanna C; Warren, Gregory L; Westbrook, John D; Williams, Pamela; Yang, Huanwang; Young, Jasmine

2016-04-05

Crystallographic studies of ligands bound to biological macromolecules (proteins and nucleic acids) represent an important source of information concerning drug-target interactions, providing atomic level insights into the physical chemistry of complex formation between macromolecules and ligands. Of the more than 115,000 entries extant in the Protein Data Bank (PDB) archive, ∼75% include at least one non-polymeric ligand. Ligand geometrical and stereochemical quality, the suitability of ligand models for in silico drug discovery and design, and the goodness-of-fit of ligand models to electron-density maps vary widely across the archive. We describe the proceedings and conclusions from the first Worldwide PDB/Cambridge Crystallographic Data Center/Drug Design Data Resource (wwPDB/CCDC/D3R) Ligand Validation Workshop held at the Research Collaboratory for Structural Bioinformatics at Rutgers University on July 30-31, 2015. Experts in protein crystallography from academe and industry came together with non-profit and for-profit software providers for crystallography and with experts in computational chemistry and data archiving to discuss and make recommendations on best practices, as framed by a series of questions central to structural studies of macromolecule-ligand complexes. What data concerning bound ligands should be archived in the PDB? How should the ligands be best represented? How should structural models of macromolecule-ligand complexes be validated? What supplementary information should accompany publications of structural studies of biological macromolecules? Consensus recommendations on best practices developed in response to each of these questions are provided, together with some details regarding implementation. Important issues addressed but not resolved at the workshop are also enumerated. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Outcome of the first wwPDB/CCDC/D3R Ligand Validation Workshop

PubMed Central

Adams, Paul D.; Aertgeerts, Kathleen; Bauer, Cary; Bell, Jeffrey A.; Berman, Helen M.; Bhat, Talapady N.; Blaney, Jeff; Bolton, Evan; Bricogne, Gerard; Brown, David; Burley, Stephen K.; Case, David A.; Clark, Kirk L.; Darden, Tom; Emsley, Paul; Feher, Victoria A.; Feng, Zukang; Groom, Colin R.; Harris, Seth F.; Hendle, Jorg; Holder, Thomas; Joachimiak, Andrzej; Kleywegt, Gerard J.; Krojer, Tobias; Marcotrigiano, Joseph; Mark, Alan E.; Markley, John L.; Miller, Matthew; Minor, Wladek; Montelione, Gaetano T.; Murshudov, Garib; Nakagawa, Atsushi; Nakamura, Haruki; Nicholls, Anthony; Nicklaus, Marc; Nolte, Robert T.; Padyana, Anil K.; Peishoff, Catherine E.; Pieniazek, Susan; Read, Randy J.; Shao, Chenghua; Sheriff, Steven; Smart, Oliver; Soisson, Stephen; Spurlino, John; Stouch, Terry; Svobodova, Radka; Tempel, Wolfram; Terwilliger, Thomas C.; Tronrud, Dale; Velankar, Sameer; Ward, Suzanna; Warren, Gregory L.; Westbrook, John D.; Williams, Pamela; Yang, Huanwang; Young, Jasmine

2016-01-01

Summary Crystallographic studies of ligands bound to biological macromolecules (proteins and nucleic acids) represent an important source of information concerning drug-target interactions, providing atomic level insights into the physical chemistry of complex formation between macromolecules and ligands. Of the more than 115,000 entries extant in the Protein Data Bank archive, ~75% include at least one non-polymeric ligand. Ligand geometrical and stereochemical quality, the suitability of ligand models for in silico drug discovery/design, and the goodness-of-fit of ligand models to electron density maps vary widely across the archive. We describe the proceedings and conclusions from the first Worldwide Protein Data Bank/Cambridge Crystallographic Data Centre/Drug Design Data Resource (wwPDB/CCDC/D3R) Ligand Validation Workshop held at the Research Collaboratory for Structural Bioinformatics at Rutgers University on July 30–31, 2015. Experts in protein crystallography from academe and industry came together with non-profit and for-profit software providers for crystallography and with experts in computational chemistry and data archiving to discuss and make recommendations on best practices, as framed by a series of questions central to structural studies of macromolecule-ligand complexes. What data concerning bound ligands should be archived in the Protein Data Bank? How should the ligands be best represented? How should structural models of macromolecule-ligand complexes be validated? What supplementary information should accompany publications of structural studies of biological macromolecules? Consensus recommendations on best practices developed in response to each of these questions are provided, together with some details regarding implementation. Important issues addressed but not resolved at the workshop are also enumerated. PMID:27050687

Screening for Victims of Sex Trafficking in the Emergency Department: A Pilot Program

PubMed Central

Mumma, Bryn E.; Scofield, Marisa E.; Mendoza, Lydia P.; Toofan, Yalda; Youngyunpipatkul, Justin; Hernandez, Bryan

2017-01-01

Introduction Estimates suggest that hundreds of thousands of sex trafficking victims live in the United States. Several screening tools for healthcare professionals to identify sex trafficking victims have been proposed, but the effectiveness of these tools in the emergency department (ED) remains unclear. Our primary objective in this study was to evaluate the feasibility of a screening survey to identify adult victims of sex trafficking in the ED. We also compared the sensitivity of emergency physician concern and a screening survey for identifying sex trafficking victims in the ED and determined the most effective question(s) for identifying adult victims of sex trafficking. Methods We enrolled a convenience sample of medically stable female ED patients, age 18–40 years. Patients completed a 14-question survey. Physician concern for sex trafficking was documented prior to informing the physician of the survey results. A “yes” answer to any question or physician concern was considered a positive screen, and the patient was offered social work consultation. We defined a “true positive” as a patient admission for or social work documentation of sex trafficking. Demographic and clinical information were collected from the electronic medical record. Results We enrolled 143 patients, and of those 39 (27%, 95% confidence interval [CI] [20%–35%]) screened positive, including 10 (25%, 95% CI [13%–41%]) ultimately identified as victims of sex trafficking. Sensitivity of the screening survey (100%, 95% CI [74%–100%]) was better than physician concern (40%, 95% CI [12%–74%]) for identifying victims of sex trafficking, difference 60%, 95% CI [30%–90%]. Physician specificity (91%, 95% CI [85%–95%]), however, was slightly better than the screening survey (78%, 95% CI [70%–85%]), difference 13%, 95% CI [4%–21%]. All 10 (100%, 95%CI [74%–100%]) “true positive” cases answered “yes” to the screening question regarding abuse. Conclusion Identifying adult victims of sex trafficking in the ED is feasible. A screening survey appears to have greater sensitivity than physician concern, and a single screening question may be sufficient to identify all adult victims of sex trafficking in the ED. PMID:28611881

Screening for Victims of Sex Trafficking in the Emergency Department: A Pilot Program.

PubMed

Mumma, Bryn E; Scofield, Marisa E; Mendoza, Lydia P; Toofan, Yalda; Youngyunpipatkul, Justin; Hernandez, Bryan

2017-06-01

Estimates suggest that hundreds of thousands of sex trafficking victims live in the United States. Several screening tools for healthcare professionals to identify sex trafficking victims have been proposed, but the effectiveness of these tools in the emergency department (ED) remains unclear. Our primary objective in this study was to evaluate the feasibility of a screening survey to identify adult victims of sex trafficking in the ED. We also compared the sensitivity of emergency physician concern and a screening survey for identifying sex trafficking victims in the ED and determined the most effective question(s) for identifying adult victims of sex trafficking. We enrolled a convenience sample of medically stable female ED patients, age 18-40 years. Patients completed a 14-question survey. Physician concern for sex trafficking was documented prior to informing the physician of the survey results. A "yes" answer to any question or physician concern was considered a positive screen, and the patient was offered social work consultation. We defined a "true positive" as a patient admission for or social work documentation of sex trafficking. Demographic and clinical information were collected from the electronic medical record. We enrolled 143 patients, and of those 39 (27%, 95% confidence interval [CI] [20%-35%]) screened positive, including 10 (25%, 95% CI [13%-41%]) ultimately identified as victims of sex trafficking. Sensitivity of the screening survey (100%, 95% CI [74%-100%]) was better than physician concern (40%, 95% CI [12%-74%]) for identifying victims of sex trafficking, difference 60%, 95% CI [30%-90%]. Physician specificity (91%, 95% CI [85%-95%]), however, was slightly better than the screening survey (78%, 95% CI [70%-85%]), difference 13%, 95% CI [4%-21%]. All 10 (100%, 95%CI [74%-100%]) "true positive" cases answered "yes" to the screening question regarding abuse. Identifying adult victims of sex trafficking in the ED is feasible. A screening survey appears to have greater sensitivity than physician concern, and a single screening question may be sufficient to identify all adult victims of sex trafficking in the ED.

Structural Damage Prediction and Analysis for Hypervelocity Impacts: Handbook

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Elfer, N. C.

1996-01-01

This handbook reviews the analysis of structural damage on spacecraft due to hypervelocity impacts by meteoroid and space debris. These impacts can potentially cause structural damage to a Space Station module wall. This damage ranges from craters, bulges, minor penetrations, and spall to critical damage associated with a large hole, or even rupture. The analysis of damage depends on a variety of assumptions and the area of most concern is at a velocity beyond well controlled laboratory capability. In the analysis of critical damage, one of the key questions is how much momentum can actually be transfered to the pressure vessel wall. When penetration occurs without maximum bulging at high velocity and obliquities (if less momentum is deposited in the rear wall), then large tears and rupture may be avoided. In analysis of rupture effects of cylindrical geometry, biaxial loading, bending of the crack, a central hole strain rate and R-curve effects are discussed.

The representation of manipulable solid objects in a relational database

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Bahler, D.

1984-01-01

This project is concerned with the interface between database management and solid geometric modeling. The desirability of integrating computer-aided design, manufacture, testing, and management into a coherent system is by now well recognized. One proposed configuration for such a system uses a relational database management system as the central focus; the various other functions are linked through their use of a common data repesentation in the data manager, rather than communicating pairwise to integrate a geometric modeling capability with a generic relational data managemet system in such a way that well-formed questions can be posed and answered about the performance of the system as a whole. One necessary feature of any such system is simplification for purposes of anaysis; this and system performance considerations meant that a paramount goal therefore was that of unity and simplicity of the data structures used.

[Drug information centers-instruments for health care research?].

PubMed

Hach, Isabel; Meusel, Dirk; Maywald, Ulf; Kirch, Wilhelm

2005-07-15

Patient- and physician-centered drug information services (DICs) can contribute to a better communication between doctors and patients and health care research. Furthermore, gaps within health care can be identified. Data of two DICs (the physician-centered service is in operation for almost 10 years, the patient-centered service since 2001), both established in the Institute of Clinical Pharmacology of the TU Dresden, Germany, were analyzed using descriptive statistics. The consultation frequency in both DICs was high (2004: 129 enquiries by physicians; 1,358 by patients). Questions concerning highly prevalent drug groups, i. e., cardiovascular drugs (physicians: 20%; patients: 30%) and drugs targeting the central nervous system (physicians: 22%; patients: 17%) were asked most frequently. The results indicate that patient's drug information in primary care needs improvement. Although in both DICs similar drug groups were asked, the authors suggest that the time factor is the core obstacle to sufficient information rather than knowledge deficits of physicians.

Concise Review: Adult Mesenchymal Stem Cells, Adult Neural Crest Stem Cells, and Therapy of Neurological Pathologies: A State of Play

PubMed Central

Neirinckx, Virginie; Coste, Cécile; Rogister, Bernard

2013-01-01

Adult stem cells are endowed with in vitro multilineage differentiation abilities and constitute an attractive autologous source of material for cell therapy in neurological disorders. With regard to lately published results, the ability of adult mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) and neural crest stem cells (NCSCs) to integrate and differentiate into neurons once inside the central nervous system (CNS) is currently questioned. For this review, we collected exhaustive data on MSC/NCSC neural differentiation in vitro. We then analyzed preclinical cell therapy experiments in different models for neurological diseases and concluded that neural differentiation is probably not the leading property of adult MSCs and NCSCs concerning neurological pathology management. A fine analysis of the molecules that are secreted by MSCs and NCSCs would definitely be of significant interest regarding their important contribution to the clinical and pathological recovery after CNS lesions. PMID:23486833

Advance directives in psychiatric care: a narrative approach

PubMed Central

Widdershoven, G.; Berghmans, R.

2001-01-01

Advance directives for psychiatric care are the subject of debate in a number of Western societies. By using psychiatric advance directives (or so-called "Ulysses contracts"), it would be possible for mentally ill persons who are competent and with their disease in remission, and who want timely intervention in case of future mental crisis, to give prior authorisation to treatment at a later time when they are incompetent, have become non-compliant, and are refusing care. Thus the devastating consequences of recurrent psychosis could be minimised. Ulysses contracts raise a number of ethical questions. In this article the central issues of concern and debate are discussed from a narrative perspective. Ulysses contracts are viewed as elements of an ongoing narrative in which patient and doctor try to make sense of and get a hold on the recurrent crises inherent in the patient's psychiatric condition. Key Words: Medical ethics • narrative ethics • advance directives • psychiatry PMID:11314165

A study of structural concepts for ultralightweight spacecraft

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Miller, R. K.; Knapp, K.; Hedgepeth, J. M.

1984-01-01

Structural concepts for ultralightweight spacecraft were studied. Concepts for ultralightweight space structures were identified and the validity of heir potential application in advanced spacecraft was assessed. The following topics were investigated: (1) membrane wrinkling under pretensioning; (2) load-carrying capability of pressurized tubes; (3) equilibrium of a precompressed rim; (4) design of an inflated reflector spacecraft; (5) general instability of a rim; and (6) structural analysis of a pressurized isotensoid column. The design approaches for a paraboloidal reflector spacecraft included a spin-stiffened design, both inflated and truss central columns, and to include both deep truss and rim-stiffened geodesic designs. The spinning spacecraft analysis is included, and the two truss designs are covered. The performances of four different approaches to the structural design of a paraboloidal reflector spacecraft are compared. The spinning and inflated configurations result in very low total masses and some concerns about their performance due to unresolved questions about dynamic stability and lifetimes, respectively.

Feared consequences of panic attacks in panic disorder: a qualitative and quantitative analysis.

PubMed

Raffa, Susan D; White, Kamila S; Barlow, David H

2004-01-01

Cognitions are hypothesized to play a central role in panic disorder (PD). Previous studies have used questionnaires to assess cognitive content, focusing on prototypical cognitions associated with PD; however, few studies have qualitatively examined cognitions associated with the feared consequences of panic attacks. The purpose of this study was to conduct a qualitative and quantitative analysis of feared consequences of panic attacks. The initial, qualitative analysis resulted in the development of 32 categories of feared consequences. The categories were derived from participant responses to a standardized, semi-structured question (n = 207). Five expert-derived categories were then utilized to quantitatively examine the relationship between cognitions and indicators of PD severity. Cognitions did not predict PD severity; however, correlational analyses indicated some predictive validity to the expert-derived categories. The qualitative analysis identified additional areas of patient-reported concern not included in previous research that may be important in the assessment and treatment of PD.

75 FR 52940 - Final Notice of Data Availability Concerning 2010 CAIR NOX

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2010-08-30

... ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY [FRL-9194-6] Final Notice of Data Availability Concerning 2010 CAIR NO X Annual Trading Program New Unit Set-Aside Allowance Allocations Under the Clean Air....153(e). FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Questions concerning this action should be addressed to...

Are We Asking the Right Questions? An Analysis of Research on the Effect of Teachers' Questioning on Children's Language during Shared Book Reading with Young Children

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Walsh, Rosalind L.; Hodge, Kerry A.

2018-01-01

A review of 20 experimental, shared book reading (SBR) interventions using questioning strategies with preschool children was conducted. The studies were analyzed in terms of their quality, focus, and the questioning strategies employed. Although there were few methodological concerns about the studies conducted, treatment fidelity and…

Reversible Sterilization

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Largey, Gale

1977-01-01

Notes that difficult questions arise concerning the use of sterilization for alleged eugenic and euthenic purposes. Thus, how reversible sterilization will be used with relation to the poor, mentally ill, mentally retarded, criminals, and minors, is questioned. (Author/AM)

Economics of Ethics in the Business of Education.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Broglio, Lawrence

1992-01-01

Raises numerous questions concerning ethical dilemmas faced by theater educators from the point of view of higher education as big business. Presents four categories of questions: philosophy, pedagogy, production, and administration. (RS)

Seattle Central Questions: Institutional and Educational Effectiveness, 2001.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bystrom, Valerie, Ed.; Kempen, Laurie, Ed.

2001-01-01

The aim of this newsletter, published twice a year by the office of Institutional Planning and Research at Seattle Central Community College (Washington), is to help Seattle Central faculty and staff gain access to the institutional data they need, and to help them link and integrate their various planning and assessment activities without…

Solutions to the Problem of Disproportionality: A Discussion of the Models.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Newman, Isadore; Oravecz, Michael T.

The major concern for any research model, whether disproportionate or not, is the research question and how well that question is reflected by the model. Three "exact solutions" for disproportional situations, the hierarchial, unadjusted main effects, and fitting constant methods, are discussed in terms of the research question that each…

Risk Factor Analysis and the Youth Question

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

France, Alan

2008-01-01

This paper is concerned with exploring how in late modernity the "youth question" is being addressed by public policy and what impact this is having on understandings of childhood and youth. Historically the youth question has been shaped by adult anxieties over youth delinquency and their problems of social integration. In late modernity, this is…

Records--The Achilles' Heel of School Nursing: Answers to Bothersome Questions

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Schwab, Nadine C.; Pohlman, Katherine J.

2004-01-01

This article addresses practice issues related to school health records and school nursing documentation. Because the issues have been posed by practicing school nurses, the article is in Question and Answer (Q&A) format. Specifically, the questions addressed concern the following: ownership and storage location of student health records when…

75 FR 36654 - Final Notice of Data Availability Concerning 2010 CAIR NOX

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2010-06-28

... ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY [FRL-9168-6] Final Notice of Data Availability Concerning 2010 CAIR NOX Ozone Season Trading Program New Unit Set-Aside Allowance Allocations Under the Clean Air... INFORMATION CONTACT: Questions concerning this action should be addressed to Robert L. Miller, U.S...

Malnutrition and Psychological Development.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ricciuti, Henry N.

What is the status of our present knowledge concerning the influence of malnutrition on intellectual development, learning, and behavior in children? This paper focuses primarily on an identification of some of the major issues and questions which are of concern to investigators in the field. The major concern of this review is with…

Question Asking in the Science Classroom: Teacher Attitudes and Practices

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Eshach, Haim; Dor-Ziderman, Yair; Yefroimsky, Yana

2014-02-01

Despite the wide agreement among educators that classroom learning and teaching processes can gain much from student and teacher questions, their potential is not fully utilized. Adopting the view that reporting both teachers' (of varying age groups) views and actual classroom practices is necessary for obtaining a more complete view of the phenomena at hand, the present study closely examines both cognitive and affective domains of: (a) teachers' views (via interviews) concerning: (1) importance and roles of teacher and student questions, (2) teacher responses, and (3) planning and teacher training; and (b) teachers' actual practices (via classroom observations) concerning: (1) number and (2) level of teacher and student questions, as well as (3) teachers' responses to questions. The data were collected from 3 elementary, 3 middle, and 3 high school science teachers and their respective classroom students. The findings lay out a wide view of classroom questioning and teachers' responses, and relate what actually occurs in classes to teachers' stated views. Some of the study's main conclusions are that a gap exists between how science researchers and teachers view the role of teacher questions: the former highlight the cognitive domain, while the latter emphasize the affective domain.

A Thematic Analysis of Online Discussion Boards for Brachial Plexus Injury.

PubMed

Morris, Marie T; Daluiski, Aaron; Dy, Christopher J

2016-08-01

Patients with brachial plexus injury (BPI) and their family members contribute to Internet discussion groups dedicated to BPI. We hypothesized that a thematic analysis of posts from BPI Internet discussion groups would reveal common themes related to the BPI patient experience, providing topics for patient education and counseling. Internet discussion boards were identified using the search term "brachial plexus injury support group" in Google, Bing, and Yahoo! search engines. Two discussion boards had substantially more posts than other Web sites and were chosen for analyses. Posts from January 1, 2015, through January 1, 2016, were examined. Using an iterative and established process, 2 investigators (M.T.M. and C.J.D) independently analyzed each post using thematic analysis in 3 steps (open coding, axial coding, and selective coding) to determine common themes. In this process, each post was reviewed 3 times. A total of 328 posts from the 2 leading discussion boards were analyzed. Investigators reached a consensus on themes for all posts. One central theme focused on emotional aspects of BPI. Four other central themes regarding information support were identified: BPI disease, BPI treatment, recovery after BPI treatment, and process of seeking care for BPI. Examination of posts on Internet support groups for BPI revealed recurring concerns, questions, and opinions of patients and their family members. The most common themes related to disease information, treatment, recovery, and the emotional element of BPI. These findings provide a helpful starting point in refining topics for patient education and support that are targeted on patients' interests and concerns. Copyright © 2016 American Society for Surgery of the Hand. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

A Quiz on Recent Court Decisions Concerning Student Conduct.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Zirkel, Perry A.

1980-01-01

Presents a 10-question quiz based on court decisions reported from 1977 through 1979. Three areas are covered--student discipline, student searches, and student expression. Answers and explanations are given for each question. (IRT)

Theory of mind and central coherence in adults with high-functioning autism or Asperger syndrome.

PubMed

Beaumont, Renae; Newcombe, Peter

2006-07-01

The study investigated theory of mind and central coherence abilities in adults with high-functioning autism (HFA) or Asperger syndrome (AS) using naturalistic tasks. Twenty adults with HFA/AS correctly answered significantly fewer theory of mind questions than 20 controls on a forced-choice response task. On a narrative task, there were no differences in the proportion of mental state words between the two groups, although the participants with HFA/AS were less inclined to provide explanations for characters' mental states. No between-group differences existed on the central coherence questions of the forced-choice response task, and the participants with HFA/AS included an equivalent proportion of explanations for non-mental state phenomena in their narratives as did controls. These results support the theory of mind deficit account of autism spectrum disorders, and suggest that difficulties in mental state attribution cannot be exclusively attributed to weak central coherence.

Consultation on AIDS and the workplace.

PubMed

1988-12-01

The 1988 Consultation on Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome (AIDS) and the Workplace, organized by the World Health Organization (WHO), addressed 3 issues: 1) risk factors associated with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection in the workplace, 2) the response of businesses and workers to the AIDS epidemic, and 3) use of the workplace for AIDS education. There is no evidence to suggest that HIV can be transmitted by casual, person-to-person contact in the workplace. The central policy issue for businesses concerns protection of the human rights of workers with HIV infection. Most workers with HIV/AIDS want to continue working as long as they are able to, and they should be enabled to contribute their creativity and productivity in a supportive occupational setting. Consistent policies and procedures should be developed at national and enterprise levels before HIV-related questions arise in the workplace. Such policies should be communicated to all concerned, continually reviewed in the light of scientific and epidemiologic evidence, monitored for their successful implementation, and evaluated for their effectiveness. Pre-employment HIV/AIDS screening, whether for assessment of fitness to work or for insurance purposes, should not be required and raises serious concerns about discrimination. Moreover, there should be no obligation on the worker's part to inform his or her employer if HIV infection develops. Information and educational activities at the workplace are essential to create the climate of collective responsibility and mutual understanding required to protect individuals with HIV or AIDS from stigmatization and discrimination by co-workers, employers or clients, and unions.

Communication as a mechanism for cultural integration.

PubMed

Backstrom, Tomas; Hagstrom, Tom; Goransson, Susanna

2013-01-01

Providing autonomy for employees ensures innovation competence if balanced by integration into the organization. The aim of this article is to study processes leading to the integration of employees into the company culture. The two research questions are: What makes the culture of a work group similar to the company culture? How is a work group culture constructed? Theories that are employed concern culture as an organizing structure emerging in the interaction, company culture as a way to exert control, and social networks as a way to describe the interaction. Empirical data come from a merchant bank from which 105 respondents from ten work groups answered questions about their communication and their integration into the company culture. The results show that the sub-culture of the group emerges in communication between members of the group. There seems to be a self-reinforcing spiral between collegial talk, especially about goals, plans and changes at the work place, and cultural integration. All members of a group should be included in this communication to create a strong culture. The value system of the supervisor strongly influences the sub-culture of the work group. Appointing supervisors with values that correspond to the company culture and provide for employee communications is thus central for organizations using culture as a tool for control.

Towards River Rehabilitation as AN Integrated Approach to Flood Management in Asian Cities

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Higgitt, David L.

Flood management in Asian cities has conventionally been approached through structural intervention where floods are regarded as a threat requiring control through engineering infrastructure. Such a command and control paradigm represents a marked transition from the way that monsoon flood regimes have been traditionally perceived across Asia. Rapid urbanization and climate change has imposed increasingly difficult flood management challenges as an extension of impermeable surfaces generates rapid runoff and flash flooding, while cities expand into flood-prone areas. Property and communities are placed at enhanced risk. Urbanization reallocates risk as channel and floodplain modification influences flood regimes, while demands for flood protection at certain locations can redistribute risk to other areas. An increasing concern about flood hazard across Asian cities questions whether conventional solutions reliant on structural intervention are sustainable. Such questioning is mirrored by an alternative paradigm of rehabilitation in integrated river basin management — a recognition that restoring and sustaining functional river ecosystems with high biodiversity is one of the greatest challenges facing society. Rehabilitation initiatives demand a new approach to river basin management which encourage interdisciplinary activity, particularly between engineers, hydrologists, geomorphologists and ecologists. The paper sets out some preliminary ideas from a research project investigating the potential for river rehabilitation as a central tenet of flood management, with a particular focus on Asian cities.

In vitro models.

PubMed

Mather, Jennie Powell

2012-02-01

The current resurgence of interest in the cancer stem cell (CSC) hypothesis as possibly providing a unifying theory of cancer biology is fueled by the growing body of work on normal adult tissue stem cells and the promise that CSC may hold the key to one of the central problems of clinical oncology: tumor recurrence. Many studies suggest that the microenvironment plays a role, perhaps a seminal one, in cancer development and progression. In addition, the possibility that the stem cell-like component of tumors is capable of rapid and reversible changes of phenotype raises questions concerning studies with these populations and the application of what we learn to the clinical situation. These types of questions are extremely difficult to study using in vivo models or freshly isolated cells. Established cell lines grown in defined conditions provide important model systems for these studies. There are three types of in vitro models for CSCs: (a) selected subpopulations of existing tumor lines (derived from serum-containing medium; (b) creation of lines from tumor or normal cells by genetic manipulation; or (c) direct in vitro selection of CSC from tumors or sorted tumor cells using defined serum-free conditions. We review the problems associated with creating and maintaining in vitro cultures of CSCs and the progress to date on the establishment of these important models. Copyright © 2011 AlphaMed Press.

Mature thunderstorm cloud-top structure and dynamics - A three-dimensional numerical simulation study

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Schlesinger, R. E.

1984-01-01

The present investigation is concerned with results from an initial set of comparative experiments in a project which utilize a three-dimensional convective storm model. The modeling results presented are related to four comparative experiments, designated Cases A through D. One of two scientific questions considered involves the dynamical processes, either near the cloud top or well within the cloud interior, which contribute to organize cloud thermal patterns such as those revealed by IR satellite imagery for some storms having strong internal cloud-scale rotation. The second question is concerned with differences, in cloud-top height and temperature field characteristics, between thunderstorms with and without significant internal cloud-scale rotation. The four experiments A-D are compared with regard to both interior and cloud-top configurations in the context of the second question. A particular strong-shear experiment, Case B, is analyzed to address question one.

Concept Learning versus Problem Solving: Evaluating a Threat to the Validity of a Particulate Gas Law Question

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Sanger, Michael J.; Vaughn, C. Kevin; Binkley, David A.

2013-01-01

Three different samples of students were asked to answer five multiple-choice questions concerning the properties of a sample of helium gas (particle speed, state of matter, sample volume, sample pressure, and particle distribution), including a particulate question first used by Nurrenbern and Pickering (particle distribution). In the first…

Early Childhood Teacher Research: From Questions to Results

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Castle, Kathryn

2011-01-01

What is early childhood teacher research and why is it important? How does a teacher researcher formulate a research question and a plan for doing research? How do teachers apply research results to effect change? "Early Childhood Teacher Research" is an exciting new resource that will address the sorts of questions and concerns that pre- and…

Research Use as Learning: The Case of Fundamental Change in School District Central Offices

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Honig, Meredith I.; Venkateswaran, Nitya; McNeil, Patricia

2017-01-01

Districts nationwide have launched efforts to fundamentally change their central offices to support improved teaching and learning for all students and are turning to research for help. The research provides promising guides but is challenging to use. What happens when central offices try? We explored that question in six districts using…

77 FR 40790 - Flightcrew Member Duty and Rest Requirements; OMB Approval of Information Collection

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2012-07-11

... concerning this document, contact Dale E. Roberts, Air Transportation Division (AFS-200), Flight Standards... (202) 267- 5749; email: dale[email protected] . For legal questions concerning this document, contact...

Wastewater Plant Operation and Maintenance--A Matter of Growing Concern

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Water and Wastes Engineering, 1978

1978-01-01

Responses of two experts to questions concerning wastewater plant operation and maintenance are presented. The responses discuss the scarcity of good personnel, training education available, and examples of existing improvement projects. (MA)

Questioning in Tongan Science Classrooms: A Pilot Study to Identify Current Practice, Barriers and Facilitators

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bay, Jacquie L.; Fohoko, Fehi; La'Akulu, Mumui; Leota, Ofa; Pulotu, Lesieli; Tu'Ipuloto, Sina; Tutoe, Salesi; Tovo, Oliveti; Vekoso, Ana; Pouvalu, Emeli H.

2016-01-01

Questioning is central to the development of scientific and health literacies. In exploring this concept, Tongan science teachers hypothesized that their ability to use and encourage questioning presented challenges in the context of Tongan social and cultural norms. This study set out to develop a peer-to-peer protocol to enable teachers to…

Beyond Questioning: Inquiry Strategies and Cognitive and Affective Elements of Jewish Education

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Sigel, Irving E.; Kress, Jeffrey S.; Elias, Maurice J.

2007-01-01

Questioning-asking has not only long been seen as a central component of Jewish educational practice but has also been thought to be part of a broader culture of Judaism. In this article, we apply cognitive-developmental theories to advance the discussion of the use of questioning in Jewish education. Such theories allow Jewish educators to more…

Why and How. The Future of the Central Questions of Consciousness

PubMed Central

Havlík, Marek; Kozáková, Eva; Horáček, Jiří

2017-01-01

In this review, we deal with two central questions of consciousness how and why, and we outline their possible future development. The question how refers to the empirical endeavor to reveal the neural correlates and mechanisms that form consciousness. On the other hand, the question why generally refers to the “hard problem” of consciousness, which claims that empirical science will always fail to provide a satisfactory answer to the question why is there conscious experience at all. Unfortunately, the hard problem of consciousness will probably never completely disappear because it will always have its most committed supporters. However, there is a good chance that its weight and importance will be highly reduced by empirically tackling consciousness in the near future. We expect that future empirical endeavor of consciousness will be based on a unifying brain theory and will answer the question as to what is the function of conscious experience, which will in turn replace the implications of the hard problem. The candidate of such a unifying brain theory is predictive coding, which will have to explain both perceptual consciousness and conscious mind-wandering in order to become the truly unifying theory of brain functioning. PMID:29075226

The Influence of an Introductory Environmental Science Class on Environmental Perceptions

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Gerstenberger, Shawn L.; Kelly, William E.; Cross, Chad L.

2004-01-01

An environmental concern scale (ECS) was administered to a group of college students before and after completion of an introductory environmental science class. A significant increase in the level of concern was seen in questions related to overall environmental awareness and personal responsibility. Specifically, concern was raised on questions…

Privacy Impact Assessment for the Central Data Exchange

EPA Pesticide Factsheets

The Central Data Exchange collects personally identifiable information, including personal answers to security questions. Learn how this data will be collected in the system, how it will be used, access to the data, and the purpose of data collection.

Channeling the Central Dogma

PubMed Central

Calabrese, Ronald L.

2014-01-01

How do neurons and networks achieve their characteristic electrical activity, regulate this activity homeostatically, and yet show population variability in expression? O'Leary et al. address some of these thorny questions in this theoretical analysis that starts with the Central Dogma. PMID:24853932

Artifact-based reflective interviews for identifying pragmatic epistemological resources

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Shubert, Christopher Walden

Physics Education Research studies the science of teaching and learning physics. The process of student learning is complex, and the factors that affect it are numerous. Describing students' understanding of physics knowledge and reasoning is the basis for much productive research; however, such research fails to account for certain types of student learning difficulties. In this dissertation, I explore one source of student difficulty: personal epistemology, students' ideas about knowledge and knowing. Epistemology traditionally answers three questions: What is knowledge? How is knowledge created? And, how do we know what we know? An individual's responses to these questions can affect learning in terms of how they approach tasks involving the construction and application of knowledge. The key issue addressed in this dissertation is the effect of methodological choices on the validity and reliability of claims concerning personal epistemology. My central concern is contextual validity, how what is said about one's epistemology is not identical to how one behaves epistemologically. In response to these issues, I present here a new methodology for research on student epistemology: video artifact-based reflective interview protocols. These protocols begin with video taping students in their natural classroom activities, and then asking the participants epistemological questions immediately after watching selected scenes from their activity, contextually anchoring them in their actual learning experience. The data from these interviews is viewed in the framework of Epistemological Resource Theory, a framework of small bits of knowledge whose coordination in a given context is used to describe personal epistemology. I claim that the privileged data from these interviews allows detailed epistemological resources to be identified, and that these resources can provide greater insight into how student epistemologies are applied in learning activities. This research, situated within an algebra-based physics for life scientists course reform project, focuses on student work in Modeling Informed Instruction (MII) laboratory activities, which are an adaptation of Modeling Instruction. The development of these activities is based on the epistemological foundations of Modeling Instruction, and these foundations are used to describe a potential assessment for the epistemological effectiveness of a curriculum.

Questionnaire design: carry-over effects of overall acceptance question placement and pre-evaluation instructions on overall acceptance scores in central location tests.

PubMed

Bastian, Mauresa; Eggett, Dennis L; Jefferies, Laura K

2015-02-01

Question placement and usage of pre-evaluation instructions (PEI) in questionnaires for food sensory analysis may bias consumers' scores via carry-over effects. Data from consumer sensory panels previously conducted at a central location, spanning 11 years and covering a broad range of food product categories, were compiled. Overall acceptance (OA) question placement was studied with categories designated as first (the first evaluation question following demographic questions), after nongustation questions (immediately following questions that do not require panelists to taste the product), and later (following all other hedonic and just-about-right [JAR] questions, but occasionally before ranking, open-ended comments, and/or intent to purchase questions). Each panel was categorized as having or not having PEI in the questionnaire; PEI are instructions that appear immediately before the first evaluation question and show panelists all attributes they will evaluate before receiving test samples. Postpanel surveys were administered regarding the self-reported effect of PEI on panelists' evaluation experience. OA scores were analyzed and compared (1) between OA question placement categories and (2) between panels with and without PEI. For most product categories, OA scores tended to be lower when asked later in the questionnaire, suggesting evidence of a carry-over effect. Usage of PEI increased OA scores by 0.10 of a 9-point hedonic scale point, which is not practically significant. Postpanel survey data showed that presence of PEI typically improved the panelists' experience. Using PEI does not appear to introduce a meaningful carry-over effect. © 2015 Institute of Food Technologists®

The past, the future and the biology of memory storage.

PubMed Central

Kandel, E R; Pittenger, C

1999-01-01

We here briefly review a century of accomplishments in studying memory storage and delineate the two major questions that have dominated thinking in this area: the systems question of memory, which concerns where in the brain storage occurs; and the molecular question of memory, which concerns the mechanisms whereby memories are stored and maintained. We go on to consider the themes that memory research may be able to address in the 21st century. Finally, we reflect on the clinical and societal import of our increasing understanding of the mechanisms of memory, discussing possible therapeutic approaches to diseases that manifest with disruptions of learning and possible ethical implication of the ability, which is on the horizon, to ameliorate or even enhance human memory. PMID:10670023

Insights on Lithospheric Foundering from the Sierra Nevada Earthscope Project (SNEP)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zandt, G.; Gilbert, H.; Frassetto, A.; Owens, T.; Jones, C.

2004-12-01

Interdisciplinary studies in the southern Sierra Nevada have documented an ongoing removal of the dense residual root from beneath the southern Sierra Nevada batholith. However, many questions remain concerning the timing, spatial extent, mechanism, and consequences of this lithospheric foundering event. The Sierra Nevada Earthscope Project (SNEP) is a scientific experiment designed to investigate these questions with a 2- phase (2 year) seismic deployment of 46 broadband Flex-Array stations embedded in the existing stations of the USArray Transportable Array (TA) in the region. In the 2 phases, approximately 80 sites have been occupied from the northern edge of Kings Canyon north to Honey Lake and from the Central Valley into the Great Basin. In this presentation, we will focus on the most recent common-conversion-point (CCP) stacks of the receiver functions that provide a 3D image of lithospheric layering beneath the central and northern Sierra Nevada. Examining sequential cross-sections reveals distinctive lithospheric "reflectivity" patterns that characterize different tectonic imprints. From phase 1 data, we observed that the westernmost Basin and Range exhibits strong layering with multiple low-velocity zones in the crust and uppermost mantle and a relatively flat and strong Moho varying slowly in depth between 30 and 35 km. In the south this Basin and Range character terminates on the eastern edge of the Sierra Nevada; however, north of Big Pine the Basin and Range character intrudes progressively farther into the range and ends up more than 50 km west of the eastern edge of the range. The lithosphere beneath the southern high Sierra Nevada is characterized by a relatively transparent (homogeneous) crust and sharp Moho that disappears westward beneath the adjacent foothills. The crustal thickness in this area is mostly between 30-35 km with localized welts of thicker crust. The phase 1 observations imply that the removal process appears to be actively affecting the crust northward through at least the central Sierra Nevada. The phase 2 deployment provides coverage to the northern limit of the Sierra Nevada to determine the extent of the affected region and the character of the batholith where root removal may or may not have occurred.

Insights on Lithospheric Foundering from the Sierra Nevada Earthscope Project (SNEP)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zandt, G.; Gilbert, H.; Frassetto, A.; Owens, T.; Jones, C.

2007-12-01

Interdisciplinary studies in the southern Sierra Nevada have documented an ongoing removal of the dense residual root from beneath the southern Sierra Nevada batholith. However, many questions remain concerning the timing, spatial extent, mechanism, and consequences of this lithospheric foundering event. The Sierra Nevada Earthscope Project (SNEP) is a scientific experiment designed to investigate these questions with a 2- phase (2 year) seismic deployment of 46 broadband Flex-Array stations embedded in the existing stations of the USArray Transportable Array (TA) in the region. In the 2 phases, approximately 80 sites have been occupied from the northern edge of Kings Canyon north to Honey Lake and from the Central Valley into the Great Basin. In this presentation, we will focus on the most recent common-conversion-point (CCP) stacks of the receiver functions that provide a 3D image of lithospheric layering beneath the central and northern Sierra Nevada. Examining sequential cross-sections reveals distinctive lithospheric "reflectivity" patterns that characterize different tectonic imprints. From phase 1 data, we observed that the westernmost Basin and Range exhibits strong layering with multiple low-velocity zones in the crust and uppermost mantle and a relatively flat and strong Moho varying slowly in depth between 30 and 35 km. In the south this Basin and Range character terminates on the eastern edge of the Sierra Nevada; however, north of Big Pine the Basin and Range character intrudes progressively farther into the range and ends up more than 50 km west of the eastern edge of the range. The lithosphere beneath the southern high Sierra Nevada is characterized by a relatively transparent (homogeneous) crust and sharp Moho that disappears westward beneath the adjacent foothills. The crustal thickness in this area is mostly between 30-35 km with localized welts of thicker crust. The phase 1 observations imply that the removal process appears to be actively affecting the crust northward through at least the central Sierra Nevada. The phase 2 deployment provides coverage to the northern limit of the Sierra Nevada to determine the extent of the affected region and the character of the batholith where root removal may or may not have occurred.

General practitioners' knowledge and concern about electromagnetic fields.

PubMed

Berg-Beckhoff, Gabriele; Breckenkamp, Jürgen; Larsen, Pia Veldt; Kowall, Bernd

2014-12-01

Our aim is to explore general practitioners' (GPs') knowledge about EMF, and to assess whether different knowledge structures are related to the GPs' concern about EMF. Random samples were drawn from lists of GPs in Germany in 2008. Knowledge about EMF was assessed by seven items. A latent class analysis was conducted to identify latent structures in GPs' knowledge. Further, the GPs' concern about EMF health risk was measured using a score comprising six items. The association between GPs' concern about EMF and their knowledge was analysed using multiple linear regression. In total 435 (response rate 23.3%) GPs participated in the study. Four groups were identified by the latent class analysis: 43.1% of the GPs gave mainly correct answers; 23.7% of the GPs answered low frequency EMF questions correctly; 19.2% answered only the questions relating EMF with health risks, and 14.0% answered mostly "don't know". There was no association between GPs' latent knowledge classes or between the number of correct answers given by the GPs and their EMF concern, whereas the number of incorrect answers was associated with EMF concern. Greater EMF concern in subjects with more incorrect answers suggests paying particular attention to misconceptions regarding EMF in risk communication.

Identification of a novel amyloid precursor protein processing pathway that generates secreted N-terminal fragments.

PubMed

Vella, Laura J; Cappai, Roberto

2012-07-01

Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a neurodegenerative disorder of the central nervous system. The proteolytic processing of the amyloid precursor protein (APP) into the β-amyloid (Aβ) peptide is a central event in AD. While the pathway that generates Aβ is well described, many questions remain concerning general APP metabolism and its metabolites. It is becoming clear that the amino-terminal region of APP can be processed to release small N-terminal fragments (NTFs). The purpose of this study was to investigate the occurrence and generation of APP NTFs in vivo and in cell culture (SH-SY5Y) in order to delineate the cellular pathways implicated in their generation. We were able to detect 17- to 28-kDa APP NTFs in human and mouse brain tissue that are distinct from N-APP fragments previously reported. We show that the 17- to 28-kDa APP NTFs were highly expressed in mice from the age of 2 wk to adulthood. SH-SY5Y studies indicate the generation of APP NTFs involves a novel APP processing pathway, regulated by protein kinase C, but independent of α-secretase or β-secretase 1 (BACE) activity. These results identify a novel, developmentally regulated APP processing pathway that may play an important role in the physiological function of APP.

Aviation Frontiers: On-Demand Aircraft

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Moore, Mark D.

2010-01-01

Throughout the 20th Century, NASA has defined the forefront of aeronautical technology, and the aviation industry owes much of its prosperity to this knowledge and technology. In recent decades, centralized aeronautics has become a mature discipline, which raises questions concerning the future aviation innovation frontiers. Three transformational aviation capabilities, bounded together by the development of a Free Flight airspace management system, have the potential to transform 21st Century society as profoundly as civil aviation transformed the 20th Century. These mobility breakthroughs will re-establish environmental sustainable centralized aviation, while opening up latent markets for civil distributed sensing and on-demand rural and regional transportation. Of these three transformations, on-demand aviation has the potential to have the largest market and productivity improvement to society. The information system revolution over the past 20 years shows that vehicles lead, and the interconnecting infrastructure to make them more effective follows; that is, unless on-demand aircraft are pioneered, a distributed Air Traffic Control system will likely never be established. There is no single technology long-pole that will enable on-demand vehicle solutions. However, fully digital aircraft that include electric propulsion has the potential to be a multi-disciplinary initiator of solid state technologies that can provide order of magnitude improvements in the ease of use, safety/reliability, community and environmental friendliness, and affordability.

Regulation of Estrogen Receptor α Expression in the Hypothalamus by Sex Steroids: Implication in the Regulation of Energy Homeostasis.

PubMed

Liu, Xian; Shi, Haifei

2015-01-01

Sex differences exist in the complex regulation of energy homeostasis that utilizes central and peripheral systems. It is widely accepted that sex steroids, especially estrogens, are important physiological and pathological components in this sex-specific regulation. Estrogens exert their biological functions via estrogen receptors (ERs). ERα, a classic nuclear receptor, contributes to metabolic regulation and sexual behavior more than other ER subtypes. Physiological and molecular studies have identified multiple ERα-rich nuclei in the hypothalamus of the central nervous system (CNS) as sites of actions that mediate effects of estrogens. Much of our understanding of ERα regulation has been obtained using transgenic models such as ERα global or nuclei-specific knockout mice. A fundamental question concerning how ERα is regulated in wild-type animals, including humans, in response to alterations in steroid hormone levels, due to experimental manipulation (i.e., castration and hormone replacement) or physiological stages (i.e., puberty, pregnancy, and menopause), lacks consistent answers. This review discusses how different sex hormones affect ERα expression in the hypothalamus. This information will contribute to the knowledge of estrogen action in the CNS, further our understanding of discrepancies in correlation of altered sex hormone levels with metabolic disturbances when comparing both sexes, and improve health issues in postmenopausal women.

Identification of minor inner-membrane components of the Shigella type III secretion system 'needle complex'.

PubMed

Zenk, Sebastian F; Stabat, David; Hodgkinson, Julie L; Veenendaal, Andreas K J; Johnson, Steven; Blocker, Ariel J

2007-08-01

Type III secretion systems (T3SSs or secretons) are central virulence factors of many Gram-negative bacteria, used to inject protein effectors of virulence into eukaryotic host cells. Their overall morphology, consisting of a cytoplasmic region, an inner- and outer-membrane section and an extracellular needle, is conserved in various species. A portion of the secreton, containing the transmembrane regions and needle, has been isolated biochemically and termed the 'needle complex' (NC). However, there are still unsolved questions concerning the nature and relative arrangement of the proteins assembling the NC. Until these are resolved, the mode of function of the NC cannot be clarified. This paper describes an affinity purification method that enables highly efficient purification of Shigella NCs under near-physiological conditions. Using this method, three new minor components of the NC were identified by mass spectrometry: IpaD, a known component of the needle tip complex, and two predicted components of its central inner-membrane export apparatus, Spa40 and Spa24. A further minor component of the NC, MxiM, is only detected by immunoblotting. MxiM is a 'pilotin'-type protein for the outer-membrane 'secretin' ring formed of MxiD. As expected, it localized to the outer rim of the upper ring of NCs, validating the other findings.

Commentary on Sommer et al. 'A randomized experiment of the effects of including alternative medicine in the mandatory benefit package of health insurance.

PubMed

Heusser, P

2000-03-01

The study by Sommer et al. recently reported in Complementary Therapies in Medicine has been heavily criticised in Switzerland since its original publication. Its major problems are an inadequate reflection of real practice, an inadequate study design relative to the central research objective, questionable value of the applied instrument and procedure for health assessment, methodological and statistical problems, and failure to consider literature relevant to the topic. For these reasons, this experimental study does not allow an answer to its central questions as to costs and effectiveness of complementary medicine made available within Switzerland's mandatory basic health insurance provisions. We propose more practice-related, non-experimental prospective study designs to realistically answer these questions.

"Where is Everybody?" An Account of Fermi's Question

DOE R&D Accomplishments Database

Jones, E. M.

1985-03-01

Enrico Fermi's famous question, now central to debates about the prevalence of extraterrestrial civilizations, arose during a luncheon conversation with Emil Konopinski, Edward Teller, and Herbert York in the summer of 1950. Fermi's companions on that day have provided accounts of the incident.

Real-time Responsiveness for Ethics Oversight During Disaster Research.

PubMed

Eckenwiler, Lisa; Pringle, John; Boulanger, Renaud; Hunt, Matthew

2015-11-01

Disaster research has grown in scope and frequency. Research in the wake of disasters and during humanitarian crises--particularly in resource-poor settings--is likely to raise profound and unique ethical challenges for local communities, crisis responders, researchers, and research ethics committees (RECs). Given the ethical challenges, many have questioned how best to provide research ethics review and oversight. We contribute to the conversation concerning how best to ensure appropriate ethical oversight in disaster research and argue that ethical disaster research requires of researchers and RECs a particular sort of ongoing, critical engagement which may not be warranted in less exceptional research. We present two cases that typify the concerns disaster researchers and RECs may confront, and elaborate upon what this ongoing engagement might look like--how it might be conceptualized and utilized--using the concept of real-time responsiveness (RTR). The central aim of RTR, understood here as both an ethical ideal and practice, is to lessen the potential for research conducted in the wake of disasters to create, perpetuate, or exacerbate vulnerabilities and contribute to injustices suffered by disaster-affected populations. Well cultivated and deployed, we believe that RTR may enhance the moral capacities of researchers and REC members, and RECs as institutions where moral agency is nurtured and sustained. © 2015 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Cosmic Censorship for Gowdy Spacetimes.

PubMed

Ringström, Hans

2010-01-01

Due to the complexity of Einstein's equations, it is often natural to study a question of interest in the framework of a restricted class of solutions. One way to impose a restriction is to consider solutions satisfying a given symmetry condition. There are many possible choices, but the present article is concerned with one particular choice, which we shall refer to as Gowdy symmetry. We begin by explaining the origin and meaning of this symmetry type, which has been used as a simplifying assumption in various contexts, some of which we shall mention. Nevertheless, the subject of interest here is strong cosmic censorship. Consequently, after having described what the Gowdy class of spacetimes is, we describe, as seen from the perspective of a mathematician, what is meant by strong cosmic censorship. The existing results on cosmic censorship are based on a detailed analysis of the asymptotic behavior of solutions. This analysis is in part motivated by conjectures, such as the BKL conjecture, which we shall therefore briefly describe. However, the emphasis of the article is on the mathematical analysis of the asymptotics, due to its central importance in the proof and in the hope that it might be of relevance more generally. The article ends with a description of the results that have been obtained concerning strong cosmic censorship in the class of Gowdy spacetimes.

‘Saying it without words’: a qualitative study of oncology staff's experiences with speaking up about safety concerns

PubMed Central

Schwappach, D L B; Gehring, K

2014-01-01

Objectives To explore the experiences of oncology staff with communicating safety concerns and to examine situational factors and motivations surrounding the decision whether and how to speak up using semistructured interviews. Setting 7 oncology departments of six hospitals in Switzerland. Participants Diverse sample of 32 experienced oncology healthcare professionals. Results Nurses and doctors commonly experience situations which raise their concerns and require questioning, clarifying and correcting. Participants often used non-verbal communication to signal safety concerns. Speaking-up behaviour was strongly related to a clinical safety issue. Most episodes of ‘silence’ were connected to hygiene, isolation and invasive procedures. In contrast, there seemed to exist a strong culture to communicate questions, doubts and concerns relating to medication. Nearly all interviewees were concerned with ‘how’ to say it and in particular those of lower hierarchical status reflected on deliberate ‘voicing tactics’. Conclusions Our results indicate a widely accepted culture to discuss any concerns relating to medication safety while other issues are more difficult to voice. Clinicians devote considerable efforts to evaluate the situation and sensitively decide whether and how to speak up. Our results can serve as a starting point to develop a shared understanding of risks and appropriate communication of safety concerns among staff in oncology. PMID:24838725

Americans with Disabilities Act: Responsibilities for Postsecondary Institutions Serving Deaf and Hard of Hearing Students. Questions and Answers. Second Edition.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kincaid, Jeanne M.; Rawlinson, Sharaine J.

This publication provides answers to questions concerning responsibilities of institutions of postsecondary education toward students who are deaf or hard of hearing under the Americans with Disabilities Act. These questions were originally received but not answered due to time constraints during two satellite conferences held by the Midwest…

Compilation of Agricultural Research, Education, and Extension Questions for Discussion. 104th Congress, 1st Session.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Congress of the U.S., Washington, DC. House Committee on Agriculture.

This volume compiles and reprints the responses of 37 organizations to a series of questions issued by the House Committee on Agriculture in anticipation of debates concerning the Research Title of the 1995 Farm Bill due for updating and revision. The questions address some of the following topics: the role of the federal government in…

Leadership in Educational Institutions

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Sunko, Esmeralda

2012-01-01

Many questions concerning quality of functioning and effectiveness are connected with the management of education as a professional field in educational organizations. The role of educational leadership in an educational organization raises many questions related to legislative regulations of activities, issues of institutional placement,…

28 CFR 17.18 - Prepublication review.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-07-01

... paragraph (j) of this section for FBI personnel, all questions concerning these obligations should be... preparation (e.g., news interview, panel discussion) without violating the provisions of this paragraph. (h.../Information Dissemination Section, Records Management Division. Such individuals shall also submit questions...

28 CFR 17.18 - Prepublication review.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-07-01

... paragraph (j) of this section for FBI personnel, all questions concerning these obligations should be... preparation (e.g., news interview, panel discussion) without violating the provisions of this paragraph. (h.../Information Dissemination Section, Records Management Division. Such individuals shall also submit questions...

Are Cantonese-speakers really descriptivists? Revisiting cross-cultural semantics.

PubMed

Lam, Barry

2010-05-01

In an article in Cognition [Machery, E., Mallon, R., Nichols, S., & Stich, S. (2004). Semantics cross-cultural style. Cognition, 92, B1-B12] present data which purports to show that East Asian Cantonese-speakers tend to have descriptivist intuitions about the referents of proper names, while Western English-speakers tend to have causal-historical intuitions about proper names. Machery et al. take this finding to support the view that some intuitions, the universality of which they claim is central to philosophical theories, vary according to cultural background. Machery et al. conclude from their findings that the philosophical methodology of consulting intuitions about hypothetical cases is flawed vis a vis the goal of determining truths about some philosophical domains like philosophical semantics. In the following study, three new vignettes in English were given to Western native English-speakers, and Cantonese translations were given to native Cantonese-speaking immigrants from a Cantonese community in Southern California. For all three vignettes, questions were given to elicit intuitions about the referent of a proper name and the truth-value of an uttered sentence containing a proper name. The results from this study reveal that East Asian Cantonese-speakers do not differ from Western English-speakers in ways that support Machery et al.'s conclusions. This new data concerning the intuitions of Cantonese-speakers raises questions about whether cross-cultural variation in answers to questions on certain vignettes reveal genuine differences in intuitions, or whether such differences stem from non-intuitional differences, such as differences in linguistic competence. Copyright 2009 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

An integrative review of information and communication technology based support interventions for carers of home dwelling older people

PubMed Central

Bergström, Aileen L.; Hanson, Elizabeth

2018-01-01

BACKGROUND: A growing number of studies of informal carers of older people reveal positive results concerning support via Information and Communication Technologies (ICT). Systematic examination of factors that have a potential impact on carer outcomes are needed to inform future research. OBJECTIVE: To explore studies concerning ICT support of adult carers of older people and to identify study characteristics that have a potential impact on carer outcomes. METHODS: This integrative review includes 123 studies published since 2005. Fundamental questions for designing sensitive support interventions; ‘who, what, and how’ were applied to a synthesis of the results. RESULTS: Identified characteristics from the studies responding to the who question included variables of the carers, such as their relationship with the care recipient or their ethnicity. Characteristics related to the what question related to the types of interventions, and the how question concerned the different services or programs offered, the idiosyncratic needs of the carers, and the types of technologies used. CONCLUSION: Results are discussed according to micro, meso and macro levels of analysis. This extensive review can inform future studies and highlight the evidence in the area for decision makers, practitioners and/or NGOs working with innovative forms of support for carers of older people. PMID:29527109

Providing Opportunities for Argumentation in Science Exam Settings

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Swanson, Lauren; Solorza, Ruben; Fissore, Cinzia

2018-01-01

This article explores undergraduates' efforts to engage in scientific argumentation during exam settings. Thirteen undergraduate students enrolled in an environmental science course completed exams with questions linked around a central theme. Three types of questions were used, including those that prompted students to construct scientific…

Ask a SEER Registrar - SEER Registrars

Cancer.gov

First submit questions to your central registry as required and they will submit them to SEER. Use the form on this page to submit questions to SEER staff about coding cancer cases or SEER's reporting guideline materials. Coding and abstracting answers are on SEER Inquiry System website.

Improving health promotion through central rating of interventions: the need for Responsive Guidance.

PubMed

Kok, Maarten Olivier; Bal, Roland; Roelofs, Caspar David; Schuit, Albertine Jantine

2017-11-23

In several countries, attempts are made to improve health promotion by centrally rating the effectiveness of health promotion interventions. The Dutch Effectiveness Rating System (ERS) for health promotion interventions is an improvement-oriented approach in which multi-disciplinary expert committees rate available health promotion interventions as 'theoretically sound', 'probably effective' or 'proven effective'. The aim of this study is to explore the functioning of the ERS and the perspective of researchers, policy-makers and practitioners regarding its contribution to improvement. We interviewed 53 selected key informants from research, policy and practice in the Netherlands and observed the assessment of 12 interventions. Between 2008 and 2012, a total of 94 interventions were submitted to the ERS, of which 23 were rejected, 58 were rated as 'theoretically sound', 10 were rated as 'probably effective' and 3 were rated as 'proven effective'. According to participants, the ERS was intended to facilitate both the improvement of available interventions and the improvement of health promotion in practice. While participants expected that describing and rating interventions promoted learning and enhanced the transferability of interventions, they were concerned that the ERS approach was not suitable for guiding intervention development and improving health promotion in practice. The expert committees that assessed the interventions struggled with a lack of norms for the relevance of effects and questions about how effects should be studied and rated. Health promotion practitioners were concerned that the ERS neglected the local adaptation of interventions and did not encourage the improvement of aspects like applicability and costs. Policy-makers and practitioners were worried that the lack of proven effectiveness legitimised cutbacks rather than learning and advancing health promotion. While measuring and centrally rating the effectiveness of interventions can be beneficial, the evidence based-inspired ERS approach is too limited to guide both intervention development and the improvement of health promotion in practice. To better contribute to improving health promotion, a more reflexive and responsive guidance approach is required, namely one which stimulates the improvement of different intervention aspects, provides targeted recommendations to practitioners and provides feedback to those who develop and rate interventions.

An Index of Trauma Severity Based on Multiattribute Utility: An Illustration of Complex Utility Modeling.

DTIC Science & Technology

1981-10-01

measure for Central Nervus System is the Glasgow Cons Score (GCS), a scale of brain and spinal cord injury (Langfitt [1978]), and is itself an additive...concerns directly relating to the injury itself were identified. These were: 1. Ventilation Severity 2 Circulation Severity 3. Central Nervous System ...interacting system within which these concerns represent interacting parts. Most trauma involves only one of these systems , but more than one may be

On Deciding How to Decide: To Centralize or Decentralize.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Chaffee, Ellen Earle

Issues concerning whether to centralize or decentralize decision-making are addressed, with applications for colleges. Centralization/decentralization (C/D) must be analyzed with reference to a particular decision. Three components of C/D are locus of authority, breadth of participation, and relative contribution by the decision-maker's staff. C/D…

Hydrogen: The Ultimate Fuel and Energy Carrier.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Dinga, Gustav P.

1988-01-01

Lists 24 frequently asked questions concerning hydrogen as a fuel with several responses given to each question. Emphasized are hydrogen production, storage, transmission, and application to various energy-consuming sectors. Summarizes current findings and research on hydrogen. An extensive bibliography is included. (ML)

Subjectivity: A Case of Biological Individuation and an Adaptive Response to Informational Overflow

PubMed Central

Jonkisz, Jakub

2016-01-01

The article presents a perspective on the scientific explanation of the subjectivity of conscious experience. It proposes plausible answers for two empirically valid questions: the ‘how’ question concerning the developmental mechanisms of subjectivity, and the ‘why’ question concerning its function. Biological individuation, which is acquired in several different stages, serves as a provisional description of how subjective perspectives may have evolved. To the extent that an individuated informational space seems the most efficient way for a given organism to select biologically valuable information, subjectivity is deemed to constitute an adaptive response to informational overflow. One of the possible consequences of this view is that subjectivity might be (at least functionally) dissociated from consciousness, insofar as the former primarily facilitates selection, the latter action. PMID:27555835

Recent graduate nurse views of nursing, work and leadership.

PubMed

Cleary, Michelle; Horsfall, Jan; Jackson, Debra; Muthulakshmi, Paulpandi; Hunt, Glenn E

2013-10-01

To assess recent nurse graduates of a large university and seeks their views of university preparation, requisite nursing skills and qualities, workplace transition, supports received, nurse leadership and role models, and career development and retention. Concern about attracting and retaining registered nurses is a continuing workforce issue in parts of Asia and throughout the world. Qualitative interviews with recent nursing graduates. Seventeen face-to-face interviews took place using a structured schedule of 23 questions. Data were coded and analysed by hand to determine clusters of interest and develop themes. Four broad topics emerged: (1) skills and qualities graduates consider central to nursing; (2) the support they received during the transition from graduate to novice practitioner and that which continues; (3) elements they value in nursing role models and leaders; and (4) the ward characteristics that will encourage them to remain in nursing and develop a career. Interviewees expressed concerns about retention-related issues, making suggestions for improvements. Unique findings focus on the blaming culture that many respondents consider they are working in, and the system whereby they are not free to access postgraduate studies until a specific time frame has elapsed, and when they do pursue further studies, they are bonded to the auspicing hospital/health service. Responses unique to this research are the explicit concerns about a blaming culture, and complaints about rigid rules (bonding system) that virtually prevent an individual from accessing postgraduate studies independent of the hospital system. Interviewees strongly resent the bonding system that indentures them to that place of work. Quality health care is dependent on a well-educated, sustainable and skilled nursing workforce. Recognition of the concerns of newly graduated nurses in relation to nursing skill acquisition, workplace support issues and career concerns can assist in ensuring these issues are adequately addressed and in turn contribute to a stronger, more stable and competent nursing workforce. © 2013 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Mothers' online message board questions about parenting infants and toddlers.

PubMed

Porter, Noriko; Ispa, Jean M

2013-03-01

To report a study conducted to explore childrearing concerns through an analysis of online parenting message boards managed by popular parenting magazines. Background.  Increasingly, mothers appear to be turning to the Web for childrearing advice and support. However, no previous studies have examined the childrearing concerns of mothers of infants and toddlers through the analysis of online message board postings. Ethnographic content analysis methods were used to analyse the online postings. A total of 120 messages posted in 2007 by mothers of 0-2 year olds on the websites of two best-selling parenting magazines in the United States were submitted to ethnographic content analysis. Each message pertained to one or more of six childrearing domains: Feeding/Eating, Sleep, Development, Discipline, Toilet-Training and Mother-Child Relationships. Questions and pleas for support were most prominently centred on feeding/eating and sleep issues. Mothers expressed concerns about when and how their children should begin to sleep and eat independently. In addition to the themes specific to particular domains, across-domain themes were identified involving mothers' parenting stress, questioning of advice from families/paediatricians and worries that children were not developing normally. Online forums have become a space where mothers can openly describe their own negative emotions towards parenting and ask questions or gain reassurance to resolve mixed messages about how one should rear infants and toddlers. Paediatric nurses should be aware that mothers are confused about conflicting messages, especially in the domains of sleeping and eating. Reviewing parenting message boards occasionally would give nurses continuing insight into common parenting concerns. © 2012 Blackwell Publishing Ltd.

48 CFR 871.211 - Information concerning correspondence courses.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-10-01

... correspondence courses. 871.211 Section 871.211 Federal Acquisition Regulations System DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS... PROGRAMS Vocational Rehabilitation and Employment Service 871.211 Information concerning correspondence courses. Specific questions on correspondence courses as to the content of courses, academic credit, and...

Trouble in the second year: three questions about family interaction.

PubMed

Belsky, J; Woodworth, S; Crnic, K

1996-04-01

3 questions regarding family interaction in the second year of life are addressed in this report on 69 families rearing firstborn sons. Question 1 concerns the identification, via cluster analysis, of families having difficulty managing their child, using codings of narrative records of family interaction when children were 15 and 21 months of age. Parents in families identified as "troubled" at each age tried to control their toddlers most often, were least likely to rely upon control-plus-guidance management strategies, had children who defied them most frequently, and experienced the greatest escalation of negative affect in these control encounters. Families identified as "troubled" at both 15 and 21 months had children who received the highest "externalizing" problem scores at 18 months and mothers who experienced the most daily hassles during the second year. Question 2 concerns the antecedents of "trouble in the second year." Discriminant function analyses indicated that membership in the groups of families that appeared troubled at both ages of measurement (n = 15), at only one age (n = 28), or never (n = 26) could be reliably predicted (hit rate = 71%) using a set of 9 measurements of parent personality, child emotionality/temperament, marital quality, work-family relations, and social support, suggested by Belsky's model of the determinants of parenting, and social class. Question 3 concerns the proposition that extensive nonmaternal care in the first year is a risk factor for troubled family functioning in the second year. As hypothesized, prediction analysis showed that families at moderate and high contextual risk (based on 10 antecedent variables pertaining to Question 2), were significantly more likely to experience trouble in the second year when children experienced 20 or more hours per week of nonmaternal care in their first year, and these results could not be attributed to "selection effects."

Does uncontrolled cardiac death for organ donation raise ethical questions? An opinion survey.

PubMed

Goudet, V; Albouy-Llaty, M; Migeot, V; Pain, B; Dayhot-Fizelier, C; Pinsard, M; Gil, R; Beloucif, S; Robert, R

2013-11-01

Organ donation after uncontrolled cardiac death raises complex ethical issues. We conducted a survey in a large hospital staff population, including caregivers and administrators, to determine their ethical viewpoints regarding organ donation after uncontrolled cardiac death. Multicenter observational survey using a questionnaire, including information on the practical modalities of the procedure. Respondents were asked to answer 15 detailed ethical questions corresponding to different ethical issues raised in the literature. Ethical concerns was defined when respondents expressed ethical concerns in their answers to at least three of nine specifically selected ethical questions. One thousand one hundred ninety-six questionnaires were received, and 1057 could be analysed. According to our definition, 573 respondents out of 1057 (54%) had ethical concerns with regard to donation after cardiac death and 484 (46 %) had no ethical concerns. Physicians (55%) and particularly junior intensivists (65%) tended to have more ethical issues than nurses (52%) and hospital managers (37%). Junior intensivists had more ethical issues than senior intensivists (59%), emergency room physicians (46%) and transplant specialists (43%). Only 46% of hospital-based caregivers and managers appear to accept easily the legitimacy of organ donation after cardiac death. A significant number of respondents especially intensivists, expressed concerns over the dilemma between the interests of the individual and those of society. These results underline the need to better inform both healthcare professionals and the general population to help to the development of such procedure. © 2013 The Acta Anaesthesiologica Scandinavica Foundation. Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Governance in Afghanistan: Context and Possibilities

DTIC Science & Technology

2011-05-19

Nathaniel. Russia in Central Asia in 1889 & the Anglo-Russian Question. London: Longmans, Green , and Co., 1889. Drage, Geoffrey. Russian Affairs. New York...Richard Bentley, 1839. Gray, John Alfred. At the Court of the Amir of Afghanistan. New York: Kegan Paul, 2002. Holdich, T. Hungerford. Through Central

CENTRAL FOOD STORE FACILITIES FOR COLLEGES AND UNIVERSITIES.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

BLOOMFIELD, BYRON C.

INSPECTION OF A NUMBER OF INSTALLATIONS WAS ORIENTED TOWARD ARCHITECTURAL AND PLANNING QUESTIONS INVOLVING ECONOMICS AND SERVICES OF CENTRAL FOOD STORE FACILITIES. COMMENCING WITH THE PURCHASING PHILOSOPHY WHICH OVERVIEWS THE ORGANIZATION OF FOODS PURCHASING, SELECTION OF PERSONNEL, SPECIFICATIONS FOR PURCHASING, TECHNIQUES FOR PURCHASING, AND…

Designing questionnaires: healthcare survey to compare two different response scales.

PubMed

Dell-Kuster, Salome; Sanjuan, Esteban; Todorov, Atanas; Weber, Heidemarie; Heberer, Michael; Rosenthal, Rachel

2014-08-03

A widely discussed design issue in patient satisfaction questionnaires is the optimal length and labelling of the answering scale. The aim of the present study was to compare intra-individually the answers on two response scales to five general questions evaluating patients' perception of hospital care. Between November 2011 and January 2012, all in-hospital patients at a Swiss University Hospital received a patient satisfaction questionnaire on an adjectival scale with three to four labelled categories (LS) and five redundant questions displayed on an 11-point end-anchored numeric scale (NS). The scales were compared concerning ceiling effect, internal consistency (Cronbach's alpha), individual item answers (Spearman's rank correlation), and concerning overall satisfaction by calculating an overall percentage score (sum of all answers related to the maximum possible sum). The response rate was 41% (2957/7158), of which 2400 (81%) completely filled out all questions. Baseline characteristics of the responders and non-responders were similar. Floor and ceiling effect were high on both response scales, but more pronounced on the LS than on the NS. Cronbach's alpha was higher on the NS than on the LS. There was a strong individual item correlation between both answering scales in questions regarding the intent to return, quality of treatment and the judgement whether the patient was treated with respect and dignity, but a lower correlation concerning satisfactory information transfer by physicians or nurses, where only three categories were available in the LS. The overall percentage score showed a comparable distribution, but with a wider spread of lower satisfaction in the NS. Since the longer scale did not substantially reduce the ceiling effect, the type of questions rather than the type of answering scale could be addressed with a focus on specific questions about concrete situations instead of general questions. Moreover, the low correlation in questions about information provision suggests that only three possible response choices are insufficient. Further investigations are needed to find a more sensitive scale discriminating high-end ratings. Otherwise, a longitudinal within-hospital or a cross-sectional between-hospital comparison of patient care is questionable.

Designing questionnaires: healthcare survey to compare two different response scales

PubMed Central

2014-01-01

Background A widely discussed design issue in patient satisfaction questionnaires is the optimal length and labelling of the answering scale. The aim of the present study was to compare intra-individually the answers on two response scales to five general questions evaluating patients’ perception of hospital care. Methods Between November 2011 and January 2012, all in-hospital patients at a Swiss University Hospital received a patient satisfaction questionnaire on an adjectival scale with three to four labelled categories (LS) and five redundant questions displayed on an 11-point end-anchored numeric scale (NS). The scales were compared concerning ceiling effect, internal consistency (Cronbach’s alpha), individual item answers (Spearman’s rank correlation), and concerning overall satisfaction by calculating an overall percentage score (sum of all answers related to the maximum possible sum). Results The response rate was 41% (2957/7158), of which 2400 (81%) completely filled out all questions. Baseline characteristics of the responders and non-responders were similar. Floor and ceiling effect were high on both response scales, but more pronounced on the LS than on the NS. Cronbach’s alpha was higher on the NS than on the LS. There was a strong individual item correlation between both answering scales in questions regarding the intent to return, quality of treatment and the judgement whether the patient was treated with respect and dignity, but a lower correlation concerning satisfactory information transfer by physicians or nurses, where only three categories were available in the LS. The overall percentage score showed a comparable distribution, but with a wider spread of lower satisfaction in the NS. Conclusions Since the longer scale did not substantially reduce the ceiling effect, the type of questions rather than the type of answering scale could be addressed with a focus on specific questions about concrete situations instead of general questions. Moreover, the low correlation in questions about information provision suggests that only three possible response choices are insufficient. Further investigations are needed to find a more sensitive scale discriminating high-end ratings. Otherwise, a longitudinal within-hospital or a cross-sectional between-hospital comparison of patient care is questionable. PMID:25086869

Education, Racism, and the Military: A Critical Race Theory Analysis of the GI Bill and Its Implications for African Americans in Higher Education

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Mencke, Bernadette Kristine Buchanan

2010-01-01

This study examined the impact of the Serviceman's Readjustment Act of 1944 (the GI Bill) on African Americans' quest for higher education. The central question guiding this study follows: Why has higher education been so elusive for African Americans? With reference to this question, the following sub-questions were addressed: (1) How can the…

Mental Health Literacy and Eating-Disordered Behavior: Beliefs of Adolescent Girls Concerning the Treatment of and Treatment-Seeking for Bulimia Nervosa

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Mond, J. M.; Marks, P.; Hay, P. J.; Rodgers, B.; Kelly, C.; Owen, C.; Paxton, S. J.

2007-01-01

This research examined the "mental health literacy" of adolescents concerning eating-disordered behavior. A vignette describing a fictional 16-year old female meeting diagnostic criteria for bulimia nervosa was presented to 522 female high school students, followed by a series of questions concerning treatment of and treatment-seeking…

Gifted' Teachers Stages of Concerns for Integrating E-Learning in the Gifted Schools in Jordan

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Al-Shabatat, Ahmad Mohammad

2014-01-01

No study has investigated the gifted' teachers stages of concerns for integrating e-learning in their teaching. Thus, this study was conducted to explore these concerns. Mixed methods were used to gather data around the research questions. A number of 22 gifted' teachers participated in this study. The Arabic version of the Stage of Concern…

Ocean Space and Seabed Mining

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Earney, Fillmore C. F.

1975-01-01

The purpose of this paper is to briefly explore some of the questions with which this and the next generation will be faced concerning the wise and equitable use of ocean space and seabed minerals and to look at contemporary efforts to resolve some of these questions. (Author)

The Family and Medical Leave Act: Questions and Answers for the Academic Community.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Euben, Donna R.; Thornton, Saranna R.

2002-01-01

Provides excerpts from a guide written by the American Association of University Professors (AAUP) concerning the Family and Medical Leave Act. Offers advice using a question-and-answer format on the application of the legislation to different situations. (EV)

Bruininks-Oseretsky Test of Motor Proficiency.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Fine, Doris Landau

1979-01-01

Three questions are discussed concerning this test: for what population is it appropriate; what is its purpose; and what are the qualifications required for proper administration and interpretation? It is concluded that it is a useful test, but caution is appropriate in answering the three questions. (CTM)

The Punishment Dilemmma.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Grupp, Stanley E.

1984-01-01

Examines the punishment issue and considers factors contributing to the dilemma. Questions and selected comments are offered concerning the major contenders in the dilemma: retribution, deterrence, rehabilitation, and integration. The resolution of the punishment must ultimately come to terms with the question, what values do we try to support and…

75 FR 57817 - Proposed Collection, Comment Request

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2010-09-22

... of twelve questions. These questions will be asked for all interviews for one calendar quarter of... comments concerning the revision of the ``The Consumer Expenditure Surveys: The Quarterly Interview and the... private sectors for current information on consumer spending. In the Quarterly Interview Survey, each...

Molecular epidemiology of Giardia and Cryptosporidium infections.

PubMed

Thompson, R C A; Ash, A

2016-06-01

Giardia and Cryptosporidium are ubiquitous enteric protozoan pathogens of vertebrates. Although recognised as the aetiological agents of disease in humans and domestic animals for many years, fundamental questions concerning their ecology have been unresolved. Molecular tools have helped to better understand their genetic diversity and in so doing have helped to resolve questions about their transmission patterns and associated impacts on public health. However, the value of molecular tools is often complicated by questions concerning their applications, interpretation of results and terminology. Taxonomic issues have, until recently, made it difficult to determine the epidemiology of infections with both Giardia and Cryptosporidium. Similarly, improved understanding of their respective phylogenetic relationships has helped to resolve questions about zoonotic potential and distribution in wildlife. In the case of Cryptosporidium, imaging technologies have complemented phylogenetic studies in demonstrating the parasite's affinities with gregarine protozoa and have further supported its extracellular developmental capability and potential role as an environmental pathogen. Copyright © 2015 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Variational neuroethology: Answering further questions. Reply to comments on "Answering Schrödinger's question: A free-energy formulation"

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ramstead, Maxwell J. D.; Badcock, Paul B.; Friston, Karl J.

2018-03-01

First and foremost, we sincerely thank our commentators for their incisive and thought-provoking responses [1-14] to our metatheory of living systems; namely, variational neuroethology (VNE) [15]. We appreciated the critical insights, questions, suggestions, and proposals for future research. We were also pleased to see signs of a fruitful dialectic between different perspectives - unexpectedly, some of our commentators addressed others' questions and concerns; suggesting that VNE might enable productive scientific discourse and inspire new, multidisciplinary research questions. There were also friendly critics, who helpfully questioned the coherence and validity of VNE, and motivated us to revisit key issues.

Large-Scale Controls and Characteristics of Fire Activity in Central Chile, 2001-2015

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

McWethy, D. B.; Pauchard, A.; García, R.; Holz, A.; González, M.; Veblen, T. T.; Stahl, J.

2016-12-01

In recent decades, fire activity has increased in many ecosystems worldwide, even where fuel conditions and natural ignitions historically limited fire activity, and this increase begs questions of whether climate change, land-use change, and/or altered vegetation are responsible. Increased frequency of large fires in these settings has been attributed to drier-than-average summers and longer fire seasons as well as fuel accumulation related to ENSO events, raising concerns about the trajectory of post-fire vegetation dynamics and future fire regimes. In temperate and Mediterranean forests of central Chile, recent large fires associated with altered ecosystems, climate variability and land-use change highlight the risk and hazard of increasing fire activity yet the causes and consequences are poorly understood. To better understand characteristics of recent fire activity, key drivers of fire occurrence and the spatial probability of wildfire we examined the relationship between fire activity derived from MODIS satellite imagery and biophysical, land-cover and land-use variables. The probability of fire occurrence and annual area burned was best predicted by seasonal precipitation, annual temperature and land cover type. The likelihood of fire occurrence was greatest in Matorral shrublands, agricultural lands (including pasture lands) and Pinus and Eucalyptus plantations, highlighting the importance of vegetation type and fuel flammability as a critical control on fire activity. Our results suggest that land-use change responsible for the widespread presence of highly flammable vegetation and projections for continued warming and drying will likely combine to promote the occurrence of large fires in central Chile in the future.

The unilateral DNR order--one hospital's experience.

PubMed

Anderson-Shaw, Lisa

2003-06-01

Hospital or institutional policies that guide the activity of nurses in the care of their patients may, at times, be controversial. Nursing staffs often act as gatekeepers of patient care activities and the implementers of institutional policy. When nurses raise questions as to the appropriateness of a given policy statement, the institution should take serious notice and, perhaps, even study the policy outcomes that relate to the concerns expressed by the nursing staff. This article introduces a policy that originally prompted serious concerns by the nursing staff at one institution. The nursing staff voiced their concerns regarding a revision in the DNR policy that would allow physicians to write unilateral do-not-resuscitate (DNR) orders. Because of this, a review of this policy took place and the results were used to dispel unfounded concerns and also to improve the use of the policy. This article may help nursing administrators to understand better the importance of policy-related studies and it may also encourage nurses to question policy statements and guidelines that may present some concerns. Enhanced patient care will ultimately result by such teamwork and scholarly activity.

In Search of Common Ground.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Boston, Jane

1994-01-01

Educators faced with controversial issues must learn to work constructively with pressure groups and concerned citizens. They must ask questions concerning their own political leanings, response to conflict, understanding of institutional core values, commitment to democratic decision making, and attention to policies and procedures.…

East Central College Board of Trustees Policies & Procedures.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

East Central Coll., Union, MO.

This manual is the guide to all policies and procedures governing East Central College in Missouri. The document is produced by the Board of Trustees of the Junior College District of East Central Missouri and outlines policies concerning the entire college community, including board members, administrators, faculty, staff, and students. It serves…

Coping with Dialectical Tensions.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Brockriede, Wayne

This paper discusses some of the central issues involved in philosophizing about rhetoric by raising two primary questions within the context of three traditional branches of philosophy: ontology, axiology, and epistemology. The two questions raised are: What are dialectical tensions in a philosophy of rhetoric? and How does a person try to cope…

75 FR 35764 - Proposed Information Collection; Comment Request; Survey of Income and Program Participation...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2010-06-23

... survey designed as a continuous series of national panels. The SIPP is molded around a central ``core... DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE U.S. Census Bureau Proposed Information Collection; Comment Request; Survey... supplemented with questions designed to address specific needs. Examples of these types of questions include...

Response Switching and Self-Efficacy in Peer Instruction Classrooms

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Miller, Kelly; Schell, Julie; Ho, Andrew; Lukoff, Brian; Mazur, Eric

2015-01-01

Peer Instruction, a well-known student-centered teaching method, engages students during class through structured, frequent questioning and is often facilitated by classroom response systems. The central feature of any Peer Instruction class is a conceptual question designed to help resolve student misconceptions about subject matter. We provide…

Social Welfare and the Market Economy.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Nelson, Joel I.

1992-01-01

Reports on a study that questions whether private enterprise can maintain quality while reducing costs of providing social welfare services. Reviews three aspects of privatization: (1) competitive markets; (2) rationality; and (3) cost reduction. Concludes by questioning a central claim of economic theory: that free markets and private firms are…

Centralization vs. Decentralization: A Location Analysis Approach for Librarians

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Raffel, Jeffrey; Shishko, Robert

1972-01-01

An application of location theory to the question of centralized versus decentralized library facilities for a university, with relevance for special libraries is presented. The analysis provides models for a single library, for two or more libraries, or for decentralized facilities. (6 references) (Author/NH)

Estimating and testing mediation and moderation in within-subject designs.

PubMed

Judd, C M; Kenny, D A; McClelland, G H

2001-06-01

Analyses designed to detect mediation and moderation of treatment effects are increasingly prevalent in research in psychology. The mediation question concerns the processes that produce a treatment effect. The moderation question concerns factors that affect the magnitude of that effect. Although analytic procedures have been reasonably well worked out in the case in which the treatment varies between participants, no systematic procedures for examining mediation and moderation have been developed in the case in which the treatment varies within participants. The authors present an analytic approach to these issues using ordinary least squares estimation.

[Pohoda no. I (death on music festival)].

PubMed

Straka, I; Stuller, F; Krajcovic, J; Novomeský, F

2011-07-01

A fatal accident of a young man, visitor of the summer music festival, shocked the whole Slovak society. Many unanswered questions concerned a causality of the incident arose immediately. Altough most questions have been focused to technical experts concerning the cause of a tent fall, the forensic medicine can bring some important reflections and conclusions, too. An absence of natural defense mechanisms of the accident's victim should be explained only through malignant affection of the body reflectoris reactions by exogenous substance, which might depress natural senzoric or motoric response while being in acute danger from falling tent's construction.

Reducing Patients’ Unmet Concerns in Primary Care: the Difference One Word Can Make

PubMed Central

Robinson, Jeffrey D.; Elliott, Marc N.; Beckett, Megan; Wilkes, Michael

2007-01-01

Context In primary, acute-care visits, patients frequently present with more than 1 concern. Various visit factors prevent additional concerns from being articulated and addressed. Objective To test an intervention to reduce patients’ unmet concerns. Design Cross-sectional comparison of 2 experimental questions, with videotaping of office visits and pre and postvisit surveys. Setting Twenty outpatient offices of community-based physicians equally divided between Los Angeles County and a midsized town in Pennsylvania. Participants A volunteer sample of 20 family physicians (participation rate = 80%) and 224 patients approached consecutively within physicians (participation rate = 73%; approximately 11 participating for each enrolled physician) seeking care for an acute condition. Intervention After seeing 4 nonintervention patients, physicians were randomly assigned to solicit additional concerns by asking 1 of the following 2 questions after patients presented their chief concern: “Is there anything else you want to address in the visit today?” (ANY condition) and “Is there something else you want to address in the visit today?” (SOME condition). Main Outcome Measures Patients’ unmet concerns: concerns listed on previsit surveys but not addressed during visits, visit time, unanticipated concerns: concerns that were addressed during the visit but not listed on previsit surveys. Results Relative to nonintervention cases, the implemented SOME intervention eliminated 78% of unmet concerns (odds ratio (OR) = .154, p = .001). The ANY intervention could not be significantly distinguished from the control condition (p = .122). Neither intervention affected visit length, or patients’; expression of unanticipated concerns not listed in previsit surveys. Conclusions Patients’ unmet concerns can be dramatically reduced by a simple inquiry framed in the SOME form. Both the learning and implementation of the intervention require very little time. PMID:17674111

False Belief, Complementation Language, and Contextual Bias in Preschoolers

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ng, Lisa; Cheung, Him; Xiao, Wen

2010-01-01

In the present study, we address two questions concerning the relation between children's false belief and their understanding of complex object complements. The first question is whether the previously demonstrated association between tensed complements and false belief generalizes to infinitival complements (de Villiers & Pyers, 2002). The…

Attention Deficit Disorder. NICHCY Briefing Paper.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Fowler, Mary

This briefing paper uses a question-and-answer format to provide basic information about children with attention deficit disorder (ADD). Questions address the following concerns: nature and incidence of ADD; causes of ADD; signs of ADD (impulsivity, hyperactivity, disorganization, social skill deficits); the diagnostic ADD assessment; how to get…

47 CFR 97.503 - Element standards.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-10-01

... 47 Telecommunication 5 2011-10-01 2011-10-01 false Element standards. 97.503 Section 97.503... SERVICE Qualifying Examination Systems § 97.503 Element standards. A written examination must be such as... question set as follows: (a) Element 2: 35 questions concerning the privileges of a Technician Class...

47 CFR 97.503 - Element standards.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-10-01

... 47 Telecommunication 5 2014-10-01 2014-10-01 false Element standards. 97.503 Section 97.503... SERVICE Qualifying Examination Systems § 97.503 Element standards. A written examination must be such as... question set as follows: (a) Element 2: 35 questions concerning the privileges of a Technician Class...

47 CFR 97.503 - Element standards.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-10-01

... 47 Telecommunication 5 2012-10-01 2012-10-01 false Element standards. 97.503 Section 97.503... SERVICE Qualifying Examination Systems § 97.503 Element standards. A written examination must be such as... question set as follows: (a) Element 2: 35 questions concerning the privileges of a Technician Class...

47 CFR 97.503 - Element standards.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-10-01

... 47 Telecommunication 5 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false Element standards. 97.503 Section 97.503... SERVICE Qualifying Examination Systems § 97.503 Element standards. A written examination must be such as... question set as follows: (a) Element 2: 35 questions concerning the privileges of a Technician Class...

47 CFR 97.503 - Element standards.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-10-01

... 47 Telecommunication 5 2013-10-01 2013-10-01 false Element standards. 97.503 Section 97.503... SERVICE Qualifying Examination Systems § 97.503 Element standards. A written examination must be such as... question set as follows: (a) Element 2: 35 questions concerning the privileges of a Technician Class...

What Does the Law Say?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Zirkel, Perry A.

2007-01-01

In this article, the author identifies and answers questions related to legal issues of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) in comparison with Section 504 or the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and the NCLB. The author's answers to several questions concerning legal issues of IDEA are presented.

On the Job: A Newcomer's Guide. 3.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Michael, Jean

A bilingual pamphlet containing practical law-related information for recent Russian Jewish immigrants to New York City, this document concerns employment. Following a brief description of the Newcomer series, 10 questions are listed, each followed by an answer. Questions asked include illegal employment; discrimination; sexual harassment;…

Persistence, Engagement, and Migration in Engineering Programs. Research Brief

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ohland, Matthew W.; Sheppard, Sheri D.; Lichtenstein, Gary; Eris, Ozgur; Chachra, Debbie; Layton, Richard A.

2008-01-01

Those responsible for designing, maintaining, and delivering engineering education are asking questions to understand the outcomes of undergraduate engineering programs. These questions have been motivated by concerns about the declining interest in studying engineering, the continued lack of gender and ethnic diversity in the engineering…

48 CFR 2052.214-70 - Prebid conference.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-10-01

.... You are requested to mail written questions concerning those areas of uncertainty which, in your opinion, require clarification or correction. You are encouraged to submit your questions in writing not... amendment to the solicitation. If you plan to attend the conference, notify * by letter or telephone * , no...

48 CFR 2052.215-76 - Preproposal conference.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-10-01

... letter or telephone * , no later than close of business * . Notification of your intention to attend is... this solicitation. You are requested to mail written questions concerning those areas of uncertainty... in writing not later than * working day(s) before the conference date. Receipt of late questions may...

Experimental philosophy.

PubMed

Knobe, Joshua; Buckwalter, Wesley; Nichols, Shaun; Robbins, Philip; Sarkissian, Hagop; Sommers, Tamler

2012-01-01

Experimental philosophy is a new interdisciplinary field that uses methods normally associated with psychology to investigate questions normally associated with philosophy. The present review focuses on research in experimental philosophy on four central questions. First, why is it that people's moral judgments appear to influence their intuitions about seemingly nonmoral questions? Second, do people think that moral questions have objective answers, or do they see morality as fundamentally relative? Third, do people believe in free will, and do they see free will as compatible with determinism? Fourth, how do people determine whether an entity is conscious?

Productivity, Slack, and Time Theft in the Soviet Economy: Evidence from the Soviet Interview Project

DTIC Science & Technology

1985-09-01

enterprise, changes in personal living standards, tightness of enterprise targets, and so on. The natural question is how these perceptions affect...microeconomic working arrangements, and respondent-specific questions concerning their own personal experiences and impressions. These two types of responses...directly to speak about personal workplace experiences, so there is less dznger of second-hand generalizatIons. The slack questions address

To Refer or Not To Refer...What Are the Questions? Evaluative Questions for Procedural Implementation of an Effective Prereferral Phase for Culturally Diverse and Limited English Proficient Students.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ruz, Magdalena

Culturally specific behaviors must be considered in the pre-referral phase of assessing culturally diverse/limited-English-proficient students. Inferences regarding the reasons for students' performance reflect the knowledge base acquired by the school staff concerning a student's culture. Evaluative questions can gather data to assure non-biased…

Relationship between xerostomia and salivary flow rates in HIV-infected individuals.

PubMed

Nittayananta, Wipawee; Chanowanna, Nilnara; Pruphetkaew, Nannapat; Nauntofte, Birgitte

2013-08-01

The aim of the present study was to determine the relationship between self-reported xerostomia and salivary flow rates among HIV-infected individuals. A cross-sectional study was performed on 173 individuals (81 HIV-infected individuals, mean age: 32 years, and 92 non-HIV controls, mean age: 30 years). Subjective complaints of dry mouth, based on a self-report of xerostomia questions, and dry mouth, based on a visual analogue scale (VAS), were recorded along with measurements of salivary flow rate of both unstimulated and wax-stimulated whole saliva. The relationship between subjective responses to the xerostomia questions, the VAS of dry mouth, and objective measurements of salivary flow rates were analyzed. Responses to the questions--Do you carry water or a saliva substitute? and Have you had taste disturbance?--were significantly different between HIV-infected and non-HIV individuals (P < 0.05). Individuals' responses to questions concerning dry mouth were significantly correlated with a low unstimulated salivary flow rate. A significant correlation between the VAS of dry mouth and salivary flow rates was observed (P = 0.023). Responses to self-reported xerostomia questions reflects low unstimulated salivary flow rates. Thus, questions concerning dry mouth might be useful tools to identify HIV-infected individuals with hyposalivation, especially at a resting stage. © 2013 Wiley Publishing Asia Pty Ltd.

Development of the Central Dogma Concept Inventory (CDCI) Assessment Tool

PubMed Central

Newman, Dina L.; Snyder, Christopher W.; Fisk, J. Nick; Wright, L. Kate

2016-01-01

Scientific teaching requires scientifically constructed, field-tested instruments to accurately evaluate student thinking and gauge teacher effectiveness. We have developed a 23-question, multiple select–format assessment of student understanding of the essential concepts of the central dogma of molecular biology that is appropriate for all levels of undergraduate biology. Questions for the Central Dogma Concept Inventory (CDCI) tool were developed and iteratively revised based on student language and review by experts. The ability of the CDCI to discriminate between levels of understanding of the central dogma is supported by field testing (N = 54), and large-scale beta testing (N = 1733). Performance on the assessment increased with experience in biology; scores covered a broad range and showed no ceiling effect, even with senior biology majors, and pre/posttesting of a single class focused on the central dogma showed significant improvement. The multiple-select format reduces the chances of correct answers by random guessing, allows students at different levels to exhibit the extent of their knowledge, and provides deeper insight into the complexity of student thinking on each theme. To date, the CDCI is the first tool dedicated to measuring student thinking about the central dogma of molecular biology, and version 5 is ready to use. PMID:27055775

78 FR 14400 - Southern USA Resources, Inc., Order of Suspension of Trading

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2013-03-05

... SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION [File No. 500-1] Southern USA Resources, Inc., Order of... lack of current and accurate information concerning the securities of Southern USA Resources, Inc. (``Southern USA'') because of questions regarding the accuracy of publicly-disseminated information concerning...

Physicians' opening questions and patients' satisfaction.

PubMed

Robinson, Jeffrey D; Heritage, John

2006-03-01

To determine the association between the format of physicians' opening questions that solicit patients' presenting concerns and patients' post-visit evaluations of (i.e., satisfaction with) the affective-relational dimension of physicians' communication. Videotape and questionnaire data were collected from visits between 28 primary-care physicians and 142 adult patients with acute problems. Factor analysis resulted in three dependent variables derived from the 9-item Socioemotional Behavior subscale of the Medical Interview Satisfaction Scale. Question format was significantly, positively associated with patients' evaluations of physicians' listening (p=.028) and positive affective-relational communication (p=.046). Patients desire opportunities to present concerns in their own time and terms regardless of how extensively they act on this opportunity. Visits should be opened with general inquiries (e.g., What can I do for you today?) versus closed-ended requests for confirmation (e.g., Sore throat, huh?).

Attitudes of Medical Students Regarding Cancer Pain Management: Comparison Between Pre- and Post-Lecture Test Findings.

PubMed

Nimmaanrat, Sasikaan; Oofuvong, Maliwan

2015-01-01

Medical practitioners' attitudes have a significant impact on quality of care for cancer pain patients. This study was conducted to determine if being given a lecture concerning cancer pain and its management could improve the attitudes of medical students. A comparative study was conducted in 126 fifth-year medical students. Each student completed a pretest consisting of 3 questions about attitudes toward the optimal use of analgesics and 5 questions about attitudes toward prescribing opioids. Then they were given a 1.5-hour lecture, immediately following which they completed a post-test with the same questions. Analysis with either comparison between groups or by matching, the post-test showed significantly more positive attitudes (p<0.05) of the medical students in all 3 questions about optimal use of analgesics and 4 out of 5 questions about prescription of opioids. The post-test results showed significantly more negative attitudes concerning the most appropriate stage for patients with severe pain to receive maximal doses of analgesics. Conservative attitudes, especially concerns about addiction, have been associated with a reluctance in many physicians to prescribe opioids. This study found that cancer pain education can help to improve medical student attitudes. However, fear of addiction and tolerance was still evident so emphasis of this particular issue during a lecture is essential. Providing appropriate information by means of a lecture can improve the attitudes of medical students regarding cancer pain management. However, more information should be given to lessen fear of addiction and tolerance.

X-ray illumination of globular cluster puzzles. [globular cluster X ray sources as clues to Milky Way Galaxy age and evolution

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Lightman, A. P.; Grindlay, J. E.

1982-01-01

Globular clusters are thought to be among the oldest objects in the Galaxy, and provide, in this connection, important clues for determining the age and process of formation of the Galaxy. The present investigation is concerned with puzzles relating to the X-ray emission of globular clusters, taking into account questions regarding the location of X-ray emitting clusters (XEGC) unusually near the galactic plane and/or galactic center. An adopted model is discussed for the nature, formation, and lifetime of X-ray sources in globular clusters. An analysis of the available data is conducted in connection with a search for correlations between binary formation time scales, central relaxation times, galactic locations, and X-ray emission. The positive correlation found between distance from galactic center and two-body binary formation time for globular clusters, explanations for this correlation, and the hypothesis that X-ray sources in globular clusters require binary star systems provide a possible explanation of the considered puzzles.

Activating analytic thinking enhances the value given to individualizing moral foundations.

PubMed

Yilmaz, Onurcan; Saribay, S Adil

2017-08-01

Two central debates within Moral Foundations Theory concern (1) which moral foundations are core and (2) how conflict between ideological camps stemming from valuing different moral foundations can be resolved. Previous studies have attempted to answer the first question by imposing cognitive load on participants to direct them toward intuitive and automatic thought. However, this method has limitations and has produced mixed findings. In the present research, in two experiments, instead of directing participants toward intuitive thought, we tested the effects of activating high-effort, analytic thought on participants' moral foundations. In both experiments, analytic thought activation caused participants to value individualizing foundations greater than the control condition. This effect was not qualified by participants' political orientation. No effect was observed on binding foundations. The results are consistent with the idea that upholding individualizing foundations requires mental effort and may provide the basis for reconciliation between different ideological camps. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Are there dynamical effects in enzyme catalysis? Some thoughts concerning the enzymatic chemical step.

PubMed

Tuñón, Iñaki; Laage, Damien; Hynes, James T

2015-09-15

We offer some thoughts on the much debated issue of dynamical effects in enzyme catalysis, and more specifically on their potential role in the acceleration of the chemical step. Since the term 'dynamics' has been used with different meanings, we find it useful to first return to the Transition State Theory rate constant, its assumptions and the choices it involves, and detail the various sources of deviations from it due to dynamics (or not). We suggest that much can be learned about the key current questions for enzyme catalysis from prior extensive studies of dynamical and other effects in the case of reactions in solution. We analyze dynamical effects both in the neighborhood of the transition state and far from it, together with the situation when quantum nuclear motion is central to the reaction, and we illustrate our discussion with various examples of enzymatic reactions. Copyright © 2015 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Comments on the present state and future directions of PDF methods

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Obrien, E. E.

1992-01-01

The one point probability density function (PDF) method is examined in light of its use in actual engineering problems. The PDF method, although relatively complicated, appears to be the only format available to handle the nonlinear stochastic difficulties caused by typical reaction kinetics. Turbulence modeling, if it is to play a central role in combustion modeling, has to be integrated with the chemistry in a way which produces accurate numerical solutions to combustion problems. It is questionable whether the development of turbulent models in isolation from the peculiar statistics of reactant concentrations is a fruitful line of development as far as propulsion is concerned. There are three issues for which additional viewgraphs are prepared: the one point pdf method; the amplitude mapping closure; and a hybrid strategy for replacing a full two point pdf treatment of reacting flows by a single point pdf and correlation functions. An appeal is made for the establishment of an adequate data base for compressible flow with reactions for Mach numbers of unity or higher.

PANORAMA: An approach to performance modeling and diagnosis of extreme-scale workflows

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Deelman, Ewa; Carothers, Christopher; Mandal, Anirban

Here we report that computational science is well established as the third pillar of scientific discovery and is on par with experimentation and theory. However, as we move closer toward the ability to execute exascale calculations and process the ensuing extreme-scale amounts of data produced by both experiments and computations alike, the complexity of managing the compute and data analysis tasks has grown beyond the capabilities of domain scientists. Therefore, workflow management systems are absolutely necessary to ensure current and future scientific discoveries. A key research question for these workflow management systems concerns the performance optimization of complex calculation andmore » data analysis tasks. The central contribution of this article is a description of the PANORAMA approach for modeling and diagnosing the run-time performance of complex scientific workflows. This approach integrates extreme-scale systems testbed experimentation, structured analytical modeling, and parallel systems simulation into a comprehensive workflow framework called Pegasus for understanding and improving the overall performance of complex scientific workflows.« less

Behavior analysis and the study of human aging

PubMed Central

Derenne, Adam; Baron, Alan

2002-01-01

As the population of older adults continues to rise, psychologists along with other behavioral and social scientists have shown increasing interest in this age group. Although behavior analysts have contributed to research on aging, the focus has been on applications that remedy age-related deficits, rather than a concern with aging as a developmental process. In particular, there has been little interest in the central theoretical questions that have guided gerontologists. How does behavior change with advancing years, and what are the sources of those changes? We consider the possibility that this neglect reflects the long-standing commitment of behavior analysts to variables that can be experimentally manipulated, a requirement that excludes the key variable—age itself. We review the options available to researchers and present strategies that minimize deviations from the traditional features of behavior-analytic designs. Our comments are predicated on the view that aging issues within contemporary society are far too important for behavior analysts to ignore. PMID:22478383

Becoming more oneself? Changes in personality following DBS treatment for psychiatric disorders: Experiences of OCD patients and general considerations

PubMed Central

Rietveld, Erik; Stokhof, Martin; Denys, Damiaan

2017-01-01

Does DBS change a patient’s personality? This is one of the central questions in the debate on the ethics of treatment with Deep Brain Stimulation (DBS). At the moment, however, this important debate is hampered by the fact that there is relatively little data available concerning what patients actually experience following DBS treatment. There are a few qualitative studies with patients with Parkinson’s disease and Primary Dystonia and some case reports, but there has been no qualitative study yet with patients suffering from psychiatric disorders. In this paper, we present the experiences of 18 patients with Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD) who are undergoing treatment with DBS. We will also discuss the inherent difficulties of how to define and assess changes in personality, in particular for patients with psychiatric disorders. We end with a discussion of the data and how these shed new light on the conceptual debate about how to define personality. PMID:28426824

Balanced identity in the minimal groups paradigm.

PubMed

Dunham, Yarrow

2013-01-01

Balanced Identity Theory [1] formalizes a set of relationships between group attitude, group identification, and self-esteem. While these relationships have been demonstrated for familiar and highly salient social categories, questions remain regarding the generality of the balance phenomenon and its causal versus descriptive status. Supporting the generality and rapidity of cognitive balance, four studies demonstrate that the central predictions of balance are supported even for previously unfamiliar "minimal" social groups to which participants have just been randomly assigned. Further, supporting a causal as opposed to merely descriptive interpretation, manipulating any one component of the balance model (group attitude, group identification, or self-esteem) affects at least one of the related components. Interestingly, the broader pattern of cognitive balance was preserved across such manipulations only when the manipulation strengthens as opposes to weakens the manipulated construct. Taken together, these findings indicate that Balanced Identity Theory has promise as a general theory of intergroup attitudes, and that it may be able to shed light on prior inconsistencies concerning the relationship between self-esteem and intergroup bias.

Are we going about chemical risk assessment for the aquatic environment the wrong way?

PubMed

Johnson, Andrew C; Sumpter, John P

2016-07-01

The goal of protecting the aquatic environment through testing thousands of chemicals against hundreds of aquatic species with thousands of endpoints while also considering mixtures is impossible given the present resources. Much of the impetus for studies on micropollutants, such as pharmaceuticals, came from the topic of endocrine disruption in wild fish. But despite concern over reductions in fish fertility, there is little evidence that fish populations are in peril. Indeed, fish biologists suggest that many cyprinid populations have been recovering for the past 30 to 40 yr. The central assumption, key to current risk assessment, that effects observed in the laboratory or predicted by models are readily transferrable to the population level, is therefore questionable. The neglect in monitoring wildlife populations is the key weakness in environmental protection strategies. If we do not know whether aquatic wildlife species are declining or increasing, how valuable are our other ecotoxicological activities? Environ Toxicol Chem 2016;35:1609-1616. © 2016 SETAC. © 2016 SETAC.

Radiometric dating of the type-site for Homo heidelbergensis at Mauer, Germany.

PubMed

Wagner, Günther A; Krbetschek, Matthias; Degering, Detlev; Bahain, Jean-Jacques; Shao, Qingfeng; Falguères, Christophe; Voinchet, Pierre; Dolo, Jean-Michel; Garcia, Tristan; Rightmire, G Philip

2010-11-16

The Mauer mandible, holotype of Homo heidelbergensis, was found in 1907 in fluvial sands deposited by the Neckar River 10 km southeast of Heidelberg, Germany. The fossil is an important key to understanding early human occupation of Europe north of the Alps. Given the associated mammal fauna and the geological context, the find layer has been placed in the early Middle Pleistocene, but confirmatory chronometric evidence has hitherto been missing. Here we show that two independent techniques, the combined electron spin resonance/U-series method used with mammal teeth and infrared radiofluorescence applied to sand grains, date the type-site of Homo heidelbergensis at Mauer to 609 ± 40 ka. This result demonstrates that the mandible is the oldest hominin fossil reported to date from central and northern Europe and raises questions concerning the phyletic relationship of Homo heidelbergensis to more ancient populations documented from southern Europe and in Africa. We address the paleoanthropological significance of the Mauer jaw in light of this dating evidence.

Radiometric dating of the type-site for Homo heidelbergensis at Mauer, Germany

PubMed Central

Wagner, Günther A.; Krbetschek, Matthias; Degering, Detlev; Bahain, Jean-Jacques; Shao, Qingfeng; Falguères, Christophe; Voinchet, Pierre; Dolo, Jean-Michel; Garcia, Tristan; Rightmire, G. Philip

2010-01-01

The Mauer mandible, holotype of Homo heidelbergensis, was found in 1907 in fluvial sands deposited by the Neckar River 10 km southeast of Heidelberg, Germany. The fossil is an important key to understanding early human occupation of Europe north of the Alps. Given the associated mammal fauna and the geological context, the find layer has been placed in the early Middle Pleistocene, but confirmatory chronometric evidence has hitherto been missing. Here we show that two independent techniques, the combined electron spin resonance/U-series method used with mammal teeth and infrared radiofluorescence applied to sand grains, date the type-site of Homo heidelbergensis at Mauer to 609 ± 40 ka. This result demonstrates that the mandible is the oldest hominin fossil reported to date from central and northern Europe and raises questions concerning the phyletic relationship of Homo heidelbergensis to more ancient populations documented from southern Europe and in Africa. We address the paleoanthropological significance of the Mauer jaw in light of this dating evidence. PMID:21041630

Planungsmodelle und Planungsmethoden. Anhaltspunkte zur Strukturierung und Gestaltung von Planungsprozessen

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Diller, Christian; Karic, Sarah; Oberding, Sarah

2017-06-01

The topic of this article ist the question, in which phases oft he political planning process planners apply their methodological set of tools. That for the results of a research-project are presented, which were gained by an examination of planning-cases in learned journals. Firstly it is argued, which model oft he planning-process is most suitable to reflect the regarded cases and how it is positioned to models oft he political process. Thereafter it is analyzed, which types of planning methods are applied in the several stages oft he planning process. The central findings: Although complex, many planning processes can be thouroughly pictured by a linear modell with predominantly simple feedback loops. Even in times of he communicative turn, concerning their set of tools, planners should pay attention to apply not only communicative methods but as well the classical analytical-rational methods. They are helpful especially for the understanding of the political process before and after the actual planning phase.

Experiences of discrimination and positive treatment in people with mental health problems: Findings from an Australian national survey.

PubMed

Reavley, Nicola J; Jorm, Anthony F

2015-10-01

Stigma and discrimination are central concerns for people with mental health problems. The aim of the study was to carry out a national survey in order to assess experiences of avoidance, discrimination and positive treatment in people with mental health problems. In 2014, telephone interviews were carried out with 5220 Australians aged 18+, 1381 of whom reported a mental health problem or scored highly on a symptom screening questionnaire. Questions covered experiences of avoidance, discrimination and positive treatment by friends, spouse, other family, workplace, educational institution and others in the community. In most domains, respondents reported more positive treatment experiences than avoidance or discrimination. Friends and family were more likely to avoid the person than to discriminate. The results can provide input into the design of anti-discrimination interventions and further empower people with mental health problems as they advocate for change in the area of discrimination. © The Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Psychiatrists 2015.

[Neurobiology of learning and memory and anti-dementia drug].

PubMed

Ishikawa, K

1995-08-01

Discoveries of long-term potentiation and immediate early gene in the central nervous system have enabled new developments in experiments on learning and memory. These experiments are conducted in many kinds of animals with different procedures, physiology, chemistry and pharmacology. However, there is still some confusion when these various procedures are discussed. Memory is defined as information storage of an animal's previous experiences. The memory induces changes in behavioral performance. This means that memory must be observed in whole animals, and one question that can occur is how does long-term potentiation, for example, correlate with memory. Furthermore, memory has been divided into two major classifications, declarative and non-declarative, from the comparison of amnesias observed in humans and animals. The declarative memory can be observed in human subjects, but not in animals. This article presents a neuronal circuit concerning memory formation and some results obtained from benzodiazepines, and it discusses some problems encountered executing when experiments on learning and memory. In addition, the discussion speculates over the possibility for an "anti-dementia drug".

Becoming more oneself? Changes in personality following DBS treatment for psychiatric disorders: Experiences of OCD patients and general considerations.

PubMed

de Haan, Sanneke; Rietveld, Erik; Stokhof, Martin; Denys, Damiaan

2017-01-01

Does DBS change a patient's personality? This is one of the central questions in the debate on the ethics of treatment with Deep Brain Stimulation (DBS). At the moment, however, this important debate is hampered by the fact that there is relatively little data available concerning what patients actually experience following DBS treatment. There are a few qualitative studies with patients with Parkinson's disease and Primary Dystonia and some case reports, but there has been no qualitative study yet with patients suffering from psychiatric disorders. In this paper, we present the experiences of 18 patients with Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD) who are undergoing treatment with DBS. We will also discuss the inherent difficulties of how to define and assess changes in personality, in particular for patients with psychiatric disorders. We end with a discussion of the data and how these shed new light on the conceptual debate about how to define personality.

PANORAMA: An approach to performance modeling and diagnosis of extreme-scale workflows

DOE PAGES

Deelman, Ewa; Carothers, Christopher; Mandal, Anirban; ...

2015-07-14

Here we report that computational science is well established as the third pillar of scientific discovery and is on par with experimentation and theory. However, as we move closer toward the ability to execute exascale calculations and process the ensuing extreme-scale amounts of data produced by both experiments and computations alike, the complexity of managing the compute and data analysis tasks has grown beyond the capabilities of domain scientists. Therefore, workflow management systems are absolutely necessary to ensure current and future scientific discoveries. A key research question for these workflow management systems concerns the performance optimization of complex calculation andmore » data analysis tasks. The central contribution of this article is a description of the PANORAMA approach for modeling and diagnosing the run-time performance of complex scientific workflows. This approach integrates extreme-scale systems testbed experimentation, structured analytical modeling, and parallel systems simulation into a comprehensive workflow framework called Pegasus for understanding and improving the overall performance of complex scientific workflows.« less

Central Localization of Plasticity Involved in Appetitive Conditioning in "Lymnaea"

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Straub, Volko A.; Styles, Benjamin J.; Ireland, Julie S.; O'Shea, Michael; Benjamin, Paul R.

2004-01-01

Learning to associate a conditioned (CS) and unconditioned stimulus (US) results in changes in the processing of CS information. Here, we address directly the question whether chemical appetitive conditioning of "Lymnaea" feeding behavior involves changes in the peripheral and/or central processing of the CS by using extracellular recording…

Court-Driven Reform and Equal Educational Opportunity: Centralization, Decentralization, and the Shifting Judicial Role

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Superfine, Benjamin Michael

2010-01-01

Judicial decisions focusing on equal educational opportunity involve significant issues of educational governance and often involve explicit questions about the extent to which authority to make educational decisions should be centralized or decentralized across various institutions and entities. This review aims at clarifying scholars'…

2011 floods of the central United States

USGS Publications Warehouse

,

2013-01-01

* Do floods contribute to the transport and fate of contaminants that affect human and ecosystem health? In an effort to help address these and other questions, USGS Professional Paper 1798 consists of independent but complementary chapters dealing with various scientific aspects of the 2011 floods in the Central United States.

The Collision of Athletics & Consolidation

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Graves, Bill

2010-01-01

For decades, people questioned the sense of having two school districts, each with its own superintendent, central office and high school, operating in the same small town of The Dalles on the banks of the Columbia River in north-central Oregon. But election campaigns to consolidate repeatedly failed because each community had strong emotional…

Development of the Central Dogma Concept Inventory (CDCI) Assessment Tool

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Newman, Dina L.; Snyder, Christopher W.; Fisk, J. Nick; Wright, L. Kate

2016-01-01

Scientific teaching requires scientifically constructed, field-tested instruments to accurately evaluate student thinking and gauge teacher effectiveness. We have developed a 23-question, multiple select--format assessment of student understanding of the essential concepts of the central dogma of molecular biology that is appropriate for all…

Channeling the Central Dogma.

PubMed

Calabrese, Ronald L

2014-05-21

How do neurons and networks achieve their characteristic electrical activity, regulate this activity homeostatically, and yet show population variability in expression? In this issue of Neuron, O'Leary et al. (2014) address some of these thorny questions in this theoretical analysis that starts with the Central Dogma. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Viewer Perspective Affects Central Bottleneck Requirements in Spatial Translation Tasks

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Franz, Elizabeth A.; Sebastian, Alexandra; Hust, Christina; Norris, Tom

2008-01-01

A psychological refractory period (PRP) approach and the locus of slack logic were applied to examine the novel question of whether spatial translation processes can begin before the central bottleneck when effector or noneffector stimuli are processed from an egocentric (viewer-centered) perspective. In single tasks, trials requiring spatial…

Philosophy of Education in the UK: The Historical and Contemporary Tradition

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Oancea, Alis; Bridges, David

2009-01-01

Questions of a philosophical nature are central to every significant debate in the field of educational theory, policy, practice and research. Of all disciplines, philosophy is perhaps the one in which "analysis, argumentation and critique" are given most central, systematic and comprehensive attention. In addition, philosophy is…

Toward a Puerto Rican popular nosology: nervios and ataque de nervios.

PubMed

Guarnaccia, Peter J; Lewis-Fernández, Roberto; Marano, Melissa Rivera

2003-09-01

This paper is about naming illnesses--about who determines what categories are used and the implications of these determinations. The central concerns of medical/psychiatric anthropology have been to understand popular categories of and systems for classification of illness, to examine the relationship of illness categories to cultural understandings of the body, and to interpret the role of categories of illness in mediating between the personal and social spheres. At the same time, the paper also discusses the interplay of popular categories and psychiatric diagnoses. This paper examines the multiple experiences of nervios among Puerto Ricans in Puerto Rico and New York City. Our contention is that nervios is more than a diffuse idiom of distress, and that there are different categories and experiences of nervios which provide insights into how distress is experienced and expressed by Puerto Ricans and point to different social sources of suffering. The data in this paper come from the responses to a series of open-ended questions which tapped into people's general conceptions of nervios and ataques de nervios. These questions were incorporated into follow-up interviews to an epidemiological study of the mental health of adults in Puerto Rico. The results suggest ways to incorporate these different categories of nervios into future research and clinical work with different Latino groups in the United States and in their home countries.

The question of autonomy in maternal health in Africa: a rights-based consideration.

PubMed

Amzat, Jimoh

2015-06-01

Maternal mortality is still very high in Africa, despite progress in control efforts at the global level. One elemental link is the question of autonomy in maternal health, especially at the household level where intrinsic human rights are undermined. A rights-based consideration in bioethics is an approach that holds the centrality of the human person, with a compelling reference to the fundamental human rights of every person. A philosophical and sociological engagement of gender and the notion of autonomy within the household reveals some fundamental rights-based perplexities for bioethical considerations in maternal health. The right to self-determination is undermined, and therefore women's dignity, freedom and autonomy, capacities, and choices are easily defiled. This study applies a rights-based approach to maternal health and demonstrates how rights concerns are associated with negative outcomes in maternal health in Africa. The discussion is situated at the household level, which is the starting point in health care. The paper submits that beyond legal and political rights within the context of the state, rights-based issues manifest at the household level. Many of those rights issues, especially relating to women's autonomy, are detrimental to maternal health in Africa. Therefore, a rights-based approach in the social construction of maternal health realities will contribute to alleviating the burden of maternal mortality in Africa.

Gender issues in medical and public health education.

PubMed

Wong, Y L

2000-01-01

There is no doubt that gender bias has been inherent in medical and public health education, research, and clinical practice. This paper discusses the central question for medical and public health educators viz. whether women's health concerns and needs could be best addressed by the conventional biomedical approach to medical and public health education, research, and practice. Gender inequalities in health and gender bias in medical and public health education are revealed. It is found that in most public health and prevention issues related to women's health, the core issue is male-female power relations, and not merely the lack of public health services, medical technology, or information. There is, thus, an urgent need to gender-sensitize public health and medical education. The paper proposes a gender analysis of health to distinguish between biological causes and social explanations for the health differentials between men and women. It also assessed some of the gender approaches to public health and medical education currently adopted in the Asia-Pacific region. It poses the pressing question of how medical and public health educators integrate the gender perspective into medical and public health education. The paper exhorts all medical and public health practitioners to explore new directions and identify innovative strategies to formulate a gender-sensitive curriculum towards the best practices in medicine and public health that will meet the health needs of women and men in the 21st century.

From Cultural Imperialists to Takeover Victims? Questions on Hollywood's Buyouts from the Critical Tradition.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

McAnany, Emile G.; Wilkinson, Kenton T.

1992-01-01

Examines the history of the cultural imperialism debate. Reviews international questions raised concerning the role and influence of the still-popular Hollywood products. Examines changing ownership patterns in Hollywood (buyouts by major foreign interests). Notes important trends, and suggests areas for critical research. (SR)

Ducks and Wolves and Learning to Talk

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Cromer, Richard

1975-01-01

In one experiment, children from 5 to 10 years of age played with puppets and responded to questions concerning the acquisition of one particular linguistic structure by children; in another series of experiments, both children and adults responded to questions regarding nonsense words in differentiating contexts--the focus of the discussion…

Unionizing: A Guide for Child Care Workers.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Whitebook, Marcy; And Others

Including excerpts from contracts protecting unionized child care workers, this booklet explains basic terminology and facts about unionizing and addresses child care workers' concerns. Section 1 answers commonly asked questions about unions and offers advice about how to answer parents' questions about workers' attempts to organize. Section 2…

A Preliminary Examination of Specific Risk Assessment for Sexual Offenders against Children

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Proeve, Michael

2009-01-01

Specific risk questions concerning sexual offending, such as risk of offending against male victims given identified female victims, have seldom been discussed in the child sexual abuse literature. Two approaches to specific risk questions are described: (a) conditional probability calculations, and (b) the development of risk assessment…

31 CFR 9.5 - Applications for investigation.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-07-01

..., both past and current. (c) Statistical material presented should be on a calendar-year basis for... domestic industry concerned with the article in question. (4) Pertinent statistics showing the quantities... competition created by imports of the article in question. (6) The effect, if any, of imports of the article...

Epistemology Shock: English Professors Confront Science

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Barnard, Ian; Osborn, Jan

2017-01-01

This article raises questions and concerns regarding students from the sciences working with faculty in the humanities in interdisciplinary settings. It explores the experience of two English professors facing the privileging of "facts" and a science-based understanding of the world in their own classrooms. It poses both questions and…

Marijuana: Facts for Teens. Revised.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

National Inst. on Drug Abuse (DHEW/PHS), Rockville, MD.

This booklet provides teenagers with information concerning the use of marijuana. It is presented in a question/answer format. The following sixteen questions are briefly answered: What is marijuana? How is marijuana used? How long does marijuana stay in the user's body? How many teens smoke marijuana? Why do young people use marijuana? What…

Financial Manager Innovations: The Measurement of Manager Traits.

DTIC Science & Technology

1986-06-01

34. This question is concerned with how cosmopolitan the respondent is. Rogers and Shoemaker [Ref. 5: p. 378] state that the cosmopolite is more oriented...cosmopolitan than their followers. This characteristic ties in with Question Two. The cosmopolite is, according to Farr [Ref. 7], more likely to attend

The Marfan Syndrome [and] Fact Sheet.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Pyeritz, Reed E.; Conant, Julia

This introduction to the Marfan syndrome, a heritable disorder of connective tissue primarily affecting the bones and ligaments, eyes, cardiovascular system, and lungs, is intended for a general audience. The question-and-answer format was chosen by individuals with the syndrome to reflect their major questions and concerns. It incorporates the…

Disciplinary Literacy : What You Want to Know about It

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Fang, Zhihui; Coatoam, Suzanne

2013-01-01

The recent call for a disciplinary perspective on literacy instruction in the content areas has generated considerable interest among literacy educators. This column addresses some of the questions that have been raised about disciplinary literacy. These questions concern the definition and assessment of disciplinary literacy, as well as the…

Questions and Answers on Disciplining Students with Disabilities. OSEP Memorandum.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Heumann, Judith E.; Hehir, Thomas

This document, presented in question and answer format, provides guidance about legal requirements of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) concerning the misconduct of students with disabilities and corrects the misunderstanding that students with disabilities are exempt from discipline under current law. It discusses recent…

Organization and Supervision of Elementary Education in 100 Cities. Bulletin, 1949, No. 11

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bathurst, Effie G.; Davis, Mary Dabney; Gabbard, Hazel; Mackintosh, Helen K.; Patterson, Don S.

1949-01-01

This bulletin is the full report of a study made by the Division of Elementary Education to help answer questions frequently asked about elementary school organization and supervision. These questions concern organization for instruction; supervisory personnel; in-service techniques; scheduling; classification; records; reports to parents;…

The National Stream Quality Accounting Network (NASQAN) - Some questions and answers

USGS Publications Warehouse

Ficke, John F.; Hawkinson, Richard O.

1975-01-01

One of the major new efforts of the U.S. Geological Survey is the National Stream Quality Accounting Network (NASQAN). This circular is intended to answer some of the frequently asked questions concerning concepts used in establishing NASQAN, its purposes, design, value, and future plans.

Are All Infinities Created Equal?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Paoletti, Teo J.

2013-01-01

Can one infinity be more than another infinity? Ask students this question, and many will be puzzled; others will insist that "infinity is infinity." The question seems to pique their interest and provides an opportunity to present the beautifully simple but counterintuitive proofs concerning the size of infinity first constructed by…

Why Don't You Ask Comprehension Questions? (When the Principal Asks).

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Harp, Bill

1989-01-01

Discusses literature and research concerning comprehension questions, particularly in the context of the Whole Language Movement. Notes that there are other ways for students to demonstrate their text comprehension, such as literature logs, small group discussion, and individual or group projects. Suggests several implications for the classroom.…

A Question of Gender-Sensitive Pedagogy: Discourses in Pedagogical Guidelines

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Karlson, Ingrid; Simonsson, Maria

2011-01-01

In this article, some of the discourses concerning "gender-sensitive pedagogy" that circulate in Swedish preschools are discussed. Two guideline documents that circulate in gender- and equity-sensitive projects in preschool are investigated, and the question is asked: What gender-related messages can possibly reach preschools from the…

Experiences of Sexual Harassment: Results from a Representative Survey.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Gutek, Barbara A.

Sexual harassment at work has recently received considerable attention. Working men (N=405) and women (N=827) in Los Angeles County responded to questions about respondent's work, job characteristics, and work climate. Other questions concerned the respondent's experience of socio-sexual behaviors on current and previous jobs, definitions of…

Going Beyond Einstein with the Constellation-X Mission

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

White, Nicholas

2007-01-01

The Constellation-X mission will address the questions: "What happens to matter close to a black hole?" and "What is Dark Energy?" These questions are central to the NASA Beyond Einstein Program, where Constellation-X plays a central role. The mission will address these questions by using high throughput X-ray spectroscopy to observe the effects of strong gravity close to the event horizon of black holes, and to observe the formation and evolution of clusters of galaxies in order to precisely determine Cosmological parameters. To achieve these primary science goals requires a factor of 25-100 increase in sensitivity for high resolution X-ray spectroscopy.'The mission will also perform routine high-resolution X-ray spectroscopy of faint 2nd extended X-ray source populations. This will provide diagnostic information such as density, elemental abundances, velocity; and ionization state for a wide range of astrophysical problems, including new constraints on the Neutron Star equation of state.

The Foreign Language Classroom: New Techniques. Report of Central States Conference on the Teaching of Foreign Languages.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Garfinkel, Alan, Ed.; And Others

The summary of the 1983 Central States Conference on the Teaching of Foreign Languages includes these papers: "A Look at Our Profession: Common Concerns, Common Dreams" (Mary Finocchiaro's keynote address to the 1982 Central States Conference); "Traversing the Language 'Gateway': The Passport Lesson" (Dana Carton); "Personal Growth Through…

Planetary protection, legal ambiguity and the decision making process for Mars sample return

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Race, M. S.

1996-01-01

As scientists and mission planners develop planetary protection requirements for future Mars sample return missions, they must recognize the socio-political context in which decisions about the mission will be made and pay careful attention to public concerns about potential back contamination of Earth. To the extent that planetary protection questions are unresolved or unaddressed at the time of an actual mission, they offer convenient footholds for public challenges in both legal and decision making realms, over which NASA will have little direct control. In this paper, two particular non-scientific areas of special concern are discussed in detail: 1) legal issues and 2) the decision making process. Understanding these areas is critical for addressing legitimate public concerns as well as for fulfilling procedural requirements regardless whether sample return evokes public controversy. Legal issues with the potential to complicate future missions include: procedural review under National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA); uncertainty about institutional control and authority; conflicting regulations and overlapping jurisdictions; questions about international treaty obligations and large scale impacts; uncertanities about the nature of the organism; and constitutional and regulatory concerns about quarantine, public health and safety. In light of these important legal issues, it is critical that NASA consider the role and timing of public involvement in the decision making process as a way of anticipating problem areas and preparing for legitimate public questions and challenges to sample return missions.

M.A.L.D.E.F.--Watchdog on Alien Issue

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Oliveira, Annette

1978-01-01

Concerned that the undocumented alien questions should not be pushed aside, MALDEF focused its efforts on presenting Mexican American immigration concerns both in individual meetings with Carter's "domestic issues man" and with other administration officials. MALDEF also facilitated Administration meetings on immigration with other…

[Building questions in forensic medicine and their logical basis].

PubMed

Kovalev, D; Shmarov, K; Ten'kov, D

2015-01-01

The authors characterize in brief the requirements to the correct formulation of the questions posed to forensic medical experts with special reference to the mistakes made in building the questions and the ways to avoid them. This article actually continues the series of publications of the authors concerned with the major logical errors encountered in expert conclusions. Further publications will be dedicated to the results of the in-depth analysis of the logical errors contained in the questions posed to forensic medical experts and encountered in the expert conclusions.

Socratic Dialogue, the Humanities and the Art of the Question

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Mitchell, Sebastian

2006-01-01

Plato's depiction of Socrates' interrogations in his early dialogues provides an enduring example of the importance of asking questions as an educative method. This article considers the central educational elements of Socratic dialogue and the ways in which these were developed in the 20th century, particularly in "The Socratic Method"…

Valuing Wildlands

Treesearch

R.A. Efroymson; H.I. Jager; W.W. Hargrove

2010-01-01

One of the central problems of land and water management is "the way in which scarce resources are allocated among alternative uses and users. The question is, of course, fundamental to economic models and modes of thought in ecology"(Rapport and Turner 1977). Many questions that are at the heart of environmental scape ecology and EcoRAs (the primary topics...

Second Language Listening Strategy Research: Methodological Challenges and Perspectives

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Santos, Denise; Graham, Suzanne; Vanderplank, Robert

2008-01-01

This paper explores methodological issues related to research into second language listening strategies. We argue that a number of central questions regarding research methodology in this line of enquiry are underexamined, and we engage in the discussion of three key methodological questions: (1) To what extent is a verbal report a valid and…

Exploring the Macro-Micro Dynamic in Data Use Practice

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Moss, Pamela A.

2012-01-01

In their opening comments to this special issue on data use, Coburn and Turner point to "one of the most central questions in social theory: the interrelationship between macro-social structure and micro-level action." Questions about data use--which entail social phenomena that range from federal policy to moment-to-moment interactions…

On Knowing: Art and Visual Culture.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Duncum, Paul, Ed.; Bracey, Ted, Ed.

The question of whether or not art can be distinguished from all that is called visual culture has become central to art theoretical discussion over recent decades. This collection of essays and responses addresses this question with the specific aim of making sense of an epistemology of art, with the assumption that nothing less than a persuasive…

Integrating Sex and Drugs into the Principles Course: Market-Failures versus Failures-of-Market Outcomes.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Colander, David

2003-01-01

Argues that microeconomics principles courses are structured around an approach to policy that avoids many controversial but central policy issues including: the interplay of moral issues and efficiency; questions of consumer sovereignty; and questions of the interrelation between measures of efficiency and income distribution. Suggests a dual…

Feminist Composition Pedagogy and the Hypermediated Fractures in the Contact Zone

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Blackburn, Jessica

2012-01-01

This article addresses two central research questions: (1) Are there possible detrimental implications to teaching multimodal composition in first-year composition? (2) If so, what is pedagogy's role in mediating these outcomes? Guided by these questions and focused on the responses of eighty seven first-year composition students, a mixed-methods…

Feasibility planning study for a behavior database. Volume III Appendix B, Compendium of survey questions on drinking and driving and occupant restraints

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

1987-04-01

The general objective of the project was to determine the feasibility of and the general requirements for a centralized database on driver behavior and attitudes related to drunk driving and occupant restraints. Volume III is a compendium of question...

Links between Early Rhythm Skills, Musical Training, and Phonological Awareness

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Moritz, Catherine; Yampolsky, Sasha; Papadelis, Georgios; Thomson, Jennifer; Wolf, Maryanne

2013-01-01

A small number of studies show that music training is associated with improvements in reading or in its component skills. A central question underlying this present research is whether musical activity can enhance the acquisition of reading skill, potentially before formal reading instruction begins. We explored two dimensions of this question: an…

When the Majority Rules: Ballot Initiatives, Race-Conscious Education Policy, and the Public Good

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Moses, Michele S.; Saenz, Lauren P.

2012-01-01

This chapter examines the following central question: How do direct democratic ballot initiatives affect the public good? A second, related question is this: When voters collectively make policy decisions, what responsibilities do researchers have to contribute to informing public deliberation about the relevant issues? In an attempt to answer…

Do Infants Have a Theory of Mind?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Rakoczy, Hannes

2012-01-01

The central question debated in current research on infant social cognition is "do infants have a theory of mind?" It is argued here that this question is understood and treated in radically different ways by different participants of the debate arguing either for (e.g., Onishi & Baillargeon, 2005) or against early competence in theory of mind…

Using Student Writing and Lexical Analysis to Reveal Student Thinking about the Role of Stop Codons in the Central Dogma

PubMed Central

Prevost, Luanna B.; Smith, Michelle K.; Knight, Jennifer K.

2016-01-01

Previous work has shown that students have persistent difficulties in understanding how central dogma processes can be affected by a stop codon mutation. To explore these difficulties, we modified two multiple-choice questions from the Genetics Concept Assessment into three open-ended questions that asked students to write about how a stop codon mutation potentially impacts replication, transcription, and translation. We then used computer-assisted lexical analysis combined with human scoring to categorize student responses. The lexical analysis models showed high agreement with human scoring, demonstrating that this approach can be successfully used to analyze large numbers of student written responses. The results of this analysis show that students’ ideas about one process in the central dogma can affect their thinking about subsequent and previous processes, leading to mixed models of conceptual understanding. PMID:27909016

Integrating centralized and decentralized organization structures: an education and development model.

PubMed

Sheriff, R; Banks, A

2001-01-01

Organization change efforts have led to critically examining the structure of education and development departments within hospitals. This qualitative study evaluated an education and development model in an academic health sciences center. The model combines centralization and decentralization. The study results can be used by staff development educators and administrators when organization structure is questioned. This particular model maximizes the benefits and minimizes the limitations of centralized and decentralized structures.

Central Asia: A New Great Game?

DTIC Science & Technology

1996-06-17

CENTRAL ASIA: A NEW GREAT GAME? Dianne L. Smith June 17, 1996 ******* The views expressed in this report are those of the author and do not...power vacuum in Central Asia seems a remote concern at first blush. Colonel Smith’s review makes clear, however, that the paramount American stake...will always subordinate its relations with Central Asia to those with Russia. Iran still views Iraq as its greatest regional threat. Teheran will do

A Survey of Studies on Ignition and Burn of Inertially Confined Fuels

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Atzeni, Stefano

2016-10-01

A survey of studies on ignition and burn of inertial fusion fuels is presented. Potentials and issues of different approaches to ignition (central ignition, fast ignition, volume ignition) are addressed by means of simple models and numerical simulations. Both equimolar DT and T-lean mixtures are considered. Crucial issues concerning hot spot formation (implosion symmetry for central ignition; igniting pulse parameters for fast ignition) are briefly discussed. Recent results concerning the scaling of the ignition energy with the implosion velocity and constrained gain curves are also summarized.

Obstacles to "race equality" in the English National Health Service: Insights from the healthcare commissioning arena.

PubMed

Salway, Sarah; Mir, Ghazala; Turner, Daniel; Ellison, George T H; Carter, Lynne; Gerrish, Kate

2016-03-01

Inequitable healthcare access, experiences and outcomes across ethnic groups are of concern across many countries. Progress on this agenda appears limited in England given the apparently strong legal and policy framework. This disjuncture raises questions about how central government policy is translated into local services. Healthcare commissioning organisations are a potentially powerful influence on services, but have rarely been examined from an equity perspective. We undertook a mixed method exploration of English Primary Care Trust (PCT) commissioning in 2010-12, to identify barriers and enablers to commissioning that addresses ethnic healthcare inequities, employing:- in-depth interviews with 19 national Key Informants; documentation of 10 good practice examples; detailed case studies of three PCTs (70+ interviews; extensive observational work and documentary analysis); three national stakeholder workshops. We found limited and patchy attention to ethnic diversity and inequity within English healthcare commissioning. Marginalization of this agenda, along with ambivalence, a lack of clarity and limited confidence, perpetuated a reinforcing inter-play between individual managers, their organisational setting and the wider policy context. Despite the apparent contrary indications, ethnic equity was a peripheral concern within national healthcare policy; poorly aligned with other more dominant agendas. Locally, consideration of ethnicity was often treated as a matter of legal compliance rather than integral to understanding and meeting healthcare needs. Many managers and teams did not consider tackling ethnic healthcare inequities to be part-and-parcel of their job, lacked confidence and skills to do so, and questioned the legitimacy of such work. Our findings indicate the need to enhance the skills, confidence and competence of individual managers and commissioning teams and to improve organizational structures and processes that support attention to ethnic inequity. Greater political will and clearer national direction is also required to produce the system change needed to embed action on ethnic inequity within healthcare commissioning. Copyright © 2016 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.

48 CFR 19.308 - Protesting a firm's status as an economically disadvantaged women-owned small business (EDWOSB...

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-10-01

... Central Contractor Registration (CCR) and Online Representations and Certifications Application (ORCA) as... decision. (iv) The concern must remove its designation in CCR and ORCA as an EDWOSB or WOSB concern...

Attitudes and perceptions regarding antimicrobial use and resistance among medical students in Central China.

PubMed

Yang, Kun; Wu, Dongfang; Tan, Fei; Shi, Shaojun; Guo, Xianxi; Min, Qing; Zhang, Xiaolian; Cheng, Hong

2016-01-01

Senior medical students, who are future doctors, should be prepared to use antimicrobials appropriately and will be important partners in antimicrobial stewardship. This survey was designed to investigate the attitudes and perceptions of senior medical students regarding antimicrobial use and resistance. We performed a multi-center survey involving a questionnaire handed out to all fourth year medical students from five representative teaching hospitals in Central China. The survey was completed within 1 month (October to November, 2015). Antimicrobial stewardship programs were taught in all of the teaching hospitals, yet only part of the respondents took part in it. A total of 611 out of 728 students completed our survey. The majority of the respondents (92 %) believed that inappropriate use of antimicrobials causes antimicrobial resistance and agreed with the importance of a strong knowledge of antimicrobials in their medical careers. Most students (67 %) rated their education concerning antimicrobial use and resistance as useful or very useful, but only 25 % recalled having courses on this subject. The overall mean number of correct answers on a section of 11 knowledge questions was 3.78 (standard deviation 1.57, P value for score between hospitals <0.001). We should make an effort to optimize curriculum system in Chinese institutions, and this may contribute to making our future doctors better prepared for antimicrobial stewardship and prudent antimicrobial prescribing.

Codevelopment of conceptual understanding and critical attitude: toward a systemic analysis of the survival blanket

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Viennot, Laurence; Décamp, Nicolas

2016-01-01

One key objective of physics teaching is the promotion of conceptual understanding. Additionally, the critical faculty is universally seen as a central quality to be developed in students. In recent years, however, teaching objectives have placed stronger emphasis on skills than on concepts, and there is a risk that conceptual structuring may be disregarded. The question therefore arises as to whether it is possible for students to develop a critical stance without a conceptual basis, leading in turn to the issue of possible links between the development of conceptual understanding and critical attitude. In an in-depth study to address these questions, the participants were seven prospective physics and chemistry teachers. The methodology included a ‘teaching interview’, designed to observe participants’ responses to limited explanations of a given phenomenon and their ensuing intellectual satisfaction or frustration. The explanatory task related to the physics of how a survival blanket works, requiring a full and appropriate system analysis of the blanket. The analysis identified five recurrent lines of reasoning and linked these to judgments of adequacy of explanation, based on metacognitive/affective (MCA) factors, intellectual (dis)satisfaction and critical stance. Recurrent themes and MCA factors were used to map the intellectual dynamics that emerged during the interview process. Participants’ critical attitude was observed to develop in strong interaction with their comprehension of the topic. The results suggest that most students need to reach a certain level of conceptual mastery before they can begin to question an oversimplified explanation, although one student’s replies show that a different intellectual dynamics is also possible. The paper ends with a discussion of the implications of these findings for future research and for decisions concerning teaching objectives and the design of learning environments.

Central site monitoring: results from a test of accuracy in identifying trials and sites failing Food and Drug Administration inspection.

PubMed

Lindblad, Anne S; Manukyan, Zorayr; Purohit-Sheth, Tejashri; Gensler, Gary; Okwesili, Paul; Meeker-O'Connell, Ann; Ball, Leslie; Marler, John R

2014-04-01

Site monitoring and source document verification account for 15%-30% of clinical trial costs. An alternative is to streamline site monitoring to focus on correcting trial-specific risks identified by central data monitoring. This risk-based approach could preserve or even improve the quality of clinical trial data and human subject protection compared to site monitoring focused primarily on source document verification. To determine whether a central review by statisticians using data submitted to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) by clinical trial sponsors can identify problem sites and trials that failed FDA site inspections. An independent Analysis Center (AC) analyzed data from four anonymous new drug applications (NDAs) where FDA had performed site inspections overseen by FDA's Office of Scientific Investigations (OSI). FDA team members in the OSI chose the four NDAs from among all NDAs with data in Study Data Tabulation Model (SDTM) format. Two of the NDAs had data that OSI had deemed unreliable in support of the application after FDA site inspections identified serious data integrity problems. The other two NDAs had clinical data that OSI deemed reliable after site inspections. At the outset, the AC knew only that the experimental design specified two NDAs with significant problems. FDA gave the AC no information about which NDAs had problems, how many sites were inspected, or how many were found to have problems until after the AC analysis was complete. The AC evaluated randomization balance, enrollment patterns, study visit scheduling, variability of reported data, and last digit reference. The AC classified sites as 'High Concern', 'Moderate Concern', 'Mild Concern', or 'No Concern'. The AC correctly identified the two NDAs with data deemed unreliable by OSI. In addition, central data analysis correctly identified 5 of 6 (83%) sites for which FDA recommended rejection of data and 13 of 15 sites (87%) for which any regulatory deviations were identified during inspection. Of the six sites for which OSI reviewed inspections and found no deviations, the central process flagged four at the lowest level of concern, one at a moderate level, and one was not flagged. Central data monitoring during the conduct of a trial while data checking was in progress was not evaluated. Systematic central monitoring of clinical trial data can identify problems at the same trials and sites identified during FDA site inspections. Central data monitoring in conjunction with an overall monitoring process that adapts to identify risks as a trial progresses has the potential to reduce the frequency of site visits while increasing data integrity and decreasing trial costs compared to processes that are dependent primarily on source documentation.

Estimated Full Scale IQ in an Adult Heroin Addict Population.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Chastain, Robert L.; And Others

The research concerning intellectual functioning in addict populations has not addressed basic questions concerning why and how intelligence quotients (IQ) might be related to drug addiction. A study was undertaken to estimate intellectual functioning based upon a demographic profile for Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale-Revised (WAIS-R) Full…

Checking Your Balance. Guidelines for Assessing Sexism in School and Classroom Practices.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Zamost, Judith G.; Feldman, Sylvia D.

School districts can use this checklist to implement federal and state regulations concerning equal educational opportunity. The 125 questions are organized around seven sex fairness concerns: practices which may encourage sex stereotyping; textbook and curriculum; counseling opportunities; pregnancy; in-service training; physical education; and…

What's the Harm in Asking about Suicidal Ideation?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Mathias, Charles W.; Furr, Michael; Sheftall, Arielle H.; Hill-Kapturczak, Nathalie; Crum, Paige; Dougherty, Donald M.

2012-01-01

Both researchers and oversight committees share concerns about patient safety in the study-related assessment of suicidality. However, concern about assessing suicidal thoughts can be a barrier to the development of empirical evidence that informs research on how to safely conduct these assessments. A question has been raised if asking about…

Principles under Pressure: Student Teachers' Perspectives on Final Teaching Practice in Early Childhood Classrooms

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Rose, Janet; Rogers, Sue

2012-01-01

Global concerns about what constitutes an appropriate curriculum and pedagogy for young children inevitably raises questions for teacher educators and the content of teacher education programmes. These concerns have been particularly visible in England following recent policy initiatives and the resultant "academic shovedown" and…

Teaching Dance in an Online Setting

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Caldwell, Linda Almar; Milling-Robbins, Stephanie

2007-01-01

The advent of distance education in universities has created curricular and pedagogical concerns as well as possibilities for dance educators. This article addresses questions concerning how technology has altered and broadened traditional viewing and performing venues, the role of the dancer and spectator within them, and how these changes impact…

Views of Classroom Teachers Concerning Students with Reading Difficulties

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kayabasi, Zehra Esra Ketenoglu

2017-01-01

This study aimed to try to understand the views and attitudes of classroom teachers concerning students with reading difficulties. Data was collected using the semi-structured interview technique, which is among the qualitative data collection techniques. The researcher prepared a semi-structured interview with 5 questions to be addressed to…

School Transportation Issues, Laws and Concerns: Implications for Future Administrators

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Durick, Jody M.

2010-01-01

Nearly all building administrators are confronted with a variety of transportation issues. Challenges, concerns and questions can arise from various aspects, including student misbehaviors, transportation laws and its implications at the school level, to importance and implementation of a school bus safety program. As new and upcoming future…

What Exactly (If Anything) Is Wrong with Paternalism towards Children?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Drerup, Johannes

2017-01-01

Theoretical and practical issues concerning the justification of paternalism towards children are widely debated in a variety of philosophical contexts. The major focus of these debates lies either on questions concerning the general legitimacy of paternalism towards children or on justifications of paternalism in concrete situations involving…

Feminist Science Education. Athene Series.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Barton, Angela Calabrese

This volume presents a case for science education from a feminist perspective. Feminist science teaching is concerned with questions that emerge from the intersections of the pedagogical, the disciplinary, and the personal with the political, social, and historical dimensions of each of these. It is also concerned with how knowledge of the ways in…

Tree planting in the south: what does the future hold.

Treesearch

Jeffrey D. Kline; Brett J. Butler; Ralph J. Alig

2002-01-01

Projected increasing demands for timber coupled with reduced harvests on public lands have led to concern among some forest policymakers regarding the adequacy of future U.S. timber supplies. One question concerns the likelihood that prevailing market incentives will induce industrial and nonindustrial private landowners to intensify forest management.

Psychosocial Concerns of Sexual Minority Youth: Complexity and Caution in Group Differences

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Poteat, V. Paul; Aragon, Steven R.; Espelage, Dorothy L.; Koenig, Brian W.

2009-01-01

This investigation tested a large adolescent sample (n = 14,439) for significant group differences on psychosocial concerns on the basis of intersecting identities of sexual orientation (lesbian, gay, bisexual, questioning/less certain, heterosexual), race (Whites, racial minorities), and gender (boys, girls). A significant 2-way interaction…

Student Performance: Is More Money the Answer?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Jefferson, Anne L.

2005-01-01

As the amount of money available for various publicly supported enterprises decreases, the relationship of money to purchases made intensifies as a concern. This question of input to output always has been an economist's focus of concern. However, the production function analyses carried out have been inconclusive, as the output for educational…

Recombinant Bovine Growth Hormone Criticism Grows.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Gaard, Greta

1995-01-01

Discusses concerns related to the use of recombinant bovine growth hormone in the United States and other countries. Analyses the issue from the perspectives of animal rights, human health, world hunger, concerns of small and organic farmers, costs to the taxpayer, and environmental questions. A sidebar discusses Canadian review of the hormone.…

Space, time and thrips: biogeographic issues in the evolutionary ecology of Thysanoptera

Treesearch

John R. Grehan

1991-01-01

Most participants of this symposium will be concerned with understanding thrips ecology primarily in order to develop practical and effective control strategies. Questions dealing with historical aspects (evolution) may seem of only isolated "theoretical" interest with little significance for everyday pragmatic concerns. Evolutionary theory is widely...

17 CFR Appendix A to Part 145 - Compilation of Commission Records Available to the Public

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-04-01

... photographs. (10) Statistical data concerning the Commission's budget. (11) Statistical data concerning...) Complaint packages, which contain the Reparation Rules, Brochure “Questions and Answers About How You Can... grain reports. (2) Weekly cotton or call reports. (f) Division of Enforcement. Complaint package...

The philosophical aspects of hate crime and hate crime legislation: introducing the special section on the philosophy of hate crime.

PubMed

Brax, David; Munthe, Christian

2015-06-01

In this introduction to the special symposium on the philosophy of hate crime, we provide an overview of the main philosophical aspects of hate crime and hate crime legislation. We point out that there are two overarching philosophical issues that span over the literature: the Conceptual Question--concerning what hate crime is--and the Normative Question--concerning the status of hate crimes and the justification of hate crime legislation. We also provide brief summaries of the articles in the special section and point to their relations to the broader themes. © The Author(s) 2014.

Human and ape: the legend, the history and the DNA

PubMed Central

Diamandopoulos, AA; Goudas, CP

2007-01-01

A vast amount of papers is published every year about species evolution, the most interesting being those recently published in the journal "Nature", concerning the human-ape relationship. The results and the new theories generated from this research are sometimes astonishing, rising not only biological, but also social, religious and cultural questions. One of the new questions concerns the role of species interbreeding as a means of evolution. In the subject of species interbreeding between human and ape we found some interesting historical and mythical information that sort of back-up this theory of interbreeding, with a historical and cultural side of view. PMID:19582186

Trouble with the Commercial: Internets Theorized and Used

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Paasonen, Susanna

If a future archeologist were to reconstruct internet cultures of the 1990s on the basis of available research literature written during the decade in question, what shape would the resulting “internet” take? How would it correspond to the everyday uses of the internet, or public discourses concerning the medium? Taking these hypothetical questions as starting point, this article investigates some of the gaps between the Internets theorized and used since the 1990s. I argue that premises concerning the internet as a communication medium, as articulated in existing research literature have given rise to ideals and norms with a continuing legacy in internet research.

The Goldwater Rule: Perspectives From, and Implications for, Psychological Science.

PubMed

Lilienfeld, Scott O; Miller, Joshua D; Lynam, Donald R

2018-01-01

When, if ever, should psychological scientists be permitted to offer professional opinions concerning the mental health of public figures they have never directly examined? This contentious question, which attracted widespread public attention during the 1964 U.S. presidential election involving Barry Goldwater, received renewed scrutiny during and after the 2016 U.S. presidential campaign, when many mental health professionals raised pointed questions concerning the psychiatric status of Donald Trump. Although the Goldwater Rule prohibits psychiatrists from offering diagnostic opinions on individuals they have never examined, no comparable rule exists for psychologists. We contend that, owing largely to the Goldwater Rule's origins in psychiatry, a substantial body of psychological research on assessment and clinical judgment, including work on the questionable validity of unstructured interviews, the psychology of cognitive biases, and the validity of informant reports and of L (lifetime) data, has been overlooked in discussions of its merits. We conclude that although the Goldwater Rule may have been defensible several decades ago, it is outdated and premised on dubious scientific assumptions. We further contend that there are select cases in which psychological scientists with suitable expertise may harbor a "duty to inform," allowing them to offer informed opinions concerning public figures' mental health with appropriate caveats.

Medical and pharmacy student concerns about participating on international service-learning trips.

PubMed

Chuang, Chih; Khatri, Siddique H; Gill, Manpal S; Trehan, Naveen; Masineni, Silpa; Chikkam, Vineela; Farah, Guillaume G; Khan, Amber; Levine, Diane L

2015-12-23

International Service Learning Trips (ISLT) provide health professional students the opportunity to provide healthcare, under the direction of trained faculty, to underserved populations in developing countries. Despite recent increases in international service learning trips, there is scant literature addressing concerns students have prior to attending such trips. This study focuses on identifying concerns before and after attending an ISLT and their impact on students. A survey comprised of closed and open-ended questions was developed to elucidate student concerns prior to attending an ISLT and experiences which might influence concerns. A five-point Likert-scale (extremely concerned = 1, minimally concerned = 5) was used to rate apprehension and satisfaction. Paired t-test was used to compare pre- and post-trip concerns; Chi-Square test was used to compare groups. Thirty-five students (27 medical, 8 pharmacy) attended ISLTs in December 2013. All completed pre and post-trip surveys. Significant decreases were seen in concerns related to cultural barriers (4.14 vs 4.46, P = .047), disease/epidemics (3.34 vs 4.60, P < .001), natural disasters (3.94 vs 4.94, P < .001), terrorism (4.34 vs 4.94, P < .001), travel (3.86 vs 4.51, P < .001) monetary issues (3.80 vs 4.60, P < .001), hospitality (3.94 vs 4.74, P = .001) and food (3.83 vs 4.60, P < .001). Language and group dynamics remained concerns post-trip. On open-ended questions, students described benefits of attending an ISLT. Students had multiple concerns prior to attending an ISLT. Most decreased upon return. Addressing concerns has the potential to decrease student apprehension. The results of this study highlight the benefits of providing ISLTs and supporting development of a curriculum incorporating trip-related concerns.

Central City White Flight: Racial and Nonracial Causes.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Frey, William H.

The cumulative adverse impact of residential white flight from large central cities on the residual population has led policy makers to be wary of instituting programs which will further exacerbate the process. Recent policy debates have evolved over the question of whether white city-to-suburb movement is affected more significantly by…

An International Education Perspective Study of Teachers in the Central United States

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Merz, Sydney A.; Fox, Rebecca K.

2016-01-01

The study explored nursery through secondary teachers' perceptions of international education in their teaching practices. All teachers lived in a rural area of the central US. Data were drawn from a web-based survey comprised of 28 questions addressing international education; interview data provided further understanding of one teacher's efforts…

Questioning the Scholarly Discussion around Decentralization in Turkish Education System

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Yildiz, Soner Onder

2016-01-01

From the beginning of Turkish Republic till date, Turkish Education System (TES) has been steered by a handful of politicians and civil servants, who enjoy maximum centralized authority. Over the years, therefore, centralized management has repeatedly been blamed for the deadlocks hampering progress in the TES. Turkish scholars often seem to find…

Moral Choices in Contemporary Society: A Study Guide for Courses by Newspaper.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Marcolongo, Francis J.

The study guide for a newspaper course on moral choices in contemporary society provides overviews, definitions, and review questions to accompany the reader and related articles. Designed for independent study, the guide helps students to understand central concepts, relate various readings to a central theme, and pursue additional reading on…

Structural Evolution of central part of the Tuzgolu (Salt Lake) Basin, Central Anatolia, Turkey

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ada, M.; Cemen, I.; Çaptuğ, A.; Demirci, M.; Engin, C.

2017-12-01

The Tuzgolu Basin in Central Anatolia, Turkey, covers low-relief areas located between the Pontide Mountains to the North and Tauride Mountains to the South. The basin started to form as a rift basin during the Late Maastrichtian. The main Tuzgolu-Aksaray fault zone on the eastern margin of the basin and the northwest trending Yeniceoba and Cihanbeyli fault zones on the western margin of the basin were probably developed during that time. The basin has also experienced westward extension in response to westward escape of the Anatolian plate since Late Miocene. Several geologic studies have been conducted in the Tuz Gölü (Salt Lake) Basin and surrounding areas to determine structural and tectono-stratigraphic development of the basin. However, there are still many questions regarding the structural evolution of the basin. The main purpose of this study is to investigate the structural evolution of the central Tuzgolu Basin based on the structural interpretation of available 2-D seismic reflection profiles, well log analysis and construction of structural cross sections. The cross-sections will be based on depth converted seismic lines to determine structural geometry of the faults and folds. A preliminary Petrel project has been prepared using available seismic profiles. Our preliminary structural interpretations suggest that a well-developed rollover anticline was developed with respect to the westward extension in Central Anatolia. The rollover anticline is faulted in its crest area by both down-to-the west and down-to-the east normal faults. The geometry of the main boundary fault at depth still remains in question. We anticipate that this question will be resolved based on depth converted structural cross-sections and their restoration.

Positron Annihilation in Superconducting 123 Compounds

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Peter, M.; Manuel, A. A.; Erb, A.

After a brief review of the theory of angular correlation of positron annihilation radiation (ACAR), we illustrate experimental principles and give examples of successful determination of electron momentum density (EMD) and of positron lifetime in solids. The central question which we try to answer concerns the contribution of positron spectroscopy to the knowledge and understanding of the new high temperature superconducting oxides. We find that in these oxides also, partially filled bands exist and we can observe parts of their Fermi surface and measure lifetimes in accordance with band theoretical calculations. There are characteristic differences, however. The intensity of the anisotropy of the ACAR signal is below theoretical expectation and signals depend on sample preparation. Recent studies by the Geneva group have concerned dependence of the signals on impurities, on oxygen content and on the thermal history of preparation. Of particular interest are correlations between the variations of these signals and between the variations of structural and transport properties in these substances. Besides deliberate additions of impurities, the Geneva group also reports progress in the preparations of samples of highest purity (barium zirconate crucibles). The alloy series PrxY1-xBa2Cu3O7-δ is of special interest because of exceptional transport properties. The recent positron results on these materials will be presented and commented in the light of theoretical models and in the light of the reported superconductivity of the Pr-compound.

Clinical studies in orthodontics--an overview of NIDR-sponsored clinical orthodontic studies in the US.

PubMed

Baumrind, S

1998-11-01

A number of clinical trials sponsored by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) use rigorous methods of data acquisition and analysis previously developed in fundamental biology and the physical sciences. The naive expectation that these trials would lead relatively rapidly to definitive answers concerning the therapeutic strategies and techniques under study is dispelled. This presentation focuses on delineating differences between the study of central tendencies and individual variation, more specifically on the strategy to study this variation: measure additional sources of variance within each patient at more timepoints and perhaps with greater precision. As rigorous orthodontic research is still in its infancy, the problem of defining the proper mix between prospective and retrospective trials is discussed. In view of the high costs of prospective clinical trials, many of the questions germane to orthodontics can be answered by well-conducted retrospective trials, assuming that properly randomized sampling procedures are employed. Definitive clinical trials are likely to require better theoretical constructs, better instrumentation, and better measures than now available. Reasons for concern are the restricted resources available and the fact that current mensurational approaches may not detect many of the individual differences. The task of constructing sharable databases and record bases stored in digital form and available either remotely from servers, or locally from CD-ROMs or optical disks, is crucial to the optimization of future investigations.

Phentermine, sibutramine and affective disorders.

PubMed

An, Hoyoung; Sohn, Hyunjoo; Chung, Seockhoon

2013-04-01

A safe and effective way to control weight in patients with affective disorders is needed, and phentermine is a possible candidate. We performed a PubMed search of articles pertaining to phentermine, sibutramine, and affective disorders. We compared the studies of phentermine with those of sibutramine. The search yielded a small number of reports. Reports concerning phentermine and affective disorders reported that i) its potency in the central nervous system may be comparatively low, and ii) it may induce depression in some patients. We were unable to find more studies on the subject; thus, it is unclear presently whether phentermine use is safe in affective disorder patients. Reports regarding the association of sibutramine and affective disorders were slightly more abundant. A recent study that suggested that sibutramine may have deleterious effects in patients with a psychiatric history may provide a clue for future phentermine research. Three explanations are possible concerning the association between phentermine and affective disorders: i) phentermine, like sibutramine, may have a depression-inducing effect that affects a specific subgroup of patients, ii) phentermine may have a dose-dependent depression-inducing effect, or iii) phentermine may simply not be associated with depression. Large-scale studies with affective disorder patients focusing on these questions are needed to clarify this matter before investigation of its efficacy may be carried out and it can be used in patients with affective disorders.

Indicators of male bisexual activity in semimetropolitan New South Wales: implications for HIV prevention strategies.

PubMed

Prestage, G; Drielsma, P

1996-08-01

Between July 1993 and March 1994, advertising in the personal columns of local print media was used as a subterfuge to obtain access to homosexually active men living on the Central Coast of New South Wales. The men were invited to make contact by phone and were then requested to answer 44 survey questions. The survey was based on a premise that there existed a subgroup of homosexually active men who did not identify themselves as gay and who were behaviourally bisexual (the study population). Out of 296 contacts, 106 completed questionnaires concerning demographics, aspects of sexual behaviour, and attitudes and knowledge about sexual practice and self-definition. The sampling did provide access to a predominantly behaviourally bisexual group of men who did not identify themselves as gay and for whom the use of 'beats' was the most common method for meeting other men. There existed a high degree of accurate knowledge and practice of safe sex. However, several areas of concern warrant continued and new strategies to minimise the risk of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) transmission in the study population. While the results might not be generalisable to the entire population of behaviourally bisexual men who do not identify themselves as gay, they do (in the absence of other successful ways of reaching this group), provide a useful indicator for the development of such strategies.

Translational Symmetry Breaking and Gapping of Heavy-Quasiparticle Pocket in URu2Si2

PubMed Central

Yoshida, Rikiya; Tsubota, Koji; Ishiga, Toshihiko; Sunagawa, Masanori; Sonoyama, Jyunki; Aoki, Dai; Flouquet, Jacques; Wakita, Takanori; Muraoka, Yuji; Yokoya, Takayoshi

2013-01-01

URu2Si2 is a uranium compound that exhibits a so-called ‘hidden-order’ transition at ~17.5 K. However, the order parameter of this second-order transition as well as many of its microscopic properties remain unclarified despite considerable research. One of the key questions in this regard concerns the type of spontaneous symmetry breaking occurring at the transition; although rotational symmetry breaking has been detected, it is not clear whether another type of symmetry breaking also occurs. Another key question concerns the property of Fermi-surface gapping in the momentum space. Here we address these key questions by a momentum-dependent observation of electronic states at the transition employing ultrahigh-resolution three-dimensional angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy. Our results provide compelling evidence of the spontaneous breaking of the lattice's translational symmetry and particle-hole asymmetric gapping of a heavy quasiparticle pocket at the transition. PMID:24084937

Biometrics: Accessibility challenge or opportunity?

PubMed

Blanco-Gonzalo, Ramon; Lunerti, Chiara; Sanchez-Reillo, Raul; Guest, Richard Michael

2018-01-01

Biometric recognition is currently implemented in several authentication contexts, most recently in mobile devices where it is expected to complement or even replace traditional authentication modalities such as PIN (Personal Identification Number) or passwords. The assumed convenience characteristics of biometrics are transparency, reliability and ease-of-use, however, the question of whether biometric recognition is as intuitive and straightforward to use is open to debate. Can biometric systems make some tasks easier for people with accessibility concerns? To investigate this question, an accessibility evaluation of a mobile app was conducted where test subjects withdraw money from a fictitious ATM (Automated Teller Machine) scenario. The biometric authentication mechanisms used include face, voice, and fingerprint. Furthermore, we employed traditional modalities of PIN and pattern in order to check if biometric recognition is indeed a real improvement. The trial test subjects within this work were people with real-life accessibility concerns. A group of people without accessibility concerns also participated, providing a baseline performance. Experimental results are presented concerning performance, HCI (Human-Computer Interaction) and accessibility, grouped according to category of accessibility concern. Our results reveal links between individual modalities and user category establishing guidelines for future accessible biometric products.

What do health consumers want to know about childhood vaccination? An evaluation of data from an Australian medicines call centre.

PubMed

Mus, Marnix; Kreijkamp-Kaspers, Sanne; McGuire, Treasure; Deckx, Laura; van Driel, Mieke

2017-02-01

Immunisation is crucial to population health. This study aimed to identify the information needs and concerns of health consumers regarding childhood vaccination. We analysed 1,342 calls concerning childhood vaccination to an Australian pharmacist-operated medicines call centre (MCC). Data were available from September 2002 until June 2010. We identified key themes and compared these for callers from high and low immunisation coverage areas. Most calls related to safety concerns (60.4%), with many questions about vaccine constituents (31.6%). In low immunisation areas, a higher level of concern persisted about vaccine preservatives (mercury and thiomersal) despite their removal from vaccines in 2000. Of specific vaccines, the measles, mumps and rubella vaccine raised most questions (29.9%). Common motivations to call the MCC were 'inadequate information' (54%), 'second opinion' (21%) 'conflicting information' (9%) and 'worrying symptom' (6%). The consistent number of vaccine-related calls, particularly about safety, demonstrates an information gap that can contribute to vaccination hesitancy. Health professionals need to know their local immunisation rate and associated carer concerns, to proactively address these information-related barriers to vaccination. © 2016 The Authors.

Biometrics: Accessibility challenge or opportunity?

PubMed Central

Lunerti, Chiara; Sanchez-Reillo, Raul; Guest, Richard Michael

2018-01-01

Biometric recognition is currently implemented in several authentication contexts, most recently in mobile devices where it is expected to complement or even replace traditional authentication modalities such as PIN (Personal Identification Number) or passwords. The assumed convenience characteristics of biometrics are transparency, reliability and ease-of-use, however, the question of whether biometric recognition is as intuitive and straightforward to use is open to debate. Can biometric systems make some tasks easier for people with accessibility concerns? To investigate this question, an accessibility evaluation of a mobile app was conducted where test subjects withdraw money from a fictitious ATM (Automated Teller Machine) scenario. The biometric authentication mechanisms used include face, voice, and fingerprint. Furthermore, we employed traditional modalities of PIN and pattern in order to check if biometric recognition is indeed a real improvement. The trial test subjects within this work were people with real-life accessibility concerns. A group of people without accessibility concerns also participated, providing a baseline performance. Experimental results are presented concerning performance, HCI (Human-Computer Interaction) and accessibility, grouped according to category of accessibility concern. Our results reveal links between individual modalities and user category establishing guidelines for future accessible biometric products. PMID:29565989

Adolescent Sexual Initiation through the Lens of Letters to the Editor Published in Polish Teenage Magazines

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kopacz, Marek S.; Bajka-Kopacz, Aleksandra

2012-01-01

Almost all teenage magazines invite readers to submit questions concerning relationships, published as letters to the editor, popularly called "advice columns," often containing explicit questions about sexuality. This study aims to examine, firstly, how themes related to sexual initiation are presented in letters to the editor published…

Frequently Asked Questions about ADHD and the Answers from the Internet.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Loechler, Kathy

1999-01-01

Identifies useful Internet sites about attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and the results of searching these sites to answer common questions concerning incidence of ADHD, basic information about Ritalin drug therapy, educational placement of students with ADHD, sources of information about special needs, and what parents can do at…

Using Television to Stimulate Learning and Develop Evaluative Reasoning.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Williams, David M.; Wright, Ian

1980-01-01

Poses two questions regarding use of television in the social studies classroom--"How can television be used as motivation for learning?" and "How can teachers assist students to make rational evaluations concerning the issues presented on television?" Answers to these questions focus on teaching methods involving television in the classroom.…

In Parents' Voices: The Education of Children with Autism Spectrum Disorders

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Starr, Elizabeth M.; Foy, Janis B.

2012-01-01

Parents of 144 children with autism spectrum disorders were surveyed regarding their perceptions of and satisfaction with the education their children were receiving. This article focuses on an analysis of the parents' responses to the open-ended questions of this survey. Overall themes that emerged repeatedly across all questions concerned the…

Back to the Future: Prospects for Education Faculty and Librarian Collaboration Thirty Years Later

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Scripps-Hoekstra, Lindy; Hamilton, Erica R.

2016-01-01

Thirty years ago, education conference panelists shared concerns regarding collaboration between education faculty and librarians and they presented ideas for expanding these partnerships. A review of their ideas raises an important question: In what ways have their ideas for collaboration and partnership been realized? To answer this question,…

Virtue-Epistemology and the Chagos Unknown: Questioning the Indictment of Knowledge Transmission

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Papastephanou, Marianna

2015-01-01

Though concerned with knowledge, this article begins with unknown political events that are ignored by the culture and educational practices of the societies in whose name the events took place. The questions that these events raise indicate a relation of epistemology with ethics and education that complicates some theoretical and managerial…

Learning Together while Designing: Does Group Size Make a Difference?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Apedoe, Xornam S.; Ellefson, Michelle R.; Schunn, Christian D.

2012-01-01

As the use of project-based learning becomes more frequent in the K-12 science classroom, and in chemistry classrooms in particular, teachers have begun to identify practical questions about implementation that should be addressed empirically. One such question concerns whether there is an ideal group size that fosters individual student…

Health Implications of Smokeless Tobacco Use. Volume 6, Number 1.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

National Institutes of Health (DHHS), Bethesda, MD. Office of Medical Applications of Research.

Concerned with the increase in use of chewing tobacco and snuff, this brochure looks at the health risks of using smokeless tobacco. It presents five questions about smokeless tobacco use and provides answers to the questions developed by a consensus development conference on health implications of smokeless tobacco use convened by the National…

The Demography and Political Economy of Mexican Poverty: Conclusions.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Serron, Luis A.

To determine whether the poverty which afflicts between 50% and 60% of Mexico's population can be described in an ideologically neutral perspective, the paper formulates ten questions about political and economic issues which are sensitive to both capitalist and Marxist theorists. The questions concern: (1) the balance between food supply and…

8 CFR 204.1 - General information about immediate relative and family-sponsored petitions.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-01-01

... question. When an interview is required, all original documents must be presented for examination at the interview. (3) Foreign language documents must be accompanied by an English translation which has been... Service. If questions arise concerning the filing of the petition which cannot be resolved through a check...

8 CFR 204.1 - General information about immediate relative and family-sponsored petitions.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-01-01

... question. When an interview is required, all original documents must be presented for examination at the interview. (3) Foreign language documents must be accompanied by an English translation which has been... Service. If questions arise concerning the filing of the petition which cannot be resolved through a check...

Knowledge and Attitudes towards Children with Special Needs by Physical Education Students

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Mousouli, Maria; Kokaridas, Dimitrios; Angelopoulou-Sakadami, Nicoletta; Aristotelous, Maria

2009-01-01

The purpose of this study was to examine the knowledge and attitudes of physical education undergraduate students towards children with special needs. A questionnaire of seven questions was submitted to 140 physical education students. Questions concerned the knowledge about the different kinds of disability, the acceptance of children with…

Evaluation of student abilities to respond to a "real-world" question about an emerging infectious disease.

PubMed

Phalen, David N

2009-01-01

Veterinarians play an important role in educating the public about emerging animal and zoonotic diseases. This article investigates the ability of third-year veterinary students (N=31), from a veterinary school in the USA, to respond to an actual client's question about an emerging disease. In an open-book, take-home examination, students were asked to respond to a nurse's concern that she could bring home influenza from work and infect her macaw. While 75% of the students answered the question correctly, only 51% demonstrated that they understood that this question came from the ongoing publicity about the highly pathogenic H5N1 avian influenza outbreak in Asia, Africa, and Europe. Additional information that would have decreased the client's concern and provided the client with a better understanding of this disease outbreak was lacking in many of the answers. The results of this study suggest that greater emphasis should be applied to exercises requiring veterinary students to research, carefully study, and formulate answers to applied topics that are novel to them.

Multicultural Parent Education.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Strom, Robert; And Others

1992-01-01

Discusses findings from interviews with immigrant and refugee parents from Vietnam and Central and South America in Alberta, Canada, regarding concerns and educational needs. Reports concerns about children not speaking their native language and greater independence for children in Canada. Describes a multicultural parent education program…

The rise of traditional Chinese medicine and its materia medica: a comparison of the frequency and safety of materials and species used in Europe and China.

PubMed

Williamson, Elizabeth M; Lorenc, Ava; Booker, Anthony; Robinson, Nicola

2013-09-16

Due to the global rise in the use of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM), Chinese materia medica (medicinal materials, or CMM) are giving cause for concern over their evidence base, safety/possible toxicity, questionable quality and use of endangered species of both animals and plants. However, little if anything is actually known about the range of species used to produce CMM used in Europe and even in China. This study represents the first attempt to identify and compare the most important CMM used in both regions, to begin the process of assessing the risks to public health and possible future benefits. Data were collected from a convenience sample of TCM practitioners in the EU and mainland China, using a paper/online survey. Among other questions, respondents were asked (1) which conditions they most commonly treated using CMM and the likelihood of them using herbal manufactured products and decoctions in addition to raw herbs; (2) the perceived frequency with which they observed adverse events to CMM; (3) the frequency and reasons for use of 1 herbal formula and 6 specific individual herbs; (4) an open question about other CMM they used, including materials of non-plant origin. Data were entered into PASW statistics package and analysed using frequency tables, cross-tabulations and chi-squared tests to compare EU and Chinese results. From a total of 747 useable questionnaires (420 from China, 327 from the EU) of those responding from the EU, TCM was generally more commonly used for obstetric/gynaecological and dermatological conditions, compared to neurological and gastrointestinal diseases in China. Disorders treated by Chinese practitioners were more varied, and often more serious, than those treated by their European counterparts, and the range of materials used in China was wider. The potential for toxicity was not high in either region, but although greater in China due to the use of more potent CMM, the incidence of side effects was perceived to be higher by EU practitioners. Very few of the species used to prepare CMM in the EU in this study give rise to safety concerns from what is known from the scientific and other literature, and in China only a few toxic CMM appear to be commonly used, some of them only after processing and mainly for serious disorders. The main cause for concern is likely to be interaction with prescribed medication, especially in central nervous system and cardiovascular conditions where drug interactions have previously been reported most frequently and which would currently be more applicable in China than Europe. © 2013 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

Treatment of trace organic compounds in common onsite wastewater systems

USGS Publications Warehouse

Robert Siegrist,; Conn, Kathleen E.

2015-01-01

Onsite wastewater systems (OWS) have historically been relied on to treat conventional pollutants and pathogens in a fashion similar to that expected from centralized wastewater systems. However, based on the occurrence of, and potential effects from, contaminants of emerging concern in wastewaters, OWS as well as centralized systems need to account for these compounds in system design and use. One group of contaminants involves organic compounds such as those associated with consumer product chemicals and pharmaceuticals, which are collectively referred to as trace organic compounds (TOrCs) due to their very low levels (e.g., ng/L to ug/L) relative to other pollutants. The question being confronted today is how best to account for TOrCs in onsite system design and use while also achieving other goals such as system simplicity, limited operation and maintenance requirements, low cost, and sustainability. In contrast to conventional pollutants such as nutrients and pathogens which have specific and achievable treatment goals, there are currently no enforceable treatment standards for TOrCs, which often have non-traditional toxicological endpoints (i.e. endocrine disruption). As highlighted in this paper, there are a large number of TOrCs that can be present in OWS and they have different properties, can be present at different frequencies of occurrence and concentrations, and have different susceptibilities to treatment in OWS. In general, based on the studies summarized in this paper, TOrCs normally should not require additional considerations beyond those for conventional pollutants and pathogens (e.g., nitrogen or bacteria and virus) during design and use of OWS. That said, there are situations where TOrCs could be a serious concern warranting special consideration in system design and use. In this paper, the frequency of occurrence of TOrCs and the range of concentrations encountered are highlighted. An evolving approach is outlined that could help assess the likelihood of occurrence and levels of TOrCs along with the treatment anticipated in different OWS and assimilation conditions.

Danish general practitioners' self-reported competences in end-of-life care.

PubMed

Winthereik, Anna; Neergaard, Mette; Vedsted, Peter; Jensen, Anders

2016-12-01

General practitioners (GPs) are pivotal in end-of-life (EOL) care. This study aimed to assess GP-reported provision of EOL care and to assess associations with GP characteristics. Population-based questionnaire study. Central Denmark Region with approximately 1.3 million inhabitants. All 843 active GPs in the Central Denmark Region were sent a questionnaire by mail. Responses to 18 items concerning four aspects: provision of EOL care to patients with different diagnosis, confidence with being a key worker, organisation of EOL care and EOL skills (medical and psychosocial). In total, 573 (68%) GPs responded. Of these, 85% often/always offered EOL care to cancer patients, which was twice as often as to patients with non-malignancies (34-40%). Moreover, 76% felt confident about being a key worker, 60% had a proactive approach, and 58% talked to their patients about dying. Only 9% kept a register of patients with EOL needs, and 19% had specific EOL procedures. GP confidence with own EOL skills varied; from 55% feeling confident using terminal medications to 90% feeling confident treating nausea/vomiting. Increasing GP age was associated with increased confidence about being a key worker and provision of EOL care to patients with non-malignancies. In rural areas, GPs were more confident about administering medicine subcutaneously than in urban areas. We found considerable diversity in self-reported EOL care competences. Interventions should focus on increasing GPs' provision of EOL care to patients with non-malignancies, promoting better EOL care concerning organisation and symptom management. KEY POINTS GPs are pivotal in end-of-life (EOL) care, but their involvement has been questioned. Hence, GPs' perceived competencies were explored. GPs were twice as likely to provide EOL care for patients with cancer than for patients with non-malignancies. EOL care was lacking clear organisation in general practice in terms of registering palliative patients and having specific EOL procedures. GPs were generally least confident with their skills in terminal medical treatment, for example, using medicine administered subcutaneously.

Professional knowledge and the epistemology of reflective practice.

PubMed

Kinsella, Elizabeth Anne

2010-01-01

Reflective practice is one of the most popular theories of professional knowledge in the last 20 years and has been widely adopted by nursing, health, and social care professions. The term was coined by Donald Schön in his influential books The Reflective Practitioner, and Educating the Reflective Practitioner, and has garnered the unprecedented attention of theorists and practitioners of professional education and practice. Reflective practice has been integrated into professional preparatory programmes, continuing education programmes, and by the regulatory bodies of a wide range of health and social care professions. Yet, despite its popularity and widespread adoption, a problem frequently raised in the literature concerns the lack of conceptual clarity surrounding the term reflective practice. This paper seeks to respond to this problem by offering an analysis of the epistemology of reflective practice as revealed through a critical examination of philosophical influences within the theory. The aim is to discern philosophical underpinnings of reflective practice in order to advance increasingly coherent interpretations, and to consider the implications for conceptions of professional knowledge in professional life. The paper briefly examines major philosophical underpinnings in reflective practice to explicate central themes that inform the epistemological assumptions of the theory. The study draws on the work of Donald Schön, and on texts from four philosophers: John Dewey, Nelson Goodman, Michael Polanyi, and Gilbert Ryle. Five central epistemological themes in reflective practice are illuminated: (1) a broad critique of technical rationality; (2) professional practice knowledge as artistry; (3) constructivist assumptions in the theory; (4) the significance of tacit knowledge for professional practice knowledge; and (5) overcoming mind body dualism to recognize the knowledge revealed in intelligent action. The paper reveals that the theory of reflective practice is concerned with deep epistemological questions of significance to conceptions of knowledge in health and social care professions.

Experience-dependent central vision deficits: Neurobiology and visual acuity.

PubMed

Williams, Kate; Balsor, Justin L; Beshara, Simon; Beston, Brett R; Jones, David G; Murphy, Kathryn M

2015-09-01

Abnormal visual experience during childhood often leads to amblyopia, with strong links to binocular dysfunction that can include poor acuity in both eyes, especially in central vision. In animal models of amblyopia, the non-deprived eye is often considered normal and what limits binocular acuity. This leaves open the question whether monocular deprivation (MD) induces binocular dysfunction similar to what is found in amblyopia. In previous studies of MD cats, we found a loss of excitatory receptors restricted to the central visual field representation in visual cortex (V1), including both eyes' columns. This led us to ask two questions about the effects of MD: how quickly are receptors lost in V1? and is there an impact on binocular acuity? We found that just a few hours of MD caused a rapid loss of α-amino-3-hydroxy-5-methyl-4-isoxazolepropionic acid (AMPA) receptor proteins across all of V1. But after a few days of MD, there was recovery in the visual periphery, leaving a loss of AMPA receptors only in the central region of V1. We reared animals with early MD followed by a long period of binocular vision and found binocular acuity deficits that were greatest in the central visual field. Our results suggest that the greater binocular acuity deficits in the central visual field are driven in part by the long-term loss of AMPA receptors in the central region of V1. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Asking Questions: Will Army Tactical Interrogation be Ready for War?

DTIC Science & Technology

1986-12-17

still never answer the basic question: "Is there enough?" It is the interrogator portion of this question that this paper will address to provide a...tenative answer for the near to midrange future. Section II of this paper will examine the historical 2 AA 4 importance of interrogator derived...the former that this paper will concern itself. In addition to interrogators, there have historically existed, and there continue to exist today (almost

Proceedings of the 2. MIT international conference on the next generation of nuclear power technology. Final report

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

NONE

1993-12-31

The goal of the conference was to try to attract a variety of points of view from well-informed people to debate issues concerning nuclear power. Hopefully from that process a better understanding of what one should be doing will emerge. In organizing the conference lessons learned from the previous one were applied. A continuous effort was made to see to it that the arguments for the alternatives to nuclear power were given abundant time for presentation. This is ultimately because nuclear power is going to have to compete with all of the energy technologies. Thus, in discussing energy strategy allmore » of the alternatives must be considered in a reasonable fashion. The structure the conference used has seven sessions. The first six led up to the final session which was concerned with what the future nuclear power strategy should be. Each session focused upon a question concerning the future. None of these questions has a unique correct answer. Rather, topics are addressed where reasonable people can disagree. In order to state some of the important arguments for each session`s question, the combination of a keynote paper followed by a respondent was used. The respondent`s paper is not necessarily included to be a rebuttal to the keynote; but rather, it was recognized that two people will look at a complex question with different shadings. Through those two papers the intention was to get out the most important arguments affecting the question for the session. The purpose of the papers was to set the stage for about an hour of discussion. The real product of this conference was that discussion.« less

A Population-Based Exploration of the Social Implications Associated with Cleft Lip and/or Palate.

PubMed

Glener, Adam D; Allori, Alexander C; Shammas, Ronnie L; Carlson, Anna R; Pien, Irene J; Aylsworth, Arthur S; Meyer, Robert; Pimenta, Luiz; Strauss, Ronald; Watkins, Stephanie; Marcus, Jeffrey R

2017-06-01

Clefts of the lip and/or palate (CL/P) carry a social stigma that often causes psychosocial stress. The purpose of this study was to consider the association of cleft phenotype and age with self-reported aspects of psychosocial stress. Children with nonsyndromic CL/P and unaffected children born between 1997 and 2003 were identified through the North Carolina Birth Defects Monitoring Program and North Carolina birth records, respectively. The psychosocial concerns of children with CL/P were assessed via a 29-question subset of a larger survey. Responses were analyzed according to school age and cleft phenotype (cleft lip with/without cleft alveolus, CL ± A; cleft palate only, CP; or cleft lip with cleft palate, CL + P). Surveys were returned for 176 children with CL/P and 333 unaffected children. When compared with unaffected children, responses differed for CL ± A in 4/29 questions, for CP in 7/29 questions, and for CL + P in 8/29 questions ( P < 0.05). When stratified by school age, children with CL/P in elementary, middle, and high school differed from unaffected children by 1/29, 7/29, and 2/29 questions, respectively. Middle school-aged children with CL/P were more affected by aesthetic concerns, bullying, and difficulties with friendship, and social interaction. Children with CL + P reported more severe aesthetic-related concerns than children with CL ± A or CP but experienced similar speech-related distress as children with CP only. Social implications associated with CL/P are most pronounced during middle school, and less so during elementary and high school. This information identifies areas of social improvement aimed at reducing the stigma of CL/P.

Learning to Ask Naive Questions with IT Product Design Students

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Gunn, Wendy

2008-01-01

What does it mean to use, or do, theory in the scholarship of teaching and learning? The article approaches the question by considering the role of design anthropology in developing studio-based engineering programmes. Central to my discussion within situated contexts of learning is the idea of practice-based exploration conceived as a way of…