6,727 research outputs found
Involvement in midwifery education: experiences from a service user and carer partnership.
This article provides a critical reflection on the experiences of the Bournemouth University Public Involvement in Education and Research (PIER) partnership in developing approaches to involving service users and user groups within midwifery programmes of education; an NMC requirement since 2009. Specific models and activities are explored, including using social media to consult with expectant and new parents; organising direct conversations between women, their families, academics and students to explore experiences such as grief and loss and the use of support networks during pregnancy; and developing digital resources to create real, in depth and meaningful case studies.
Three key benefits to having meaningful and well supported involvement are identified: emotional impact and the opportunity to develop insight and resilience; knowledge impact and the opportunity to better understand the application of theory; and practical impact, which can lead to tangible changes to students’ subsequent practice
Metallicity of Red Giants in the Galactic Bulge from Near-Infrared Spectroscopy
We present K-band spectra of more than 110 M giants in Galactic bulge fields
interior to -4 degrees and as close as 0.2 degrees of the Galactic Center. From
the equivalent widths of three features in these spectra, EW(Na),EW(Ca), and
EW(CO) we calculate [Fe/H] for the stars with a calibration derived from
globular clusters Stephens et al (2000). The mean [Fe/H] for each field is in
good agreement with the results from Frogel et al. (1999) based on the slope of
the giant branch method. We find no evidence for a metallicity gradient along
the minor or major axes of the inner bulge (R < 0.6 kpc). A metallicity
gradient along the minor axis, found earlier, arises when fields located at
larger galactic radius are included. However, these more distant fields are
located outside of the infrared bulge defined by the COBE/DIRBE observations.
We compute the [Fe/H] distribution for the inner bulge and find a mean value of
-0.21 dex with a full width dispersion of 0.30 dex, close to the values found
for Baade's Window (BW) by Sadler et al. (1996) and to a theoretical prediction
for a bulge formed by dissipative collapse Molla et al (2000).Comment: 32 pages, 10 figures, AJ submitte
Spin squeezing of high-spin, spatially extended quantum fields
Investigations of spin squeezing in ensembles of quantum particles have been
limited primarily to a subspace of spin fluctuations and a single spatial mode
in high-spin and spatially extended ensembles. Here, we show that a wider range
of spin-squeezing is attainable in ensembles of high-spin atoms, characterized
by sub-quantum-limited fluctuations in several independent planes of
spin-fluctuation observables. Further, considering the quantum dynamics of an
ferromagnetic spinor Bose-Einstein condensate, we demonstrate
theoretically that a high degree of spin squeezing is attained in multiple
spatial modes of a spatially extended quantum field, and that such squeezing
can be extracted from spatially resolved measurements of magnetization and
nematicity, i.e.\ the vector and quadrupole magnetic moments, of the quantum
gas. Taking into account several experimental limitations, we predict that the
variance of the atomic magnetization and nematicity may be reduced as far as 20
dB below the standard quantum limits.Comment: 18 pages, 5 figure
Coherent resonant interactions and slow light with molecules confined in photonic band-gap fibers
We investigate resonant nonlinear optical interactions and demonstrate
induced transparency in acetylene molecules in a hollow-core photonic band-gap
fiber at 1.5m. The induced spectral transmission window is used to
demonstrate slow-light effects, and we show that the observed broadening of the
spectral features is due to collisions of the molecules with the inner walls of
the fiber core. Our results illustrate that such fibers can be used to
facilitate strong coherent light-matter interactions even when the optical
response of the individual molecules is weak.Comment: 5 pages, 4 figure
Customers as decision-makers: strategic environmental assessment in the private sector
Despite its diversification and global spread, strategic environmental assessment (SEA) remains limited mainly to activities characterised by well-defined planning processes, typically within the public sector. This article explores the possible application of SEA within certain private-sector contexts where higher-level strategy-making itself is inherently weaker and development is often piecemeal and reactive. The possible adaptation of SEA to the preparation of a strategic document by a particular industrial concern in the UK is examined: this draws attention to the multi-actor nature of development processes within the industry. This leads to the suggestion that SEA in this setting should be thought of as a form of environmental advocacy oriented towards industrial customers, who are understood as sharing a decision-making role in infrastructure development.</p
Non-Markovian stochastic Schr\"odinger equations: Generalization to real-valued noise using quantum measurement theory
Do stochastic Schr\"odinger equations, also known as unravelings, have a
physical interpretation? In the Markovian limit, where the system {\em on
average} obeys a master equation, the answer is yes. Markovian stochastic
Schr\"odinger equations generate quantum trajectories for the system state
conditioned on continuously monitoring the bath. For a given master equation,
there are many different unravelings, corresponding to different sorts of
measurement on the bath. In this paper we address the non-Markovian case, and
in particular the sort of stochastic \sch equation introduced by Strunz, Di\'
osi, and Gisin [Phys. Rev. Lett. 82, 1801 (1999)]. Using a quantum measurement
theory approach, we rederive their unraveling which involves complex-valued
Gaussian noise. We also derive an unraveling involving real-valued Gaussian
noise. We show that in the Markovian limit, these two unravelings correspond to
heterodyne and homodyne detection respectively. Although we use quantum
measurement theory to define these unravelings, we conclude that the stochastic
evolution of the system state is not a true quantum trajectory, as the identity
of the state through time is a fiction.Comment: 17 pages, 3 figure
Longitudinal characterization of antimicrobial resistance genes in feces shed from cattle fed different subtherapeutic antibiotics
<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Environmental transmission of antimicrobial-resistant bacteria and resistance gene determinants originating from livestock is affected by their persistence in agricultural-related matrices. This study investigated the effects of administering subtherapeutic concentrations of antimicrobials to beef cattle on the abundance and persistence of resistance genes within the microbial community of fecal deposits. Cattle (three pens per treatment, 10 steers per pen) were administered chlortetracycline, chlortetracycline plus sulfamethazine, tylosin, or no antimicrobials (control). Model fecal deposits (<it>n </it>= 3) were prepared by mixing fresh feces from each pen into a single composite sample. Real-time PCR was used to measure concentrations of <it>tet</it>, <it>sul </it>and <it>erm </it>resistance genes in DNA extracted from composites over 175 days of environmental exposure in the field. The microbial communities were analyzed by quantification and denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (DGGE) of PCR-amplified <it>16S-rRNA.</it></p> <p>Results</p> <p>The concentrations of <it>16S-rRNA </it>in feces were similar across treatments and increased by day 56, declining thereafter. DGGE profiles of <it>16S-rRNA </it>differed amongst treatments and with time, illustrating temporal shifts in microbial communities. All measured resistance gene determinants were quantifiable in feces after 175 days. Antimicrobial treatment differentially affected the abundance of certain resistance genes but generally not their persistence. In the first 56 days, concentrations of <it>tet</it>(B), <it>tet</it>(C), <it>sul1, sul2</it>, <it>erm</it>(A) tended to increase, and decline thereafter, whereas <it>tet</it>(M) and <it>tet</it>(W) gradually declined over 175 days. At day 7, the concentration of <it>erm</it>(X) was greatest in feces from cattle fed tylosin, compared to all other treatments.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>The abundance of genes coding for antimicrobial resistance in bovine feces can be affected by inclusion of antibiotics in the feed. Resistance genes can persist in feces from cattle beyond 175 days with concentrations of some genes increasing with time. Management practices that accelerate DNA degradation such as frequent land application or composting of manure may reduce the extent to which bovine feces serves as a reservoir of antimicrobial resistance.</p
The Frequency of Barred Spiral Galaxies in the Near-IR
We have determined the fraction of barred galaxies in the H-band for a
statistically well-defined sample of 186 spirals drawn from the Ohio State
University Bright Spiral Galaxy survey. We find 56% of our sample to be
strongly barred at H, while another 16% is weakly barred. Only 27% of our
sample is unbarred in the near-infrared. The RC3 and the Carnegie Atlas of
Galaxies both classify only about 30% of our sample as strongly barred. Thus
strong bars are nearly twice as prevalent in the near-infrared as in the
optical. The frequency of genuine optically hidden bars is significant, but
lower than many claims in the literature: 40% of the galaxies in our sample
that are classified as unbarred in the RC3 show evidence for a bar in the
H-band, while for the Carnegie Atlas this fraction is 66%. Our data reveal no
significant trend in bar fraction as a function of morphology in either the
optical or H-band. Optical surveys of high redshift galaxies may be strongly
biased against finding bars, as bars are increasingly difficult to detect at
bluer rest wavelengths.Comment: LaTeX with AASTeX style file, 23 pages with 6 figures. Accepted for
publication in The Astronomical Journal (Feb. 2000
Investigating the Use of Electronic Well-being Diaries Completed Within a Psychoeducation Program for University Students: Longitudinal Text Analysis Study
- …