144 research outputs found

    The Process of Professionalization: A Comparative Analysis of Clinical Psychology and Psychiatry

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    As a number of observers concerned with the sociology of work have pointed out, there has been a general tendency among occupational groups to strive for professional status. Historically this social phenomenon can be traced to medieval Western Europe with the rise of church sponsored universities providing training primarily in theology, but also focusing on the study of medicine and law. So long as the church maintained its predominance, the various fields for which the universities trained did not become clearly distinct. However, with the decline of the church\u27s power in the 16th century, and as the culture of that period slowly shed its religious character, the professions of law and medicine began to emerge as independent associations

    Short-term treatment outcomes in human immunodeficiency virus type-1 and hepatitis B virus co-infections

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    BACKGROUND: Co-infection of HIV with HBV is common in West Africa but little information is available on the effects of HBV on short-term therapy for HIV patients. A 28 day longitudinal study was conducted to examine short-term antiretroviral therapy (ART) outcomes in HIV infected individuals with HBV co-infection. METHODS: Plasma from 18 HIV infected individuals co-infected with HBV and matched controls with only HIV infection were obtained at initiation, and 7 and 28 days after ART. HIV-1 viral load changes were monitored. Clinical and demographic data were also obtained from patient folders, and HIV-1 drug resistance mutation and subtype analysis performed. RESULTS: The presence of HBV co-infection did not significantly affect HIV-1 viral load changes within 7 or 28 days. The CD4(+) counts on the other hand of patients significantly affected the magnitude of HIV-1 viral load decline after 7 days (ρ = −0.441, p = 0.040), while the pre-ART HIV-1 VL (ρ = 0.844, p = <0.001) and sex (U = 19.0, p = 0.020) also determined HIV-1 viral load outcomes after 28 days of ART. Even though the geometric sensitivity score of HIV-1 strains were influenced by the HIV-1 subtypes (U = 56.00; p = 0.036), it was not a confounder for ART outcomes. CONCLUSIONS: There may be the need to consider the confounder effects of sex, pre-ART CD4(+), and pre-ART HIV-1 viral load in the discourse on HIV and HBV co-infection

    A Mid-Infrared Imaging Survey of Proto-Planetary Nebula Candidates

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    We present the data from a mid-infrared imaging survey of 66 proto-planetary nebula candidates using two mid-IR cameras (MIRAC2 and Berkcam) at the NASA Infrared Telescope Facility and the United Kingdom Infrared Telescope. The goal of this survey is to determine the size, flux, and morphology of the mid-IR emission regions, which sample the inner regions of the circumstellar dust shells of proto-planetary nebulae. We imaged these proto-planetary nebulae with narrow-band filters (Δλ/λ10\Delta\lambda / \lambda \sim 10%) at wavelengths of notable dust features. With our typical angular resolution of 1\arcsec, we resolve 17 sources, find 48 objects unresolved, and do not detect 1 source. For several sources, we checked optical and infrared associations and positions of the sources. In table format, we list the size and flux measurements for all the detected objects and show figures of all the resolved sources. Images for all the detected objects are available on line in FITS format from the Astronomy Digital Image Library at the National Center for Supercomputing Application. The proto-planetary nebula candidate sample includes, in addition to the predominant proto-planetary nebulae, extreme asymptotic giant branch stars, young planetary nebulae, a supergiant, and a luminous blue variable. We find that dust shells which are cooler (T150\rm T \sim 150 K) and brighter in the infrared are more easily resolved. Eleven of the seventeen resolved sources are extended and fall into one of two types of mid-IR morphological classes: core/elliptical or toroidal. Core/elliptical structures show unresolved cores with lower surface brightness elliptical nebulae. Toroidal structures show limb-brightened peaks suggesting equatorial density enhancements. We argue that core/ellipticals have denser dust shells than toroidals.Comment: 32 pages, 5 tables, 2 e/ps figures (fig3 is available through ADIL [see text]), to be published in ApJS May 1999 issu

    Overview of (pro-)Lie group structures on Hopf algebra character groups

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    Character groups of Hopf algebras appear in a variety of mathematical and physical contexts. To name just a few, they arise in non-commutative geometry, renormalisation of quantum field theory, and numerical analysis. In the present article we review recent results on the structure of character groups of Hopf algebras as infinite-dimensional (pro-)Lie groups. It turns out that under mild assumptions on the Hopf algebra or the target algebra the character groups possess strong structural properties. Moreover, these properties are of interest in applications of these groups outside of Lie theory. We emphasise this point in the context of two main examples: The Butcher group from numerical analysis and character groups which arise from the Connes--Kreimer theory of renormalisation of quantum field theories.Comment: 31 pages, precursor and companion to arXiv:1704.01099, Workshop on "New Developments in Discrete Mechanics, Geometric Integration and Lie-Butcher Series", May 25-28, 2015, ICMAT, Madrid, Spai

    Sensation of draft at uncovered ankles for women exposed to displacement ventilation and underfloor air distribution systems

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    Draft is defined as unwanted local convective cooling. Existing draft risk models, developed in the 1970s, focus on air movement at the neck. The purpose of the present study is to experimentally evaluate ankle draft risk for women with uncovered ankles because of current widespread use of displacement ventilation and underfloor air distribution systems and changes in dress customs. Thirty female university students participated in nine double-blind randomized tests. The subjects wore sandals with lower legs, ankles and feet uncovered. Exposures occurred in an environmental chamber resembling an office environment. The operative temperature at 1.1 m above the floor was maintained at 24.1 °C. The measured air speeds at the ankle varied between 0.16 and 0.59 m/s and the air temperature at the ankle varied between 18.0 and 21.7 °C. Subjective responses were obtained to assess these parameters: thermal acceptability, comfort, preference and sensation, air movement acceptability and preference, local thermal sensation and comfort, and perceived air quality. Subjects were more sensitive to ankle draft than expected. For all the tested conditions, between 20 and 37% of the subjects found the overall thermal environment not acceptable, while between 23 and 57% of the subjects found air movement at the ankle unacceptable. These dissatisfaction percentages are higher than those of international, American and European standards, indicating the need to develop a draft risk model for displacement ventilation and underfloor air distribution systems

    Protocol for Nearly Full-Length Sequencing of HIV-1 RNA from Plasma

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    Nearly full-length genome sequencing of HIV-1 using peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) DNA as a template for PCR is now a relatively routine laboratory procedure. However, this has not been the case when using virion RNA as the template and this has made full genome analysis of circulating viruses difficult. Therefore, a well-developed procedure for sequencing of full-length HIV-1 RNA directly from plasma was needed. Plasma from U.S. donors representing a range of viral loads (VL) was used to develop the assay. RNA was extracted from plasma and reverse-transcribed. Two or three overlapping regions were PCR amplified to cover the entire viral genome and sequenced for verification. The success of the procedure was sensitive to VL but was routinely successful for VL greater than 105 and the rate declined in proportion to the VL. While the two-amplicon strategy had an advantage of increasing the possibility of amplifying a single species of HIV-1, the three-amplicon strategy was more successful in amplifying samples with low viral loads. This protocol provides a useful tool for molecular analysis to understand the HIV epidemic and pathogenesis, as well as diagnosis, therapy and future vaccine strategies

    Beyond the merchant and the clergyman: assessing moral claims about development cooperation

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    This article proposes to move beyond the categories of altruism and self-interest in the analyses of the motives for development cooperation. This opposition ignores the inherently moral nature of development policy. The article illustrates the shortcomings of such a perspective by tracing the metaphor of the merchant and the clergyman as archetypical figures shaping Dutch development policy. Through these images the suggestion of an opposition between moral and amoral motives in the history of development has gained a strong foothold within the interplay of scholars, policy makers and public opinion. We go on to assess claims about economy, security, solidarity, prestige and guilt, and ecology, which have been brought forward to legitimise Dutch foreign aid. This analysis calls for research on the dynamics of the transnational exchanges of ideas, interests and expectations, especially during episodes when the moral validity of policy has been explicitly contested

    On-orbit performance of the MIPS instrument

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    The Multiband Imaging Photometer for Spitzer (MIPS) provides long wavelength capability for the mission, in imaging bands at 24, 70, and 160 microns and measurements of spectral energy distributions between 52 and 100 microns at a spectral resolution of about 7%. By using true detector arrays in each band, it provides both critical sampling of the Spitzer point spread function and relatively large imaging fields of view, allowing for substantial advances in sensitivity, angular resolution, and efficiency of areal coverage compared with previous space far-infrared capabilities. The Si:As BIB 24 micron array has excellent photometric properties, and measurements with rms relative errors of 1% or better can be obtained. The two longer wavelength arrays use Ge:Ga detectors with poor photometric stability. However, the use of 1.) a scan mirror to modulate the signals rapidly on these arrays, 2.) a system of on-board stimulators used for a relative calibration approximately every two minutes, and 3.) specialized reduction software result in good photometry with these arrays also, with rms relative errors of less than 10%

    Research and Science Today No. 2(4)/2012

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    A História da Alimentação: balizas historiográficas

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    Os M. pretenderam traçar um quadro da História da Alimentação, não como um novo ramo epistemológico da disciplina, mas como um campo em desenvolvimento de práticas e atividades especializadas, incluindo pesquisa, formação, publicações, associações, encontros acadêmicos, etc. Um breve relato das condições em que tal campo se assentou faz-se preceder de um panorama dos estudos de alimentação e temas correia tos, em geral, segundo cinco abardagens Ia biológica, a econômica, a social, a cultural e a filosófica!, assim como da identificação das contribuições mais relevantes da Antropologia, Arqueologia, Sociologia e Geografia. A fim de comentar a multiforme e volumosa bibliografia histórica, foi ela organizada segundo critérios morfológicos. A seguir, alguns tópicos importantes mereceram tratamento à parte: a fome, o alimento e o domínio religioso, as descobertas européias e a difusão mundial de alimentos, gosto e gastronomia. O artigo se encerra com um rápido balanço crítico da historiografia brasileira sobre o tema
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