Consensual Qualitative Research: An Update

The authors reviewed the application of consensual qualitative research (CQR) in 27 studies published since the method’s introduction to the field in 1997 by C. E. Hill, B. J. Thompson, and E. N. Williams (1997). After first describing the core components and the philosophical underpinnings of CQR, the authors examined how it has been applied in terms of the consensus process, biases, research teams, data collection, data analysis, and writing up the results and discussion sections of articles. On the basis of problems that have arisen in each of these areas, the authors made recommendations for modifications of the method. The authors concluded that CQR is a viable qualitative method and suggest several ideas for research on the method itself

The liquid-glass transition of silica

We studied the liquid-glass transition of $SiO_2$ by means of replica theory, utilizing an effective pair potential which was proved to reproduce a few experimental features of silica. We found a finite critical temperature $T_0$, where the system undergoes a phase transition related to replica symmetry breaking, in a region where experiments do not show any transition. The possible sources of this discrepancy are discussed.Comment: 14 pages, 6 postscript figures. Revised version accepted for pubblication on J.Chem.Phy

Prevalence and densitometric characteristics of incomplete distal renal tubular acidosis in men with recurrent calcium nephrolithiasis

The aim of this study was to assess the prevalence of incomplete distal renal tubular acidosis (idRTA) in men with recurrent calcium nephrolithiasis and its potential impact on bone mineral density. We conducted a retrospective analysis of 150 consecutive, male idiopathic recurrent calcium stone formers (RCSFs), which had originally been referred to the tertiary care stone center of the University Hospital of Berne for further metabolic evaluation. All RCSFs had been maintained on a free-choice diet while collecting two 24-h urine samples and delivered second morning urine samples after 12h fasting. Among 12 RCSFs with a fasting urine pH >5.8, a modified 3-day ammonium chloride loading test identified idRTA in 10 patients (urine pH >5.32, idRTA group). We matched to each idRTA subject 5 control subjects from the 150 RCSFs, primary by BMI and then by age, i.e., 50 patients, without any acidification defect (non-RTA group) for comparative biochemistry and dual energy X-ray absorptiometry (DEXA) analyses. The prevalence of primary idRTA among RCSFs was 6.7% (10/150). Patients with idRTA had significantly higher 2-h fasting and 24-h urine pH (2-h urine pH: 6.6±0.4 vs. 5.2±0.1, p=0.001; 24-h urine pH: 6.1±0.2 vs. 5.3±0.3, p=0.001), 24-h urinary calcium excretion (7.70±1.75 vs. 5.69±1.73mmol/d, p=0.02), but significantly lower 24-h urinary urea excretion (323±53 vs. 399±114mmol/d, p=0.01), urinary citrate levels (2.32±0.82 vs. 3.01±0.72mmol/d, p=0.04) and renal phosphate threshold normalized for the glomerular filtration rate (TmPO4/GFR: 0.66±0.17 vs. 0.82±0.21, p=0.03) compared to non-RTA patients. No significant difference in bone mineral density (BMD) was found between idRTA and non-RTA patients for the lumbar spine (LS BMD (g/cm2): 1.046±0.245 SD vs. 1.005±0.119 SD, p=0.42) or femoral neck (FN BMD (g/cm2): 0.830±0.135 SD vs. 0.852±0.127 SD). Thus, idRTA occurs in 1 in 15 male RCSFs and should be sought in all recurrent calcium nephrolithiasis patients. Bone mineral density, however, does not appear to be significantly affected by idRT

Securing a Better Future: A Potrait of Female Students in Mississippi's Community Colleges

This report presents findings from a survey of female community college students in Mississippi conducted by the Institute for Women's Policy Research (IWPR) and commissioned by the Women's Foundation of Mississippi. The survey is designed to identify supports and practices that can help women succeed in community college and attain economic security. It explores women's motivations for pursuing college, their personal and career goals, their support needs, and the economic, health, and time challenges that they experience. The survey was designed as a part of the Institute for Women's Policy Research's Student Parent Success Initiative, which provides information and tools to promote the success of student parents in postsecondary education

The importance of resistance training in the treatment of sarcopenia

Utilizing individualized exercise training programs that are inclusive of appropriate resistance training protocols can attenuate the deleterious effects of sarcopenia and enhance quality of life, functional capacity and also diminish its negative effect on independence. Nurses should be educated in how the utilization of proper resistance training (RT) in individuals can be used to ameliorate the effect of sarcopenia, especially considering its relationship to Quality of Life (QoL), functional capacity and independence. In part, this educational process should include how to refer patients to an appropriate healthcare provider trained in assessing sarcopenia and the use of resistance training. However, it is especially important that the provider be an expert on RT that enhances lean muscle, muscular strength, muscular endurance, power, balance and stamina. Therefore, it is vital that nurses have an opportunity to define and recognize how resistance training can be prescribed, ultimately for primary prevention but also as an effective treatment module in enhancing the health outcomes related to QoL, functional capacity and independence

Wirksamer Englischunterricht: die Sprache als Inhalt, Ziel und Medium

Englisch unterscheidet sich als Schulfach insofern von anderen Fächern, als die Sprache nicht nur Inhalt und Ziel, sondern auch Medium des Unterrichts ist. Damit kann alles zum Thema einer Lektion werden, vorausgesetzt, es trägt – in authentischen Kommunikationsanlässen – zum Kompetenzaufbau in der Fremdsprache bei. Die befragten Expert/innen betonen, dass Lehrkräfte angesichts der Vielfalt der Herausforderungen neben hervorragender Sprachkompetenz über ein professionelles Methodenrepertoire verfügen müssen.+repphzhbib

Influence of feeding Mediterranean food industry by-products and forages to Awassi sheep on physicochemical properties of milk, yoghurt and cheese

Feeding agro-industrial by-products and unconventional forages, rich in potentially anti-nutritional factors, may influence the quality of the raw milk and the dairy products prepared therefrom. The aim of the present study was to determine side-effects on physicochemical properties of milk, yoghurt and cheese of feeding diets where one third were feeds either rich in lipids (tomato pomace and olive cake) or phenols (olive leaves and lentil straw) or electrolytes (Atriplex leaves). The diets, including a control diet, were designed to be isoenergetic and isonitrogenous. They were fed in amounts of 2 5 kg dry matter/day per head during 50 days to 6×10 multiparous fat-tailed Awassi ewes. Milk samples were analysed for various physicochemical traits and fatty acid composition on days 0, 24, 36 and 48. Three times, milk pooled by group was processed to yoghurt and non-aged farmer-type cheese, which were analysed for their gross and fatty acid composition and texture, and were subjected to sensory evaluation. Feeding olive cake and tomato pomace reduced milk casein, but increased proportions of monounsaturated fatty acids. There were some variations in minerals among test diets but, contrary to expectations, Atriplex did not increase milk sodium. The nutritional composition of yoghurt and cheese was not varied much by the test feeds, except for some changes in fatty acid profile similar to the milk. Yoghurt firmness declined with all test diets, but texture score tended to be lower only for olive cake and leaf diets relative to control. Cheese firmness was increased by feeding the Atriplex leaf and olive cake diets which was also reflected in the texture scores. No off-flavours were reported. Possible reasons for effects on the dairy products are discussed. In conclusion, the feeds investigated had certain effects on the physicochemical properties of dairy products, but these were neither very systematic nor large thus not prohibiting their use in Mediterranean sheep milk production system

Bose condensation in a model microcavity

We study the equilibrium properties of a system of dipole-active excitons coupled to a single photon mode at fixed total excitation. Treating the presence or absence of a trapped exciton as a two-level system produces a model that is exactly soluble. It gives a simple description of the physics of polariton condensation in optical cavities beyond the low-density bosonic regime.Comment: 5 pages, 3 figures, uses RevTeX and psfig. Revised version: (1)Corrects an error in our treatment of the constraint, leading to a rescaled transition temperature, and (2)Extends our discussion of the relevance of the model to real system