Giant Leaps and Minimal Branes in Multi-Dimensional Flux Landscapes

There is a standard story about decay in multi-dimensional flux landscapes: that from any state, the fastest decay is to take a small step, discharging one flux unit at a time; that fluxes with the same coupling constant are interchangeable; and that states with N units of a given flux have the same decay rate as those with -N. We show that this standard story is false. The fastest decay is a giant leap that discharges many different fluxes in unison; this decay is mediated by a 'minimal' brane that wraps the internal manifold and exhibits behavior not visible in the effective theory. We discuss the implications for the cosmological constant.Comment: Minor updates to agree with published version. 9 pages, 4 figure

Seeing College Students as Adults: Learner-Centered Strategies for Information Literacy Instruction

Information literacy instruction is a responsibility of many academic librarians and much has been written about approaches to this endeavor. This article explores ways in which pedagogy from the field of adult education can inform information literacy instruction in higher education. A review of the literature on adult learning is followed by suggested ways that academic librarians can incorporate these learning strategies into their instruction. A case description examines how librarians at one institution have addressed adult learning styles and classroom realities by using surveys for instructional pre-assessment. While further research is needed to assess the impact of these techniques, this article suggests that academic librarians can provide effective information literacy instruction and promote lifelong learning by treating students as adult learners

Lensing magnification of supernovae in the GOODS-fields

Gravitational lensing of high-redshift supernovae is potentially an important source of uncertainty when deriving cosmological parameters from the measured brightness of Type Ia supernovae, especially in deep surveys with scarce statistics. Photometric and spectroscopic measurements of foreground galaxies along the lines-of-sight of 33 supernovae discovered with the Hubble Space Telescope, both core-collapse and Type Ia, are used to model the magnification probability distributions of the sources. Modelling galaxy halos with SIS or NFW-profiles and using M/L scaling laws provided by the Faber-Jackson and Tully-Fisher relations, we find clear evidence for supernovae with lensing (de)magnification. However, the magnification distribution of the Type Ia supernovae used to determine cosmological distances matches very well the expectations for an unbiased sample, i.e.their mean magnification factor is consistent with unity. Our results show that the lensing distortions of the supernova brightness can be well understood for the GOODS sample and that correcting for this effect has a negligible impact on the derived cosmological parameters.Comment: 22 pages, 9 figures, accepted for publication by Ap

P05.28. Current practice amongst acupuncturists treating threatened miscarriage in Australia and New Zealand

To investigate current use and clinical practice considerations amongst acupuncturists treating threatened miscarriage, a common complication of pregnancy that may result in miscarriage and premature labour. Although only a “wait and see approach” is advised medically, treatment recommendations exist within acupuncture texts. However these are conflicting, potentially creating treatment uncertainty and limiting clinical practice. As women increasingly seek acupuncture for their fertility, opportunities exist to offer interested women treatment for threatened miscarriage. To explore this potential, acupuncturist’ views were sought to add to the limited information currently available

Steadily Increasing Star Formation Rates in Galaxies Observed at 3 <~ z <~ 5 in the CANDELS/GOODS-S Field

We investigate the star formation histories (SFHs) of high redshift (3 <~ z <~ 5) star-forming galaxies selected based on their rest-frame ultraviolet (UV) colors in the CANDELS/GOODS-S field. By comparing the results from the spectral-energy-distribution-fitting analysis with two different assumptions about the SFHs --- i.e., exponentially declining SFHs as well as increasing ones, we conclude that the SFHs of high-redshift star-forming galaxies increase with time rather than exponentially decline. We also examine the correlations between the star formation rates (SFRs) and the stellar masses. When the galaxies are fit with rising SFRs, we find that the trend seen in the data qualitatively matches the expectations from a semi-analytic model of galaxy formation. The mean specific SFR is shown to increase with redshift, also in agreement with the theoretical prediction. From the derived tight correlation between stellar masses and SFRs, we derive the mean SFH of star-forming galaxies in the redshift range of 3 <~ z <~ 5, which shows a steep power-law (with power alpha = 5.85) increase with time. We also investigate the formation timescales and the mean stellar population ages of these star-forming galaxies. Our analysis reveals that UV-selected star-forming galaxies have a broad range of the formation redshift. The derived stellar masses and the stellar population ages show positive correlation in a sense that more massive galaxies are on average older, but with significant scatter. This large scatter implies that the galaxies' mass is not the only factor which affects the growth or star formation of high-redshift galaxies.Comment: 31 pages, 8 figures, 2 table

"Never let a good crisis go to waste": Positives from disrupted maternity care in Australia during COVID-19.

OBJECTIVE: Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, a number of changes to maternity care were rapidly introduced in all countries, including Australia, to reduce the risk of infection for pregnant women and their care providers. While many studies have reported on the negative effects of these changes, there is a paucity of evidence on factors which women and their providers perceived as positive and useful for future maternity care. DESIGN: Data was analysed from the Birth in the time of COVID-19 (BITTOC 2020) study survey. Conventional content analysis and descriptive statistics were used to analyse the data and examine which aspects of COVID-amended care women experienced as positive. Data from women were compared to data from midwives. SETTING: This project took place in Australia in 2020-2021. PARTICIPANTS: The survey was distributed to women who gave birth and midwives who worked in Australia during the COVID-19 pandemic (March 2020 onwards). MEASUREMENTS AND FINDINGS: Women reported a variety of positives from their maternity care during COVID-19. These included both care-related factors as well as contextual factors. The most commonly mentioned positives for pregnant and postnatal women were care-related, namely fewer visitors in hospital, having increased access to telehealth services. These were also the most commonly reported positives by midwives. Having midwifery continuity of care models, giving birth at home and having their partner work from home were also highlighted by women as positives. KEY CONCLUSIONS: Despite the negative effect of COVID-19-related restrictions on maternity care, a variety of changes were viewed as positive by both women and midwives, with strong agreement between the two groups. IMPLICATIONS FOR PRACTICE: These findings provide evidence to support the inclusion of these positive elements of care and ensure that the lessons learned from the pandemic are utilised to improve maternity care in Australia going forward

Corrections for gravitational lensing of supernovae: better than average?

We investigate the possibility of correcting for the magnification due to gravitational lensing of standard candle sources, such as Type Ia supernovae. Our method uses the observed properties of the foreground galaxies along the lines-of-sight to each source and the accuracy of the lensing correction depends on the quality and depth of these observations as well as the uncertainties in translating the observed luminosities to the matter distribution in the lensing galaxies. The current work is limited to cases where the matter density is dominated by the individual galaxy halos. However, it is straightforward to generalize the method to include also gravitational lensing from cluster scale halos. We show that the dispersion due to lensing for a standard candle source at z=1.5 can be reduced from about 7% to ~< 3%, i.e. the magnification correction is useful in reducing the scatter in the Type Ia Hubble diagram, especially at high redshifts where the required long exposure times makes it hard to reach large statistics and the dispersion due to lensing becomes comparable to the intrinsic Type Ia scatter.Comment: Matches accepted version, includes clarifications and additional issues. 28 pages, 7 figures, accepted for publication in Ap

Multiparous women's confidence to have a publicly-funded homebirth: A qualitative study

Background: Hospital birth is commonly thought to be a safer option than homebirth, despite many studies showing similar rates of safety for low risk mothers and babies when cared for by qualified midwives with systems of back-up in place. Recently in Australia, demand has led to the introduction of a small number of publicly-funded homebirth programs. Women's confidence in having a homebirth through a publicly-funded homebirth program in Australia has not yet been explored. Aim: The aim of the study was to explore the reasons why multiparous women feel confident to have a homebirth within a publicly-funded model of care in Australia. Methods: Ten multiparous English-speaking women who chose to have a homebirth with the St George Hospital Homebirth Program were interviewed in the postnatal period using semi-structured, open-ended questions. Interviews were transcribed, then a thematic analysis was undertaken. Results: Women, having already experienced a normal birth, demonstrated a strong confidence in their ability to give birth at home and described a confidence in their bodies, their midwives, and the health system. Women weighed up the risks of homebirth through information they gathered and integration with their previous experience of birth, their family support and self-confidence. Discussion: Women choosing publicly-funded homebirth display strong confidence in both themselves to give birth at home, and their belief in the health system's ability to cope with any complications that may arise. Implications for practice: Many women may benefit from access to publicly-funded homebirth models of care. This should be further investigated. © 2010 Australian College of Midwives

A Novel Approach to Recreational Reading: Creating a Virtual Collection on a Shoestring

Reading for recreation has been tied to academic achievement and lifelong learning, but not all academic libraries have the capacity to offer a separate recreational reading collection for their users. A low/no-cost option is to create a virtual recreational reading collection that allows patrons to browse for print titles by genre or book cover, much as they would in a bookstore or physical collection. The authors recently implemented this solution at their institution by dynamically compiling records of existing titles belonging to genres that are often of interest to recreational readers. This article addresses the justification for investing staff time in promoting recreational reading, discusses the technology employed to create and maintain a virtual collection, and shares the impacts of this effort on circulation

Relaxation techniques for pain management in labour

Background: Many women would like to avoid pharmacological or invasive methods of pain management in labour and this may contribute to the popularity of complementary methods of pain management. This review examined currently available evidence on the use of relaxation therapies for pain management in labour. This is an update of a review first published in 2011. Objectives: To examine the effects of mind-body relaxation techniques for pain management in labour on maternal and neonatal well-being during and after labour. Search methods: We searched Cochrane Pregnancy and Childbirth’s Trials Register (9 May 2017), the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (CENTRAL) (The Cochrane Library, Issue 5 2017), MEDLINE (1966 to 24 May 2017), CINAHL (1980 to 24 May 2017), the Australian New Zealand Clinical Trials Registry (18 May 2017), ClinicalTrials.gov (18 May 2017), the ISRCTN Register (18 May 2017), the WHO International Clinical Trials Registry Platform (ICTRP) (18 May 2017), and reference lists of retrieved studies. Selection criteria: Randomised controlled trials (including quasi randomised and cluster trials) comparing relaxation methods with standard care, no treatment, other non-pharmacological forms of pain management in labour or placebo. Data collection and analysis: Two review authors independently assessed trials for inclusion and risk of bias, extracted data and checked them for accuracy. We attempted to contact study authors for additional information. We assessed evidence quality with GRADE methodology. Main results: This review update includes 19 studies (2519 women), 15 of which (1731 women) contribute data. Interventions examined included relaxation, yoga, music and mindfulness. Approximately half of the studies had a low risk of bias for random sequence generation and attrition bias. The majority of studies had a high risk of bias for performance and detection bias, and unclear risk of bias for, allocation concealment, reporting bias and other bias. We assessed the evidence from these studies as ranging from low to very low quality, and therefore the effects below should be interpreted with caution