Predicting Axonal Response to Molecular Gradients with a Computational Model of Filopodial Dynamics

Axons are often guided to their targets in the developing nervous system by attractive or repulsive molecular concentration gradients. We propose a computational model for gradient sensing and directed movement of the growth cone mediated by filopodia. We show that relatively simple mechanisms are sufficient to generate realistic rajectories for both the short-term response of axons to steep gradients and the long-term response of axons to shallow gradients. The model makes testable predictions for axonal response to attractive and repulsive gradients of different concentrations and steepness, the size of the intracellular amplification of the gradient signal, and the differences in intracellular signaling required for repulsive versus attractive turning

General practice registrars’ intentions for future practice: Implications for rural medical workforce planning

The models of practice that general practice registrars (GPRs) envisage undertaking will affect workforce supply. The aim of this research was to determine practice intentions of current GPRs in a regional general practice training program (Coast City Country General Practice Training). Questionnaires were circulated to 220 GPRs undertaking general practice placements to determine characteristics of ideal practice models and intentions for future practice. Responses were received for 99 participants (45%). Current GPRs intend to work an average of less than eight half-day sessions/week, with male participants intending to work more hours (t(91) = 3.528, P = 0.001). More than one-third of this regional cohort intends to practice in metropolitan centres. Proximity to family and friends was the most important factor influencing the choice of practice location. Men ranked remuneration for work as more important (t (88) = –4.280, P \u3c 0.001) and women ranked the ability to work part-time higher (t(94) = 3.697, P \u3c 0.001). Fee-for-service payment alone, or in combination with capitation, was the preferred payment system. Only 22% of Australian medical graduates intend to own their own practice compared with 52% of international medical graduates (χ2(1) = 8.498, P = 0.004). Future general practitioners (GPs) intend to work fewer hours than current GPs. Assumptions about lifestyle factors, practice models and possible professional roles should be carefully evaluated when developing strategies to recruit GPs and GPRs into rural practice

A comparison of superconductor and manganin technology for electronic links used in space mission applications

The electronic link connecting cryogenically cooled radiation detectors to data acquisition and signal processing electronics at higher temperatures contributes significantly to the total heat load on spacecraft cooling systems that use combined mechanical and cryogenic liquid cooling. Using high transition temperature superconductors for this link has been proposed to increase the lifetime of space missions. Herein, several YBCO (YBa2Cu3O7) superconductor-substrate combinations were examined and total heat loads were compared to manganin wire technology in current use. Using numerical solutions to the heat-flow equations, it is shown that replacing manganin technology with YBCO thick film technology can extend a 7-year mission by up to 1 year

To What Extent Does Professional Development Influence Constructivist Science Teaching in Classrooms?: A Comparative Study of Education in the United States of America and Finland

The goal of this study is to identify the extent to which professional development influences the implementation of constructivist science teaching. An overview of the theory of constructivism leads to an explanation of how the theory is adapted to teaching methodologies in science classrooms. Science education, constructivist teaching practices, and professional development in the United States of America and Finland are compared in order to assess how professional development affects a teacher’s ability to use constructivist teaching methods effectively in science classrooms. Research confirms that professional development can positively impact teacher epistemology when given opportunities to increase science content knowledge by participating in constructivist learning environments. Further analysis shows that professional development and teaching science constructively are only two factors contributing to Finland’s consistent educational success; there are many other factors that must be considered in order to successfully reform science education. What Finland continues to show America is that their students succeed because education is valued by students, parents, and the community; similarly, teachers are respected and trusted with students’ education and the curriculum implemented. Teachers are professionals with the knowledge, hands-on experience, and management skills that should be considered when implementing national standards and developing curriculum. Finland values and trusts teacher contribution in education; teachers in America should be extended the same opportunities in order to increase student success in science education

A Crowdsourcing Approach to Identify Common Method Bias and Self-Representation

Pertinent questions on the measurement of social indicators are: the verification of data gained online (e.g., controlling for self-representation on social networks), and appropriate uses in community management and policy-making. Across platforms like Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, and blogging services, users (sub)consciously represent themselves in a way which is appropriate for their intended audience (Qui et al., 2012; Zhao et al., 2008). However, scholars in the social sciences and computer science have not yet adequately addressed controlling for self-representation, or the propensity to display or censor oneself, in their analyses (Zhao et al., 2008; Das and Kramer, 2013). As such researchers on these platforms risk working with ‘gamified’, socially responding, or online disinhibitive (trolls) personas which goes above and beyond efforts to contain Common Method Biases (CMB) (Linville, 1985; Suler, 2004; Podsakoff et al., 2003). What has not been approached in a systematic way is the verification of such data on offline and actual personality. In this paper, we focus on the alignment of traditional survey methods with unobtrusive methods to gather profile data from online social media via crowdsourcing platforms

Technology utilization in a non-urban region - A measurement of the impact of the Technology Use Studies Center Final report

Technology utilization in agricultural areas and measurement of impact of technology use studies cente

High fidelity imaging and high performance computing in nonlinear EIT

We show that nonlinear EIT provides images with well defined characteristics when smoothness of the image is used as a constraint in the reconstruction process. We use the gradient of the logarithm of resistivity as an effective measure of image smoothness, which has the advantage that resistivity and conductivity are treated with equal weight. We suggest that a measure of the fidelity of the image to the object requires the explicit definition and application of such a constraint. The algorithm is applied to the simulation of intra-ventricular haemorrhaging (IVH) in a simple head model. The results indicate that a 5% increase in the blood content of the ventricles would be easily detectable with the noise performance of contemporary instrumentation. The possible implementation of the algorithm in real time via high performance computing is discussed

Subnetwork ensembling and data augmentation: Effects on calibration

Deep Learning models based on convolutional neural networks are known to be uncalibrated, that is, they are either overconfident or underconfident in their predictions. Safety-critical applications of neural networks, however, require models to be well-calibrated, and there are various methods in the literature to increase model performance and calibration. Subnetwork ensembling is based on the over-parametrization of modern neural networks by fitting several subnetworks into a single network to take advantage of ensembling them without additional computational costs. Data augmentation methods have also been shown to enhance model performance in terms of accuracy and calibration. However, ensembling and data augmentation seem orthogonal to each other, and the total effect of combining these two methods is not well-known; the literature in fact is inconsistent. Through an extensive set of empirical experiments, we show that combining subnetwork ensemble methods with data augmentation methods does not degrade model calibration

FBWatch: Extracting, Analyzing and Visualizing Public Facebook Profiles

An ever-increasing volume of social media data facilitates studies into behavior patterns, consumption habits, and B2B exchanges, so called Big Data. Whilst many tools exist for platforms such as Twitter, there is a noticeable absence of tools for Facebook-based studies that are both scalable and accessible to social scientists. In this paper, we present FBWatch, an open source web application providing the core functionality to fetch public Facebook profiles en masse in their entirety and analyse relationships between profiles both online and offline. We argue that FBWatch is a robust interface for social researchers and business analysts to identify analyze and visualize relationships, discourse and interactions between public Facebook entities and their audiences