Mid-IR spectroscopy of T Tauri stars in Chamealeon I: evidence for processed dust at the earliest stages

We present mid-IR spectroscopy of three T Tauri stars in the young Chamealeon I dark cloud obtained with TIMMI2 on the ESO 3.6m telescope. In these three stars, the silicate emission band at 9.7 micron is prominent. We model it with a mixture of amorphous olivine grains of different size, crystalline silicates and silica. The fractional mass of these various components change widely from star to star. While the spectrum of CR Cha is dominated by small amorphous silicates, in VW Cha (and in a lesser degree in Glass I), there is clear evidence of a large amount of processed dust in the form of crystalline silicates and large amorphous grains. This is the first time that processed dust has been detetected in very young T Tauri stars (~ 1 Myr).Comment: 5 pages, 4 Postscript figures. accepted for A&A Letter

Specifying computer-supported collaboration scripts

Collaboration scripts are activity programs which aim to foster collaborative learning by structuring interaction between learners. Computer-supported collaboration scripts generally suffer from the problem of being restrained to a specific learning platform and learning context. A standardization of collaboration scripts first requires a specification of collaboration scripts that integrates multiple perspectives from computer science, education and psychology. So far, only few and limited attempts at such specifications have been made. This paper aims to consolidate and expand these approaches in light of recent findings and to propose a generic framework for the specification of collaboration scripts. The framework enables a description of collaboration scripts using a small number of components (participants, activities, roles, resources and groups) and mechanisms (task distribution, group formation and sequencing)

Epistemic and social scripts in computer-supported collaborative learning

Collaborative learning in computer-supported learning environments typically means that learners work on tasks together, discussing their individual perspectives via text-based media or videoconferencing, and consequently acquire knowledge. Collaborative learning, however, is often sub-optimal with respect to how learners work on the concepts that are supposed to be learned and how learners interact with each other. One possibility to improve collaborative learning environments is to conceptualize epistemic scripts, which specify how learners work on a given task, and social scripts, which structure how learners interact with each other. In this contribution, two studies will be reported that investigated the effects of epistemic and social scripts in a text-based computer-supported learning environment and in a videoconferencing learning environment in order to foster the individual acquisition of knowledge. In each study the factors ‘epistemic script’ and ‘social script’ have been independently varied in a 2×2-factorial design. 182 university students of Educational Science participated in these two studies. Results of both studies show that social scripts can be substantially beneficial with respect to the individual acquisition of knowledge, whereas epistemic scripts apparently do not to lead to the expected effects

Collaboration scripts - a conceptual analysis

This article presents a conceptual analysis of collaboration scripts used in face-to-face and computer-mediated collaborative learning. Collaboration scripts are scaffolds that aim to improve collaboration through structuring the interactive processes between two or more learning partners. Collaboration scripts consist of at least five components: (a) learning objectives, (b) type of activities, (c) sequencing, (d) role distribution, and (e) type of representation. These components serve as a basis for comparing prototypical collaboration script approaches for face-to-face vs. computer-mediated learning. As our analysis reveals, collaboration scripts for face-to-face learning often focus on supporting collaborators in engaging in activities that are specifically related to individual knowledge acquisition. Scripts for computer-mediated collaboration are typically concerned with facilitating communicative-coordinative processes that occur among group members. The two lines of research can be consolidated to facilitate the design of collaboration scripts, which both support participation and coordination, as well as induce learning activities closely related to individual knowledge acquisition and metacognition. In addition, research on collaboration scripts needs to consider the learners’ internal collaboration scripts as a further determinant of collaboration behavior. The article closes with the presentation of a conceptual framework incorporating both external and internal collaboration scripts

Dysregulated protocadherin-pathway activity as an intrinsic defect in induced pluripotent stem cell-derived cortical interneurons from subjects with schizophrenia.

We generated cortical interneurons (cINs) from induced pluripotent stem cells derived from 14 healthy controls and 14 subjects with schizophrenia. Both healthy control cINs and schizophrenia cINs were authentic, fired spontaneously, received functional excitatory inputs from host neurons, and induced GABA-mediated inhibition in host neurons in vivo. However, schizophrenia cINs had dysregulated expression of protocadherin genes, which lie within documented schizophrenia loci. Mice lacking protocadherin-α showed defective arborization and synaptic density of prefrontal cortex cINs and behavioral abnormalities. Schizophrenia cINs similarly showed defects in synaptic density and arborization that were reversed by inhibitors of protein kinase C, a downstream kinase in the protocadherin pathway. These findings reveal an intrinsic abnormality in schizophrenia cINs in the absence of any circuit-driven pathology. They also demonstrate the utility of homogenous and functional populations of a relevant neuronal subtype for probing pathogenesis mechanisms during development

A search for steep spectrum radio relics and halos with the GMRT

Context: Diffuse radio emission, in the form of radio halos and relics, traces regions in clusters with shocks or turbulence, probably produced by cluster mergers. Some models of diffuse radio emission in clusters indicate that virtually all clusters should contain diffuse radio sources with a steep spectrum. External accretion shocks associated with filamentary structures of galaxies could also accelerate electrons to relativistic energies and hence produce diffuse synchrotron emitting regions. Here we report on Giant Metrewave Radio Telescope (GMRT) observations of a sample of steep spectrum sources from the 74 MHz VLSS survey. These sources are diffuse and not associated with nearby galaxies. Aims: The main aim of the observations is to search for diffuse radio emission associated with galaxy clusters or the cosmic web. Methods: We carried out GMRT 610 MHz continuum observations of unidentified diffuse steep spectrum sources. Results: We have constructed a sample of diffuse steep spectrum sources, selected from the 74 MHz VLSS survey. We identified eight diffuse radio sources probably all located in clusters. We found five radio relics, one cluster with a giant radio halo and a radio relic, and one radio mini-halo. By complementing our observations with measurements from the literature we find correlations between the physical size of relics and the spectral index, in the sense that smaller relics have steeper spectra. Furthermore, larger relics are mostly located in the outskirts of clusters while smaller relics are located closer to the cluster center.Comment: 20 pages, 26 figures, accepted for publication in A&A on October 7, 200

Should Research Ethics Encourage the Production of Cost-Effective Interventions?

This project considers whether and how research ethics can contribute to the provision of cost-effective medical interventions. Clinical research ethics represents an underexplored context for the promotion of cost-effectiveness. In particular, although scholars have recently argued that research on less-expensive, less-effective interventions can be ethical, there has been little or no discussion of whether ethical considerations justify curtailing research on more expensive, more effective interventions. Yet considering cost-effectiveness at the research stage can help ensure that scarce resources such as tissue samples or limited subject popula- tions are employed where they do the most good; can support parallel efforts by providers and insurers to promote cost-effectiveness; and can ensure that research has social value and benefits subjects. I discuss and rebut potential objections to the consideration of cost-effectiveness in research, including the difficulty of predicting effectiveness and cost at the research stage, concerns about limitations in cost-effectiveness analysis, and worries about overly limiting researchers’ freedom. I then consider the advantages and disadvantages of having certain participants in the research enterprise, including IRBs, advisory committees, sponsors, investigators, and subjects, consider cost-effectiveness. The project concludes by qualifiedly endorsing the consideration of cost-effectiveness at the research stage. While incorporating cost-effectiveness considerations into the ethical evaluation of human subjects research will not on its own ensure that the health care system realizes cost-effectiveness goals, doing so nonetheless represents an important part of a broader effort to control rising medical costs

The T Tauri star RY Tau as a case study of the inner regions of circumstellar dust disks

We study the inner region of the circumstellar disk around the TTauri star RY Tau. Our aim is to find a physical description satisfying the available interferometric data, obtained with the mid-infrared interferometric instrument at the Very Large Telescope Interferometer, as well as the spectral energy distribution. We also compare the findings with the results of similar studies, including those of intermediate-mass stars. Our analysis is done within the framework of a passive circumstellar disk, which is optionally supplemented by the effects of accretion and an added envelope. To achieve a more consistent and realistic model, we used our continuum transfer code MC3D. In addition, we studied the shape of the 10um silicate emission feature in terms of the underlying dust population, both for single-dish and for interferometric measurements. We show that a modestly flaring disk model with accretion can explain both the observed spectral energy distribution and the mid-infrared visibilities obtained with the mid-infrared infrared instrument. We found an interesting ambiguity: a circumstellar active disk model with an added envelope, and a lower accretion rate than in the active disk model without envelope, could represent the observations equally as well. This type of model with the envelope should be considered a viable alternative in future models of other TTauri stars. The approach of a disk with a puffed-up inner rim wall and the influence of a stellar companion is also discussed. From the study of the silicate emission feature we see evidence for dust evolution in a TTauri star, with a decreasing fraction of small amorphous and an increasing fraction of crystalline particles closer to the star.Comment: 19 pages, 23 figures; accepted by Astronomy & Astrophysic

An interdisciplinary intervention for older Taiwanese patients after surgery for hip fracture improves health-related quality of life

Abstract Background The effects of intervention programs on health-related quality of life (HRQOL) of patients with hip fracture have not been well studied. We hypothesized that older patients with hip fracture who received our interdisciplinary intervention program would have better HRQOL than those who did not. Methods A randomized experimental design was used. Older patients with hip fracture (N = 162), 60 to 98 years old, from a medical center in northern Taiwan were randomly assigned to an experimental (n = 80) or control (n = 82) group. HRQOL was measured by the SF-36 Taiwan version at 1, 3, 6, and 12 months after discharge. Results The experimental group had significantly better overall outcomes in bodily pain (β = 9.38, p = 0.002), vitality (β = 9.40, p < 0.001), mental health (β = 8.16, p = 0.004), physical function (β = 16.01, p < 0.001), and role physical (β = 22.66, p < 0.001) than the control group at any time point during the first year after discharge. Physical-related health outcomes (physical functioning, role physical, and vitality) had larger treatment effects than emotional/mental- and social functioning-related health outcomes. Conclusions This interdisciplinary intervention program may improve health outcomes of elders with hip fracture. Our results may provide a reference for health care providers in countries using similar programs with Chinese/Taiwanese immigrant populations. Trial registration NCT01052636http://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/78259/1/1471-2474-11-225.xmlhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/78259/2/1471-2474-11-225.pdfPeer Reviewe