524 research outputs found
Transforming Through Reflection: Use of Student-Led Reflections in the Development of Intercultural Competence during a Short-Term International Immersion Experience
ABSTRACT
Purpose: Curricular integration designed to include cultural competence standards for health care professionals is paramount to preparing students to meet the needs of a growing diverse population in the U.S. The purpose of this research is to examine the cultural competency development of occupational therapy students, and to report on their reflections and perspectives during a two-week immersive and service-learning experience in Guatemala. Methods: As intercultural competence is a highly personal trait, the study used a descriptive qualitative research design gaining participantsā perspectives of the short-term international immersion experience through student-led reflective focus groups, using an open discussion format, during the immersion experience. Results: Data analysis yielded three themes: Do, Experience, Understand; Change Factor; and Future Action that represent the student perspective in a cultural immersion experience. The first theme: Do, Experience, Understand encompassed participantsā discussion of how fully engaging in a culture different than their own was necessary to understand differences and commonalities. The second theme: Change Factor included expressions of dissonance in level of physical, emotional, and mental comfort that prompted a transformation within the student. The final theme: Future Action, described a tangible outcome from the immersion experience. By engaging with a different culture, participants experienced a transformation, leading to sharing of their desire to continue their advocacy efforts on behalf of others. Conclusion: Reflection became a key element in the transformative nature of the learning experience. It became obvious that a safe environment in which to share dreams, doubts, cultural missteps and successful moments was necessary for coping with feelings of dissonance. The safe sharing environment added to the cohesiveness of the group, lowered anxiety and provided opportunities for learning. Participantsā verbalized descriptions of transformative learning necessary in the development of intercultural competency during an international cultural immersion experience. By participating in a cultural immersion experience integrated into their curricular program, students began to articulate cultural competencies required to consider multiples lenses, perspectives and backgrounds of their future clients
Recursion Relations in Liouville Gravity coupled to Ising Model satisfying Fusion Rules
The recursion relations of 2D quantum gravity coupled to the Ising model
discussed by the author previously are reexamined. We study the case in which
the matter sector satisfies the fusion rules and only the primary operators
inside the Kac table contribute. The theory involves unregularized divergences
in some of correlators. We obtain the recursion relations which form a closed
set among well-defined correlators on sphere, but they do not have a beautiful
structure that the bosonized theory has and also give an inconsistent result
when they include an ill-defined correlator with the divergence. We solve them
and compute the several normalization independent ratios of the well-defined
correlators, which agree with the matrix model results.Comment: Latex, 22 page
Boundary states for a free boson defined on finite geometries
Langlands recently constructed a map that factorizes the partition function
of a free boson on a cylinder with boundary condition given by two arbitrary
functions in the form of a scalar product of boundary states. We rewrite these
boundary states in a compact form, getting rid of technical assumptions
necessary in his construction. This simpler form allows us to show explicitly
that the map between boundary conditions and states commutes with conformal
transformations preserving the boundary and the reality condition on the scalar
field.Comment: 16 pages, LaTeX (uses AMS components). Revised version; an analogy
with string theory computations is discussed and references adde
SU(m) non-Abelian anyons in the Jain hierarchy of quantum Hall states
We show that different classes of topological order can be distinguished by
the dynamical symmetry algebra of edge excitations. Fundamental topological
order is realized when this algebra is the largest possible, the algebra of
quantum area-preserving diffeomorphisms, called . We argue that
this order is realized in the Jain hierarchy of fractional quantum Hall states
and show that it is more robust than the standard Abelian Chern-Simons order
since it has a lower entanglement entropy due to the non-Abelian character of
the quasi-particle anyon excitations. These behave as SU() quarks, where
is the number of components in the hierarchy. We propose the topological
entanglement entropy as the experimental measure to detect the existence of
these quantum Hall quarks. Non-Abelian anyons in the fractional
quantum Hall states could be the primary candidates to realize qbits for
topological quantum computation.Comment: 5 pages, no figures, a few typos corrected, a reference adde
Perturbation Theory in Two Dimensional Open String Field Theory
In this paper we develop the covariant string field theory approach to open
2d strings. Upon constructing the vertices, we apply the formalism to calculate
the lowest order contributions to the 4- and 5- point tachyon--tachyon tree
amplitudes. Our results are shown to match the `bulk' amplitude calculations of
Bershadsky and Kutasov. In the present approach the pole structure of the
amplitudes becomes manifest and their origin as coming from the higher string
modes transparent.Comment: 26 page
Entropy flow in near-critical quantum circuits
Near-critical quantum circuits are ideal physical systems for asymptotically
large-scale quantum computers, because their low energy collective excitations
evolve reversibly, effectively isolated from the environment. The design of
reversible computers is constrained by the laws governing entropy flow within
the computer. In near-critical quantum circuits, entropy flows as a locally
conserved quantum current, obeying circuit laws analogous to the electric
circuit laws. The quantum entropy current is just the energy current divided by
the temperature. A quantum circuit made from a near-critical system (of
conventional type) is described by a relativistic 1+1 dimensional relativistic
quantum field theory on the circuit. The universal properties of the
energy-momentum tensor constrain the entropy flow characteristics of the
circuit components: the entropic conductivity of the quantum wires and the
entropic admittance of the quantum circuit junctions. For example,
near-critical quantum wires are always resistanceless inductors for entropy. A
universal formula is derived for the entropic conductivity:
\sigma_S(\omega)=iv^{2}S/\omega T, where \omega is the frequency, T the
temperature, S the equilibrium entropy density and v the velocity of `light'.
The thermal conductivity is Real(T\sigma_S(\omega))=\pi v^{2}S\delta(\omega).
The thermal Drude weight is, universally, v^{2}S. This gives a way to measure
the entropy density directly.Comment: 2005 paper published 2017 in Kadanoff memorial issue of J Stat Phys
with revisions for clarity following referee's suggestions, arguments and
results unchanged, cross-posting now to quant-ph, 27 page
Cyclic dinucleotides bind the C-linker of HCN4 to control channel cAMP responsiveness
cAMP mediates autonomic regulation of heart rate by means of hyperpolarization-activated cyclic nucleotide-gated (HCN) channels, which underlie the pacemaker current If. cAMP binding to the C-terminal cyclic nucleotide binding domain enhances HCN open probability through a conformational change that reaches the pore via the C-linker. Using structural and functional analysis, we identified a binding pocket in the C-linker of HCN4. Cyclic dinucleotides, an emerging class of second messengers in mammals, bind the C-linker pocket (CLP) and antagonize cAMP regulation of the channel. Accordingly, cyclic dinucleotides prevent cAMP regulation of If in sinoatrial node myocytes, reducing heart rate by 30%. Occupancy of the CLP hence constitutes an efficient mechanism to hinder Ī²-adrenergic stimulation on If. Our results highlight the regulative role of the C-linker and identify a potential drug target in HCN4. Furthermore, these data extend the signaling scope of cyclic dinucleotides in mammals beyond their first reported role in innate immune system
State-Dependent Accessibility of the P-S6 Linker of Pacemaker (HCN) Channels Supports a Dynamic Pore-to-Gate Coupling Model
The hyperpolarization-activated cyclic nucleotide-modulated channel gene family (HCN1-4) encodes the membrane depolarizing current that underlies pacemaking. Although the topology of HCN resembles Kv channels, much less is known about their structure-function correlation. Previously, we identified several pore residues in the S5-P linker and P-loop that are externally accessible and/or influence HCN gating, and proposed an evolutionarily conserved pore-to-gate mechanism. Here we sought dynamic evidence by assessing the functional consequences of Cys-scanning substitutions in the unexplored P-S6 linker (residues 352ā359), the HCN1-R background (that is, resistant to sulfhydryl-reactive agents). None of A352C, Q353C, A354C, P355C, V356C, S357C, M358C, or S359C produced functional currents; the loss-of-function of Q353C, A354C, S357C, and M358C could be rescued by the reducing agent dithiothreitol. Q353C, A354C, and S357C, but not M358C and HCN1-R, were sensitive to Cd2+ blockade (IC50Ā =Ā 3ā12Ā Ī¼M vs. >1Ā mM). External application of the positively charged covalent sulfhydryl modifier MTSET irreversibly reduced Iā140mV of Q353C and A354C to 27.9Ā Ā±Ā 3.4% and 58.2Ā Ā±Ā 13.1% of the control, respectively, and caused significant steady-state activation shifts (āV1/2Ā =Ā ā21.1Ā Ā±Ā 1.6 for Q353C and ā10.0Ā Ā±Ā 2.9Ā mV for A354C). Interestingly, MTSET reactivity was also state dependent. MTSET, however, affected neither S357C nor M358C, indicating site specificity. Collectively, we have identified novel P-S6 residues whose extracellular accessibility was sterically and state dependent and have provided the first functional evidence consistent with a dynamic HCN pore-to-gate model
Efficient Numerical Schemes for Computing Cardiac Electrical Activation over Realistic Purkinje Networks: Method and Verification
We present a numerical solver for the fast conduction system in the heart using both a CPU and a hybrid CPU/GPU implementation. To verify both implementations, we construct analytical solutions and show that the L2-error is similar in both implementations and decreases linearly with the spatial step size. Finally, we test the performance of the implementations with networks of varying complexity, where the hybrid implementation is, on average, 5.8 times faster
Embryonic stem cell-derived CD166+ precursors develop into fully functional sinoatrial-like cells
Rationale: A cell-based biological pacemaker is based on the differentiation of stem cells and the selection of a population displaying the molecular and functional properties of native sinoatrial node (SAN) cardiomyocytes. So far, such selection has been hampered by the lack of proper markers. CD166 is specifically but transiently expressed in the mouse heart tube and sinus venosus, the prospective SAN.
Objective: We have explored the possibility of using CD166 expression for isolating SAN progenitors from differentiating embryonic stem cells.
Methods and Results: We found that in embryonic day 10.5 mouse hearts, CD166 and HCN4, markers of the pacemaker tissue, are coexpressed. Sorting embryonic stem cells for CD166 expression at differentiation day 8 selects a population of pacemaker precursors. CD166(+) cells express high levels of genes involved in SAN development (Tbx18, Tbx3, Isl-1, Shox2) and function (Cx30.2, HCN4, HCN1, CaV1.3) and low levels of ventricular genes (Cx43, Kv4.2, HCN2, Nkx2.5). In culture, CD166(+) cells form an autorhythmic syncytium composed of cells morphologically similar to and with the electrophysiological properties of murine SAN myocytes. Isoproterenol increases (+57%) and acetylcholine decreases (-23%) the beating rate of CD166-selected cells, which express the -adrenergic and muscarinic receptors. In cocultures, CD166-selected cells are able to pace neonatal ventricular myocytes at a rate faster than their own. Furthermore, CD166(+) cells have lost pluripotency genes and do not form teratomas in vivo.
Conclusions: We demonstrated for the first time the isolation of a nonteratogenic population of cardiac precursors able to mature and form a fully functional SAN-like tissue
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