1,055 research outputs found
Adjunct & Faculty Survey: Perceptions of Quality & Rigor
Seeking comprehensive feedback about adjunct faculty experiences at Fort Hays State University, the authors created an anonymous survey tool to inquire about full-time and adjunct faculty perceptions of a broad range of factors affecting adjuncts and the classes they teach. Results include valuable information about adjunct satisfaction, compensation, recruitment, orientation, and support, as well as perceptions of course and program quality. Findings suggest significant differences in perceptions of academic rigor and expectations of student clock-hours. Results were shared with the Adjunct Faculty Advisory Committee and will be used to make various recommendations to the Provost and Academic Council. Additional research is needed, to clarify factors which affect adjunct and full-time faculty perceptions
Adjunct & Faculty Survey: Perceptions of Quality & Rigor
Seeking comprehensive feedback about adjunct faculty experiences at Fort Hays State University, the authors created an anonymous survey tool to inquire about full-time and adjunct faculty perceptions of a broad range of factors affecting adjuncts and the classes they teach. Results include valuable information about adjunct satisfaction, compensation, recruitment, orientation, and support, as well as perceptions of course and program quality. Findings suggest significant differences in perceptions of academic rigor and expectations of student clock-hours. Results were shared with the Adjunct Faculty Advisory Committee and will be used to make various recommendations to the Provost and Academic Council. Additional research is needed, to clarify factors which affect adjunct and full-time faculty perceptions
Out-of-plane instability and electron-phonon contribution to s- and d-wave pairing in high-temperature superconductors; LDA linear-response calculation for doped CaCuO2 and a generic tight-binding model
The equilibrium structure, energy bands, phonon dispersions, and s- and
d-channel electron-phonon interactions (EPIs) are calculated for the
infinite-layer superconductor CaCuO2 doped with 0.24 holes per CuO2. The LDA
and the linear-response full-potential LMTO method were used. In the
equilibrium structure, oxygen is found to buckle slightly out of the plane and,
as a result, the characters of the energy bands near EF are found to be similar
to those of other optimally doped HTSCs. For the EPI we find lambda(s)=0.4, in
accord with previous LDA calculations for YBa2Cu3O7. This supports the common
belief that the EPI mechanism alone is insufficient to explain HTSC.
Lambda(x^2-y^2) is found to be positive and nearly as large as lambda(s). This
is surprising and indicates that the EPI could enhance some other d-wave
pairing mechanism. Like in YBa2Cu3O7, the buckling modes contribute
significantly to the EPI, although these contributions are proportional to the
static buckling and would vanish for flat planes. These numerical results can
be understood from a generic tight-binding model originally derived from the
LDA bands of YBa2Cu3O7. In the future, the role of anharmonicity of the
buckling-modes and the influence of the spin-fluctuations should be
investigated.Comment: 19 pages, 9 Postscript figures, Late
Dissociation in a polymerization model of homochirality
A fully self-contained model of homochirality is presented that contains the
effects of both polymerization and dissociation. The dissociation fragments are
assumed to replenish the substrate from which new monomers can grow and undergo
new polymerization. The mean length of isotactic polymers is found to grow
slowly with the normalized total number of corresponding building blocks.
Alternatively, if one assumes that the dissociation fragments themselves can
polymerize further, then this corresponds to a strong source of short polymers,
and an unrealistically short average length of only 3. By contrast, without
dissociation, isotactic polymers becomes infinitely long.Comment: 16 pages, 6 figures, submitted to Orig. Life Evol. Biosp
Asteroseismology of the Hyades red giant and planet host epsilon Tauri
Asteroseismic analysis of solar-like stars allows us to determine physical
parameters such as stellar mass, with a higher precision compared to most other
methods. Even in a well-studied cluster such as the Hyades, the masses of the
red giant stars are not well known, and previous mass estimates are based on
model calculations (isochrones). The four known red giants in the Hyades are
assumed to be clump (core-helium-burning) stars based on their positions in
colour-magnitude diagrams, however asteroseismology offers an opportunity to
test this assumption. Using asteroseismic techniques combined with other
methods, we aim to derive physical parameters and the evolutionary stage for
the planet hosting star epsilon Tau, which is one of the four red giants
located in the Hyades. We analysed time-series data from both ground and space
to perform the asteroseismic analysis. By combining high signal-to-noise (S/N)
radial-velocity data from the ground-based SONG network with continuous
space-based data from the revised Kepler mission K2, we derive and characterize
27 individual oscillation modes for epsilon Tau, along with global oscillation
parameters such as the large frequency separation and the ratio between the
amplitude of the oscillations measured in radial velocity and intensity as a
function of frequency. The latter has been measured previously for only two
stars, the Sun and Procyon. Combining the seismic analysis with interferometric
and spectroscopic measurements, we derive physical parameters for epsilon Tau,
and discuss its evolutionary status.Comment: 13 pages, 13 figures, 4 tables, accepted for publication in Astronomy
& Astrophysic
Beliefs, barriers and preferences of European overweight women to adopt a healthier lifestyle in pregnancy to minimize risk of developing gestational diabetes mellitus: an explorative study
Introduction: Overweight and obese women are at high risk of developing gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM). Lifestyle programs might help curb the GDM risk. We explored beliefs, perceived barriers and preferences regarding lifestyle changes among overweight European pregnant women to help inform the development of future high quality lifestyle interventions.
Methods: An explorative mixed methods, two-staged study was conducted to gather information from pregnant European women (BMI≥25kg/m2). In three European countries (Belgium, Netherlands, United Kingdom) interviews were conducted, followed by questionnaires in six other European countries (Austria, Denmark, Ireland, Italy, Poland, Spain). Content analysis, descriptive and chi square statistics were applied (p<0.05).
Results: Women preferred to obtain detailed information about their personal risk. The health of their baby was major motivating factor. Perceived barriers for physical activity included pregnancy-specific issues such as tiredness and experiencing physical complaints. Insufficient time was a barrier more frequently reported by women with children. Abstaining from snacking was identified as a challenge for the majority of women, especially for those without children. Women preferred to obtain support from their partner, as well as health professionals and valued flexible lifestyle programs.
Conclusions: Healthcare professionals need to inform overweight pregnant women about their personal risk, discuss lifestyle modification and assist in weight management. Lifestyle programs should be tailored to the individual, taking into account barriers experienced by overweight first-time mothers and multipara women
Long-Term Mortality in Patients with Tuberculous Meningitis: A Danish Nationwide Cohort Study
Background: With high short-term mortality and substantial excess morbidity among survivors, tuberculous meningitis (TBM) is the most severe manifestation of extra-pulmonary tuberculosis (TB). The objective of this study was to assess the long-term mortality and causes of death in a TBM patient population compared to the background population. Methods: A nationwide cohort study was conducted enrolling patients notified with TBM in Denmark from 1972–2008 and alive one year after TBM diagnosis. Data was extracted from national registries. From the background population we identified a control cohort of individuals matched on gender and date of birth. Kaplan-Meier survival curves and Cox regression analysis were used to estimate mortality rate ratios (MRR) and analyse causes of death. Findings: A total of 55 TBM patients and 550 individuals from the background population were included in the study. Eighteen patients (32.7%) and 107 population controls (19.5%) died during the observation period. The overall MRR was 1.79 (95%CI: 1.09–2.95) for TBM patients compared to the population control cohort. TBM patients in the age group 31–60 years at time of diagnosis had the highest relative risk of death (MRR 2.68; 95%CI 1.34–5.34). The TBM patients had a higher risk of death due to infectious disease, but not from other causes of death. Conclusion: Adult TBM patients have an almost two-fold increased long-term mortality and the excess mortality stems fro
Homochiral growth through enantiomeric cross-inhibition
The stability and conservation properties of a recently proposed
polymerization model are studied. The achiral (racemic) solution is linearly
unstable once the relevant control parameter (here the fidelity of the
catalyst) exceeds a critical value. The growth rate is calculated for different
fidelity parameters and cross-inhibition rates. A chirality parameter is
defined and shown to be conserved by the nonlinear terms of the model. Finally,
a truncated version of the model is used to derive a set of two ordinary
differential equations and it is argued that these equations are more realistic
than those used in earlier models of that form.Comment: 20 pages, 6 figures, Orig. Life Evol. Biosph. (accepted
Limit theorems for self-similar tilings
We study deviation of ergodic averages for dynamical systems given by
self-similar tilings on the plane and in higher dimensions. The main object of
our paper is a special family of finitely-additive measures for our systems. An
asymptotic formula is given for ergodic integrals in terms of these
finitely-additive measures, and, as a corollary, limit theorems are obtained
for dynamical systems given by self-similar tilings.Comment: 36 pages; some corrections and improved exposition, especially in
Section 4; references adde
- …