Evaluation of an on-campus programme bridging the theory-practice gap in occupational therapy education: Student perspective

The transfer of learning from an academic setting to fieldwork and vice versa is not straightforward and occupational therapy students often report this as challenging. In acknowledgement of this, the fieldwork placement learning structure within the Bachelor and Master occupational therapy entry-level programs at a higher education institute was redesigned to enhance links between taught content at university and fieldwork placement. The aim of this study was to explore occupational therapy students’ perspectives of this new educational initiative. The students attended university for a set number of days over the course of their first and second fieldwork placements. The sessions were focused on assisting students to make connections between theory taught at university to the practice setting and allow time for reflection and consolidation of learning. One hundred and fifteen occupational therapy students completed an anonymized online questionnaire to evaluate their experiences consisting of open and closed questions. Qualitative data was analyzed using thematic analysis and Likert Scale data was analyzed descriptively. Three key themes were identified from the qualitative information: reflection, support, and understanding and knowledge. The students reported the sessions provided time for reflection, which enabled them to link theory to practice more clearly and peer support was highly regarded. The introduction of university days during fieldwork education was overall positively received by students. This educational approach helped students to better understand theory and promoted reflection on practice experiences. This may be a useful approach to bridge the gap between theory and practice

Evaluation of an On-Campus Program Bridging the Theory-Practice Gap in Occupational Therapy Education: Student Perspective

The transfer of learning from an academic setting to fieldwork and vice versa is not straightforward and occupational therapy students often report this as challenging. In acknowledgement of this, the fieldwork placement learning structure within the Bachelor and Master occupational therapy entry-level programs at a higher education institute was redesigned to enhance links between taught content at university and fieldwork placement. The aim of this study was to explore occupational therapy students’ perspectives of this new educational initiative. The students attended university for a set number of days over the course of their first and second fieldwork placements. The sessions were focused on assisting students to make connections between theory taught at university to the practice setting and allow time for reflection and consolidation of learning. One hundred and fifteen occupational therapy students completed an anonymized online questionnaire to evaluate their experiences consisting of open and closed questions. Qualitative data was analyzed using thematic analysis and Likert Scale data was analyzed descriptively. Three key themes were identified from the qualitative information: reflection, support, and understanding and knowledge. The students reported the sessions provided time for reflection, which enabled them to link theory to practice more clearly and peer support was highly regarded. The introduction of university days during fieldwork education was overall positively received by students. This educational approach helped students to better understand theory and promoted reflection on practice experiences. This may be a useful approach to bridge the gap between theory and practice

High temperature optical absorption investigation into the electronic transitions in sol–gel derived C12A7 thin films

Optical absorption into 6 mm thick sol–gel derived films, annealed at 1300 °C of 12CaO·7Al2O3 calcium aluminate binary compound on MgO〈100〉 single crystal substrates was studied at temperatures ranging from room temperature to 300 °C. Experimental data were analysed in both Tauc and Urbach regions. The optical band gap decreased from 4.088 eV at 25 °C to 4.051 eV at 300 °C, while Urbach energy increased from 0.191 eV at 25 °C to 0.257 eV at 300 °C. The relationship between the optical band gap and the Urbach energy at different temperatures showed an almost linear relationship from which the theoretical values of 4.156 and 0.065 eV were evaluated for the band gap energy and Urbach energy of a 12CaO·7Al2O3 crystal with zero structural disorder at 0 K

Incidence, trends and epidemiology of cancers in North West of Iran

Background: Cancer is a leading cause of death throughout the world. Increasing life expectancy and aging population are important factors for increasing cancer incidences in developing countries. National programs are essential for prevention and control of cancer in any society. This study aimed to investigate cancer epidemiology and trends in the province of Hamadan, located in Northwest Iran. Materials and Methods: This analytical study was carried out based on cancer registry data from 2004 to 2009 in the province of Hamadan, analyzed using STATA (version 12) software for descriptive tests and Join point 4.1.1.1 software for analytical tests. Results: There were 7,767 registered cases of cancer during the 6 years studied. Of the total cases registered, 59.1 (4,592 cases) involved men and 40.9 (3,175 cases) occurred in women. Age-standardized incidence rates (ASR) increased from 72.9 to 132.0 in males and 48.2 to 115.0 in females during the 6 years of the study (p<0.001). The most common cancers were skin, stomach, breast, bladder, and leukemia. In women, teh most common were breast, skin, stomach, colorectal, and leukemia, in that order, and in men skin, stomach, bladder, leukemia, and prostate cancers. Conclusions: The cancer incidence is greater in men that women in this region but with increasing trends in both sexes. Planning regarding education in prevention of exposure to risk factors and control strategies is required to decrease the incident cases. Screening programs for common cancers in older age groups might be helpful to reduce the disease impact

Microwave-promoted solvent free one-pot synthesis of triazolo[1,2-a] indazole-triones catalyzed by silica-supported La0.5Ca 0.5CrO3 nanoparticles as a new and reusable perovskite-type oxide

Microwave assisted solvent free synthesis of triazolo[1,2-a]indazole-1,3,8-triones through one-pot three-component reaction of dimedone, phenyl urazole and aromatic aldehydes is presented. The reaction process was catalyzed by La0.5Ca0.5CrO3 and silica-supported La0.5Ca0.5CrO3 nanoparticles as new perovskite-type catalysts. The nano catalyst was studied by XRD, SEM and IR characterization tools. Some advantages of the proposed approach include high yield, being eco-friendly, procedure convenience and reusability of the catalyst.               KEY WORDS: One-pot reaction, Triazolo[1,2-a]indazole trione, Perovskite oxide, Nano catalyst, Microwave, Solvent-free Bull. Chem. Soc. Ethiop. 2018, 32(2), 239-248.DOI: https://dx.doi.org/10.4314/bcse.v32i2.

Diagnostic value of Neuron-Specific Enolase (NSE) and Cancer Antigen 15-3 (CA 15-3) in the Diagnosis of Pleural effusions

Introduction: Pleural effusion diagnosis plays an important role in determining treatment strategies. The aim of this study was to determine the diagnostic capacity of tumor markers CA 15-3 and NSE solely or in combination in differentiating the nature of pleural fluid. Methods and Materials: In this cross-sectional study we evaluated 93 patients with pleural effusions (44 malignant and 49 benign). NSE and CA 15-3 serum and pleural levels were measured simultaneously using immunoenzyme assay kits. Diagnosis was established on the basis of cytological study. Results: Sensitivity and specificity of CA 15-3 serum and pleural level measurement were 70.4%, 49.0%, and 79.5% and 49.0%, respectively. Serum NSE levels had 75.0% sensitivity and 69.4% specificity while the respective pleural figures were 75.0% and 73.5%. The combination of NSE and CA 15-3 serum and pleural levels had the highest sensitivity (93.2%), although combined serum levels had the lowest sensitivity (47.7%). With an accuracy of 74.2%, pleural levels of NSE had the highest diagnostic potential. Conclusion: Measuring NSE and CA 15-3 tumor markers is a suitable approach to distinguish the nature of pleural effusions, with NSE pleural levels demonstrating the highest diagnostic accuracy

Yield and yield components of six canola (Brassica napus L.) cultivars affected by planting date and water deficit stress

In order to study the effect of planting dates and different irrigation regimes on yield and yield components of six canola cultivars, an experiment was conducted in two growing seasons; 2008 to 2009 and 2009 to 2010. Six canola cultivars (Zarfam, GKH1103, GKH1605, GKH2005, GKH305 and GKH3705) were cultivated in two different dates (October 7th and November 6th) with two levels of irrigation regimes (irrigation after 60 mm evaporation from Class A evaporation pan and irrigation interrupting at flowering stage). The experiments were conducted in randomized complete block design arrangement in split factorial with four replications The results demonstrated that late planting date and interrupting of irrigation at flowering stage significantly decreased growth, yield and yield components the of canola cultivars. In addition, oil yield was affected by late planting and water stress and it was dramatically decreased. Also, there was no significant difference among the cultivars with respect to oil percentage. The highest seed yield (5930.4 kg. ha-1) was obtained from GKH1103 cultivars planted on October 7th under the conditions of full irrigation. Seed yield and oil yield in the second year was more than that of the first year; this increase was related to the increase in seed weight and pod number per plant but not to number of seed per pod. In general, canola cultivation on November 6th considerably decreased seed and oil yield and it is an important point to achieve desirable yield to seed sowing not done later than October 7th. Additionally, complementary irrigation was very important to gain high yield in canola under the conditions of this study.Key words: Canola, planting date, water stress, yield and yield components

The incidence of prostate cancer in Iran: Results of a population-based cancer registry

Background: Little is known about the epidemiology of prostate cancer in Iranian men. We carried out an active prostate cancer surveillance program in five provinces of Iran. Methods: Data used in this study were obtained from population-based cancer registries between 1996 and 2000. Results: The age-standardized incidence rate of prostate carcinoma in the five provinces was 5.1 per 100,000 person-years. No significant difference was seen in the age-standardized incidence rate of prostate cancer within the provinces studied. The mean±SD age of patients with prostate cancer was 67±13.5 years. Conclusion: The incidence of prostate cancer in Iran is very low as compared to the Western countries. This can partly be explained by lack of nationwide screening program, younger age structure and quality of cancer registration system in Iran

A Theory of Cheap Control in Embodied Systems

We present a framework for designing cheap control architectures for embodied agents. Our derivation is guided by the classical problem of universal approximation, whereby we explore the possibility of exploiting the agent's embodiment for a new and more efficient universal approximation of behaviors generated by sensorimotor control. This embodied universal approximation is compared with the classical non-embodied universal approximation. To exemplify our approach, we present a detailed quantitative case study for policy models defined in terms of conditional restricted Boltzmann machines. In contrast to non-embodied universal approximation, which requires an exponential number of parameters, in the embodied setting we are able to generate all possible behaviors with a drastically smaller model, thus obtaining cheap universal approximation. We test and corroborate the theory experimentally with a six-legged walking machine. The experiments show that the sufficient controller complexity predicted by our theory is tight, which means that the theory has direct practical implications. Keywords: cheap design, embodiment, sensorimotor loop, universal approximation, conditional restricted Boltzmann machineComment: 27 pages, 10 figure

Age estimation based on pulp–tooth volume ratio of anterior teeth in cone-beam computed tomographic images in a selected population: A cross-sectional study

The present study aimed to investigate the correlation between chronological age and pulp– tooth volume ratio in anterior teeth using cone beam computed tomographic (CBCT) images and provide equations for age estimation based on pulp–tooth volume ratio. In this cross-sectional study, CBCT images of 312 anterior teeth of the maxilla and mandible were examineαd. The chronological age and the sex of the patients were recorded. Tooth volume and pulp volume of the anterior teeth were measured using Mimics software, and then tooth–pulp volume ratio was calculated. Statistical analysis of data was performed using chi-square test, independent T-test, Pearson’s correlation, and linear regression (α = 0.05). Finally, equations were made based on the results of the regression analysis for age estimation in general and for males and females. The age of the subjects ranged between 16 and 69 years (mean 40.6 ± 12.74). The pulp–tooth volume ratio of the maxillary teeth was generally higher than the mandibular teeth. A significant inverse relationship between age and pulp–tooth volume ratio was observed for all anterior teeth. (p < 0.05). The strongest correlation between age and pulp–tooth volume ratio was reported for mandibular central incisor (r = −0.58, p < 0.001) and the weakest was for mandibular lateral incisor (r = −0.36, p = 0.012). Age estimation was most accurate among females using the maxillary central incisors (p < 0.001) and among males using the mandibular central incisors and maxillary canines (p = 0.003). Pulp–tooth volume ratio of mandibular central incisors, maxillary lateral incisors, and maxillary canines in males and maxillary and mandibular central incisors, maxillary lateral incisors, and maxillary and mandibular canines in females can be used for age estimation