Motivating and Empowering Adults Returning to Study.

This is a qualitative study of students in FE who have attended ten cohorts of Return to Study courses over the past five years, using questionnaires and interviews. This involves people who have done a varying amount of prior study, and includes asylum seekers, ESOL students as well as those aiming for HE. It examines the development of their confidence and motivation through their experience of FE. It evaluates the provision they have been given and draws out examples of effective practice from their views. The study examines the obstacles that these students feel that society, relationships and the education service places in their path. The title reflects the degree of disadvantage that many have to overcome. The research should FE institutions develop the culture to support these students effectively in order to underpin widening participation

Christology and ecclesiology in the fourth gospel

The aim of this thesis is to show the connection between Christology and ecclesiology in the Fourth Gospel; how the latter is based totally on the former to such an extent that the Christological and ecclesiological models are treated as one subject, the community being the continuation of Jesus' presence on earth. In Part One, Christology is examined, and with it the question of whether John has clarified or obscured the Synoptic tradition's account of the life of Jesus. The central motif is shown to be that of oneness, and where a subordinationist tendency occurs it is reinterpreted in accordance with the complete oneness of Father and Son, so that sender and sent are seen as identical, and yet distinct and in relationship to each other, Part Two examines ecclesiology as derived from the Father-Son model. The Christian community is shown to stand in the same relation to Jesus as does Jesus to the Father; the community thus takes on the role of the continuation of the incarnation, of God walking on the earth. The oneness motif is therefore not limited to the Father-Son relationship but works in an ecclesiological direction also. What has been affirmed christologically, that Father and Son are totally one, is now affirmed of the community and Jesus. The conclusion is that these two motifs, Christology and ecclesiology, are one and although in the theological development Christology preceded ecclesiology, now they are fused together and both interact on each other. The final conclusion is that in regard to the Synoptic tradition, John has attempted to draw out the true significance of Jesus' message, but in so doing has forced everything into the oneness motif, thus obscuring something of the humanity of Jesus. From an ecclesiological viewpoint, he has developed the material in a way not previously done before

The Evolution of Sinoatrial Node Function in Man

The function of the sinoatrial node is complex. In nearly all hearts, this small bit of tissue is responsible for spontaneously generating the impulse which will be distributed to the remainder of the heart, maintaining coordinated electrical and mechanical function. In recent years, it has become clear that S-A node dysfunction is not rare, can cause disabling symptoms, and often presents difficult management problems. The challenges presented by the Sick Sinus Syndromes have increased our desire to know more about normal S-A node function and about function in disease states

Method and apparatus for assessing cardiovascular risk

The method for assessing risk of an adverse clinical event includes detecting a physiologic signal in the subject and determining from the physiologic signal a sequence of intervals corresponding to time intervals between heart beats. The long-time structure of fluctuations in the intervals over a time period of more than fifteen minutes is analyzed to assess risk of an adverse clinical event. In a preferred embodiment, the physiologic signal is an electrocardiogram and the time period is at least fifteen minutes. A preferred method for analyzing the long-time structure variability in the intervals includes computing the power spectrum and fitting the power spectrum to a power law dependence on frequency over a selected frequency range such as 10.sup.-4 to 10.sup.-2 Hz. Characteristics of the long-time structure fluctuations in the intervals is used to assess risk of an adverse clinical event

Critical Scale-invariance in Healthy Human Heart Rate

We demonstrate the robust scale-invariance in the probability density function (PDF) of detrended healthy human heart rate increments, which is preserved not only in a quiescent condition, but also in a dynamic state where the mean level of heart rate is dramatically changing. This scale-independent and fractal structure is markedly different from the scale-dependent PDF evolution observed in a turbulent-like, cascade heart rate model. These results strongly support the view that healthy human heart rate is controlled to converge continually to a critical state.Comment: 9 pages, 3 figures. Phys. Rev. Lett., to appear (2004

Risk Stratification in Post-MI Patients Based on Left Ventricular Ejection Fraction and Heart-Rate Turbulence

Objectives: Development of risk stratification criteria for predicting mortality in post-infarction patients taking into account LVEF and heart-rate turbulence (HRT). Methods: Based on previous results the two parameters LVEF (continuously) and turbulence slope (TS) as an indicator of the HRT were combined for risk stratification. The method has been applied within two independent data sets (the MPIP-trial and the EMIAT-study). Results: The criteria were defined in order to match the outcome of applying LVEF ( 30 % in sensitivity. In the MPIP trial the optimal criteria selected are TS normal and LVEF ( 21 % or TS abnormal and LVEF ( 40 %. Within the placebo group of the EMIAT-study the corresponding criteria are: TS normal and LVEF ( 23 % or TS abnormal and LVEF ( 40 %. Combining both studies the following criteria could be obtained: TS normal and LVEF ( 20 % or TS abnormal and LVEF ( 40 %. In the MPIP study 83 out of the 581 patients (= 14.3 %) are fulfilling these criteria. Within this group 30 patients have died during the follow-up. In the EMIAT-trial 218 out of the 591 patients (= 37.9 %) are classified as high risk patients with 53 deaths. Combining both studies the high risk group contains 301 patients with 83 deaths (ppv = 27.7 %). Using the MADIT-criterion as classification rule (LVEF ( 30 %) a sample of 375 patients with 85 deaths (ppv = 24 %) can be selected. Conclusions: The stratification rule based on LVEF and TS is able to select high risk patients suitable for implanting an ICD. The rule performs better than the classical one with LVEF alone. The high risk group applying the new criteria is smaller with about the same number of deaths and therefor with a higher positive predictive value. The classification criteria have been validated within a bootstrap study with 100 replications. In all samples the rule based on TS and LVEF (= NEW) was superior to LVEV alone, the high risk group has been smaller (( s: 301 ( 14.5 (NEW) vs. 375 ( 14.5 (LVEF)) and the positive predictive value was larger (( s: 27.2 ( 2.6 % (NEW) vs. 23.3 ( 2.2 % (LVEF)). The new criteria are less expensive due to a reduced number of high risk patients selected

The Pharmacology and Clinical Use of Lidocaine and Procainamide

Both procainamide and lidocaine are useful for acutely treating cardiac arrhythmias, and procainamide can be useful in chronic antiarrhythmic regimens. Successful management of cardiac arrhythmias requires knowledge of: 1) the mechanism and natural history of the arrhythmia, 2) the physiologic state of the patient, and 3) the cardiac effects, pharmacodynamics, and general pharmacology of the antiarrhythmic drugs

A Statistical Model for Risk Stratification on the Basis of Left Ventricular Ejection Fraction and Heart-Rate Turbulence

The MPIP data set was used to obtain a model for mortality risk stratification of acute myocardial infarction patients. The predictors heart rate turbulence (HRT) and left-ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) were employed. HRT was a categorical variable of three levels; LVEF was continuous and its influence on the relative risk was explained by the natural logarithm function (found using fractional polynomials). Cox - PH model with HRT and lnLVEF was constructed and used for risk stratification. The model can be used to divide the patients into two or more groups according to mortality risk. It also describes the relationship between risk and predictors by a (continuous) function, which allows the calculation of individual mortality risk

A mathematical model for the sequestering of chemical contaminants by magnetic particles

A mathematical model is developed and implemented to characterize the pickup of various liquid chemical contaminants by polyethylene-coated magnetic particles. The model and its associated experimental and analytical protocols were applied to a wide range of liquid chemicals in order to gain insights into the physical basis for the pickup phenomenon. The characteristics of the pickup isotherms range between “ideal” and “nonideal” behaviors that are reflected in the mathematical model by a single parameter, �0, where �0=1 corresponds to ideal behavior and �0�1 corresponds to a departure from idealized behavior that is directly quantified by the magnitude of �0. The parameter �0 is also related to the efficiency of pickup, and since most isotherms observed in the study deviate from ideality, the high efficiency of pickup observed in these systems has been attributed in part to this deviation. The proposed model and its associated experimental and analytical protocols demonstrate great potential for the systematic evaluation of the uptake of chemical contaminants using magnetic particle technology