2,816 research outputs found
Beliefs and Attitudes of Medical Students from Public and Private Universities in Malaysia towards Individuals with HIV/AIDS
We describe the findings from a survey assessing the beliefs regarding testing, confidentiality, disclosure, and environment of care and attitudes towards care of people with HIV/AIDS (PLHWA), in 1020, 4th and 5th year medical students, from public and private medical universities in Malaysia. A self-administered validated questionnaire based on the UNAIDS Model Questionnaire with a 5-point Likert scale (5, strongly disagree; 4, disagree; 3, neutral; 2, agree; 1, strongly agree) was used as a survey tool. The survey included demographic data and data on undergraduate training received on HIV/AIDS. Statistical significance in the demographic data and training received by respondents was evaluated using the chi-square test while the independent Student's t-test was used for comparison of means between public and private universities. A P value of <0.05 was considered statistically significant with 95% confidence interval. Our study revealed less than 20% of medical students received adequate training to care for PLHWA. They had prevalent negative beliefs regarding testing, confidentiality, disclosure and environment of care towards PLHWA although in giving care to PLHWA, their attitudes were largely positive and nondiscriminatory.Article Link:
http://www.hindawi.com/journals/tswj/2013/462826
Assessing the Impact of Interactive Technology on Aircraft Rescue and Fire Fighting Training
The presentation will discuss the current research being conducted by the Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University-Worldwideâs Fire Science department concerning use of technology-advanced educational software at the Dallas/Fort Worth (DFW) Fire Training Research Center (FTRC). The research design is mixed methods, using quantitative data analysis to evaluate student survey results, integrated with qualitative observation and participation data, to create a sequential exploratory research strategy.DFW FTRC means to combine the latest scientific fire research and hands-on training with technology-advanced educational software. It is used as part of the aircraft rescue and fire fighting (ARFF) educational curriculum to familiarize students with the unique features of various aircraft and airports; thus, students can visualize actual disaster scenarios at specific airports with certain aircraft. This study explores the extent to which the interactive learning technology creates a better learning experience for students and how it may translate to more effective ARFF response scenarios
Bar imprints on the inner gas kinematics of M33
We present measurements of the stellar and gaseous velocities in the central
5' of the Local Group spiral M33. The data were obtained with the ARC 3.5m
telescope. Blue and red spectra with resolutions from 2 to 4\AA covering the
principal gaseous emission and stellar absorption lines were obtained along the
major and minor axes and six other position angles. The observed radial
velocities of the ionized gas along the photometric major axis of M33 remain
flat at ~22 km s^{-1} all the way into the center, while the stellar velocities
show a gradual rise from zero to 22 km s^{-1} over that same region. The
central star cluster is at or very close to the dynamical center, with a
velocity that is in accordance with M33's systemic velocity to within our
uncertainties. Velocities on the minor axis are non-zero out to about 1' from
the center in both the stars and gas. Together with the major axis velocities,
they point at significant deviations from circular rotation. The most likely
explanation for the bulk of the velocity patterns are streaming motions along a
weak inner bar with a PA close to that of the minor axis, as suggested by
previously published IR photometric images. The presence of bar imprints in M33
implies that all major Local Group galaxies are barred. The non-circular
motions over the inner 200 pc make it difficult to constrain the shape of M33's
inner dark matter halo profile. If the non-circular motions we find in this
nearby Sc galaxy are present in other more distant late-type galaxies, they
might be difficult to recognize.Comment: 20 pages, 12 figures, ApJ in pres
Confidence Level and Sensitivity Limits in High Contrast Imaging
In long adaptive optics corrected exposures, exoplanet detections are
currently limited by speckle noise originating from the telescope and
instrument optics, and it is expected that such noise will also limit future
high-contrast imaging instruments for both ground and space-based telescopes.
Previous theoretical analysis have shown that the time intensity variations of
a single speckle follows a modified Rician. It is first demonstrated here that
for a circular pupil this temporal intensity distribution also represents the
speckle spatial intensity distribution at a fix separation from the point
spread function center; this fact is demonstrated using numerical simulations
for coronagraphic and non-coronagraphic data. The real statistical distribution
of the noise needs to be taken into account explicitly when selecting a
detection threshold appropriate for some desired confidence level. In this
paper, a technique is described to obtain the pixel intensity distribution of
an image and its corresponding confidence level as a function of the detection
threshold. Using numerical simulations, it is shown that in the presence of
speckles noise, a detection threshold up to three times higher is required to
obtain a confidence level equivalent to that at 5sigma for Gaussian noise. The
technique is then tested using TRIDENT CFHT and angular differential imaging
NIRI Gemini adaptive optics data. It is found that the angular differential
imaging technique produces quasi-Gaussian residuals, a remarkable result
compared to classical adaptive optic imaging. A power-law is finally derived to
predict the 1-3*10^-7 confidence level detection threshold when averaging a
partially correlated non-Gaussian noise.Comment: 29 pages, 13 figures, accepted to Ap
Symphonic Winds
Stroud Auditorium University High School Friday Evening February 16, 2001 8:00p.m
Substructure around M31 : Evolution and Effects
We investigate the evolution of a population of 100 dark matter satellites
orbiting in the gravitational potential of a realistic model of M31. We find
that after 10 Gyr, seven subhalos are completely disrupted by the tidal field
of the host galaxy. The remaining satellites suffer heavy mass loss and
overall, 75% of the mass initially in the subhalo system is tidally stripped.
Not surprisingly, satellites with pericentric radius less than 30 kpc suffer
the greatest stripping and leave a complex structure of tails and streams of
debris around the host galaxy. Assuming that the most bound particles in each
subhalo are kinematic tracers of stars, we find that the halo stellar
population resulting from the tidal debris follows an r^{-3.5} density profile
at large radii. We construct B-band photometric maps of stars coming from
disrupted satellites and find conspicuous features similar both in morphology
and brightness to the observed Giant Stream around Andromeda. An assumed star
formation efficiency of 5-10% in the simulated satellite galaxies results in
good agreement with the number of M31 satellites, the V-band surface brightness
distribution, and the brightness of the Giant Stream. During the first 5 Gyr,
the bombardment of the satellites heats and thickens the disk by a small
amount. At about 5 Gyr, satellite interations induce the formation of a strong
bar which, in turn, leads to a significant increase in the velocity dispersion
of the disk.Comment: 45 pages, 18 figures. To be submitted to the Astrophysical Journal,
version 2.0 : scale height value corrected, references added, and some
figures have been modifie
SWAS and Arecibo observations of H2O and OH in a diffuse cloud along the line-of-sight to W51
Observations of W51 with the Submillimeter Wave Astronomy Satellite (SWAS)
have yielded the first detection of water vapor in a diffuse molecular cloud.
The water vapor lies in a foreground cloud that gives rise to an absorption
feature at an LSR velocity of 6 km/s. The inferred H2O column density is
2.5E+13 cm-2. Observations with the Arecibo radio telescope of hydroxyl
molecules at ten positions in W51 imply an OH column density of 8E+13 cm-2 in
the same diffuse cloud. The observed H2O/OH ratio of ~ 0.3 is significantly
larger than an upper limit derived previously from ultraviolet observations of
the similar diffuse molecular cloud lying in front of HD 154368. The observed
variation in H2O/OH likely points to the presence in one or both of these
clouds of a warm (T > 400) gas component in which neutral-neutral reactions are
important sources of OH and/or H2O.Comment: 15 pages (AASTeX) including 4 (eps) figures. To appear in the
Astrophysical Journa
Cultural Heritage Recording Utilising Low-Cost Closerange Photogrammetry
This paper was presented at the CIPA 23rd International Symposium, 12 â 16 September 2011, Prague, Czech Republic:http://www.conferencepartners.cz/cipa/Cultural heritage is under a constant threat of damage or even destruction and comprehensive
and accurate recording is necessary to attenuate the risk of losing heritage or serve as basis for
reconstruction. Cost effective and easy to use methods are required to record cultural heritage, particularly
during a world recession, and close-range photogrammetry has proven potential in this area. Off-the-shelf
digital cameras can be used to rapidly acquire data at low cost, allowing non-experts to become involved.
Exterior orientation of the camera during exposure ideally needs to be established for every image,
traditionally requiring known coordinated target points. Establishing these points is time consuming and
costly and using targets can be often undesirable on sensitive sites. MEMS-based sensors can assist in
overcoming this problem by providing small-size and low-cost means to directly determine exterior
orientation for close-range photogrammetry. This paper describes development of an image-based
recording system, comprising an off-the-shelf digital SLR camera, a MEMS-based 3D orientation sensor and
a GPS antenna. All system components were assembled in a compact and rigid frame that allows calibration
of rotational and positional offsets between the components. The project involves collaboration between
English Heritage and Loughborough University and the intention is to assess the systemâs achievable
accuracy and practicability in a heritage recording environment. Tests were conducted at Loughborough
University and a case study at St. Catherineâs Oratory on the Isle of Wight, UK. These demonstrate that the
data recorded by the system can indeed meet the accuracy requirements for heritage recording at medium
accuracy (1-4cm), with either a single or even no control points. As the recording system has been
configured with a focus on low-cost and easy-to-use components, it is believed to be suitable for heritage
recording by non-specialists. This offers the opportunity for lay people to become more involved in their
local heritage, an important aspiration identified by English Heritage. Recently, mobile phones
(smartphones) with integrated camera and MEMS-based orientation and positioning sensors have become
available. When orientation and position during camera exposure is extracted, these phones establish offthe-
shelf systems that can facilitate image-based recording with direct exterior orientation determination.
Due to their small size and low-cost they have potential to further enhance the involvement of lay-people in
heritage recording. The accuracy currently achievable will be presented also
Studying the Internet and Architecture
Cyberinformaticians agree that atomic symmetries are an interesting new topic in the field of trainable steganography, and electrical engineers concur. In fact, few statisticians would disagree with the visualization of web browsers, which embodies the essential principles of hardware and architecture. We construct an analysis of forward-error correction, which we call Vers[22]
Substrate Stiffness Controls Osteoblastic and Chondrocytic Differentiation of Mesenchymal Stem Cells without Exogenous Stimuli
Stem cell fate has been linked to the mechanical properties of their underlying substrate, affecting mechanoreceptors and ultimately leading to downstream biological response. Studies have used polymers to mimic the stiffness of extracellular matrix as well as of individual tissues and shown mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) could be directed along specific lineages. In this study, we examined the role of stiffness in MSC differentiation to two closely related cell phenotypes: osteoblast and chondrocyte. We prepared four methyl acrylate/methyl methacrylate (MA/MMA) polymer surfaces with elastic moduli ranging from 0.1 MPa to 310 MPa by altering monomer concentration. MSCs were cultured in media without exogenous growth factors and their biological responses were compared to committed chondrocytes and osteoblasts. Both chondrogenic and osteogenic markers were elevated when MSCs were grown on substrates with stiffnesschondrocytes, MSCs on lower stiffness substrates showed elevated expression of ACAN, SOX9, and COL2 and proteoglycan content; COMP was elevated in MSCs but reduced in chondrocytes. Substrate stiffness altered levels of RUNX2 mRNA, alkaline phosphatase specific activity, osteocalcin, and osteoprotegerin in osteoblasts, decreasing levels on the least stiff substrate. Expression of integrin subunits α1, α2, α5, αv, ÎČ1, and ÎČ3 changed in a stiffness- and cell type-dependent manner. Silencing of integrin subunit beta 1 (ITGB1) in MSCs abolished both osteoblastic and chondrogenic differentiation in response to substrate stiffness. Our results suggest that substrate stiffness is an important mediator of osteoblastic and chondrogenic differentiation, and integrin ÎČ1 plays a pivotal role in this process
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