A comprehensive approach to the development of thinking skills

The development of independent and innovative thinking entails much more than merely the acquisition of a series of thinking skills. A comprehensive approach based upon inter-disciplinary cooperation between, among others, the disciplines of philosophy, education and pscychology is needed. In such a comprehensive approach to the development of thinking skills the following factors that have a bearing on the acquisition of thinking skills should be addressed:The cultivation of a positive disposition towards the development of thinking.The creation of conditions conducive to the development of thinking.The cultivation of virtues that will dispose a person towards good thinking.An understanding of what good thinking entails.The teaching and assessment of thinking skills.In this article, these various factors and their bearing on the development of thinking skills are explored. A general theoretical framework for the development of thinking skills is proposed that can and should be translated to specific domains of knowledge or to specific human enterprises

The thermal decomposition of copper (II) oxalate revisited

DSC, TG and TG-FT-IR, and XRPD have been used to examine the effects of supposedly inert atmospheres of argon and nitrogen on the mechanism of the thermal decomposition of copper(II) oxalate. The DSC curves in pure argon at 10 °C min[superscript −1] show a broad endotherm with onset at about 280 °C and maximum at about 295 °C. In mixtures of argon and nitrogen, as the proportion of argon gas is decreased, the endothermic character of the decomposition decreases until, when nitrogen is the main component, the decomposition exhibits a complex broad exothermic character. XRPD studies showed that, regardless of the proportions of nitrogen and argon, the DSC residues consisted of mainly copper metal with small amounts of copper(I) oxide (cuprite) and, under some conditions, traces of copper(II) oxide (tenorite). Various explanations for this behaviour are discussed and a possible answer lies in the disproportionation of CO[subscript 2](g) to form small quantities of O[subscript 2](g) or monatomic oxygen. The possibility exists that the exothermicity in nitrogen could be explained by reaction of the nitrogen with atomic oxygen to form N[subscript 2]O(g), but this product could not be detected using TG-FT-IR

Successful Bronchoscopic Cryorecanalization in a Case of Endobronchial Lipoma

Endobronchial lipomas are rare benign tumors; less than 150 cases have been reported so far. Bronchial occlusion usually leads to a misdiagnosis of asthma/COPD or malignancy. We report the case of a 67-year-old man with a history of heavy smoking (100 pack years), dyspnea on exertion, cough, and malaise who was treated for pneumonia for three weeks. Due to nonresolving atelectasis of the superior segment of the right lower lobe, a malignant endobronchial tumor was suspected. Rigid bronchoscopy with cryorecanalization led to both the definite histopathological diagnosis of endobronchial lipoma and the reopening of an endoluminal airway obstruction during one procedure

Quantum statistics of overlapping modes in open resonators

We study the quantum dynamics of optical fields in weakly confining resonators with overlapping modes. Employing a recently developed quantization scheme involving a discrete set of resonator modes and continua of external modes we derive Langevin equations and a master equation for the resonator modes. Langevin dynamics and the master equation are proved to be equivalent in the Markovian limit. Our open-resonator dynamics may be used as a starting point for a quantum theory of random lasers.Comment: 6 pages, corrected typo

Friction of the surface plasmon by high-energy particle-hole pairs: Are memory effects important?

We show that the dynamics of the surface plasmon in metallic nanoparticles damped by its interaction with particle-hole excitations can be modelled by a single degree of freedom coupled to an environment. In this approach, the fast decrease of the dipole matrix elements that couple the plasmon to particle-hole pairs with the energy of the excitation allows a separation of the Hilbert space into low- and high-energy subspaces at a characteristic energy that we estimate. A picture of the spectrum consisting of a collective excitation built from low-energy excitations which interacts with high-energy particle-hole states can be formalised. The high-energy excitations yield an approximate description of a dissipative environment (or "bath") within a finite confined system. Estimates for the relevant timescales establish the Markovian character of the bath dynamics with respect to the surface plasmon evolution for nanoparticles with a radius larger than about 1 nm.Comment: 8 pages, 1 figure; see also cond-mat/070372

Considerações Sôbre dois Casos de Epiglotectomia

Os A.A. estudam 2 casos de epiglotectomia do Instituto Nacional de Câncer, tendo antes feito um estudo da anatomia e da função da laringe. Enquanto no 1° caso, não tivesse sido possível, verificar das modificações tanto respiratórias como da deglutição por ter ocorrido o êxito letal, quase imediatamente após o ato cirúrgico, o mesmo não se verificou com o caso n.° 2, que teve sobrevida de 3 anos e 9 meses permitindo estudo da fisiologia da epiglote. Em ambos os casos, não foi praticada após a epiglotectomia, a traqueotomia complementar, tendo-se usado no caso 1 a anestesia local e no caso 2 a anestesia geral por entubação

Bring it to the Pitch: Combining Video and Movement Data to Enhance Team Sport Analysis

Analysts in professional team sport regularly perform analysis to gain strategic and tactical insights into player and team behavior. Goals of team sport analysis regularly include identification of weaknesses of opposing teams, or assessing performance and improvement potential of a coached team. Current analysis workflows are typically based on the analysis of team videos. Also, analysts can rely on techniques from Information Visualization, to depict e.g., player or ball trajectories. However, video analysis is typically a time-consuming process, where the analyst needs to memorize and annotate scenes. In contrast, visualization typically relies on an abstract data model, often using abstract visual mappings, and is not directly linked to the observed movement context anymore. We propose a visual analytics system that tightly integrates team sport video recordings with abstract visualization of underlying trajectory data. We apply appropriate computer vision techniques to extract trajectory data from video input. Furthermore, we apply advanced trajectory and movement analysis techniques to derive relevant team sport analytic measures for region, event and player analysis in the case of soccer analysis. Our system seamlessly integrates video and visualization modalities, enabling analysts to draw on the advantages of both analysis forms. Several expert studies conducted with team sport analysts indicate the effectiveness of our integrated approach

Field quantization for open optical cavities

We study the quantum properties of the electromagnetic field in optical cavities coupled to an arbitrary number of escape channels. We consider both inhomogeneous dielectric resonators with a scalar dielectric constant $\epsilon({\bf r})$ and cavities defined by mirrors of arbitrary shape. Using the Feshbach projector technique we quantize the field in terms of a set of resonator and bath modes. We rigorously show that the field Hamiltonian reduces to the system--and--bath Hamiltonian of quantum optics. The field dynamics is investigated using the input--output theory of Gardiner and Collet. In the case of strong coupling to the external radiation field we find spectrally overlapping resonator modes. The mode dynamics is coupled due to the damping and noise inflicted by the external field. For wave chaotic resonators the mode dynamics is determined by a non--Hermitean random matrix. Upon including an amplifying medium, our dynamics of open-resonator modes may serve as a starting point for a quantum theory of random lasing.Comment: 16 pages, added references, corrected typo

Tourism policy and destination marketing in developing countries: the chain of influence

Tourism marketers including destination marketing organisations (DMOs) and international tour operators play a pivotal role in destination marketing, especially in creating destination images. These images, apparent in tourist brochures, are designed to influence tourist decision-making and behaviour. This paper proposes the concept of a “chain of influence” in destination marketing and image-making, suggesting that the content of marketing materials is influenced by the priorities of those who design these materials, e.g. tour operators and DMOs. A content analysis of 2,000 pictures from DMO and tour operator brochures revealed synergies and divergence between these marketers. The brochure content was then compared to the South African tourism policy, concluding that the dominant factor in the chain of influence in the South African context is in fact its organic image

Editorial Redox Biology of Exercise

Redox biology is probably the most rapidly expanding field in biology. Indeed, the number of conferences, journals, and books devoted to redox biology is increasing and it is very often seen that major biology journals publish special issues on this area (e.g., Exercise is perhaps one of the most characteristic examples demonstrating that reactive species are not necessarily "harmful" entities, considering that the well-known benefits of regular exercise on muscle function and health are accompanied by repeated episodes of oxidative and nitrosative stress. In addition, an ongoing debate exists in the literature regarding the implications of antioxidant supplementation on physical performance and redox homeostasis. Considering that the redox biology of exercise is by nature multidisciplinary, this special issue is compiled of original and review articles combining chemical, analytical, biochemical, nutritional, physiological, and medical aspects relevant to reactive species biology. Reading through these papers the multiple facets of exercise redox biology are revealed. The review article by E. C. Gomes et al. presents the current state of knowledge on the redox biology of exercise. It provides a comprehensive perspective on the contribution of various intracellular and extracellular sources and the identity of oxidants produced by exercising animals and humans. It also focuses on the possible role of these exercise-induced oxidants in important training adaptations such as angiogenesis, mitochondria biogenesis, and muscle hypertrophy. This article lays the groundwork for the other articles of the special issue that address oxidant effects on exercise performance and redox homeostasis and diseases. Specifically, H. Pan et al. indicated that electrical stimulation of skeletal muscle cells increased the production of reactive species as well as the mRNA and protein levels of interleukin-6. The authors hypothesized that reactive species generation induced by skeletal muscle contraction may be one of the factors regulating musclederived interleukin-6 production and release. Using a more physiological relevant methodology, S. Mrakic-Sposta et al. employed an electron paramagnetic resonance technique for the rapid and noninvasive measurement of reactive species concentration directly in fresh human peripheral blood. Using this innovative approach, they reported that short-term high-intensity exercise increased reactive species production whereas the resting levels of reactive species decreased following supplementation with the antioxidant cofactor α-lipoic acid