Supervised Versus Independent Student Laboratories

The purpose of this study was to determine if classroom laboratory time could be reduced in a basic physical agents course. Fifty-seven junior physical therapy students were randomly assigned to three laboratory sections. All students received identical lectures, demonstrations, course materials, and laboratory manuals. The control group, Section 1, received supervision and assistance during laboratory practice. Students in Section 2 and Section 3 worked independent of instructor supervision but could receive assistance from the instructor in an adjacent room. Students in Section 2 were provided with feedback following periodic assessment by the instructor. Attitudinal questionnaire responses indicated that the students preferred the supervised laboratory section. The presence of the instructor during classroom laboratory practice of basic physical agents did not affect student performance. Comparison of written and practical examination results indicated no significant differences in student performance. Classroom laboratory time for faculty and students was reduced when students worked independently

Langfristiges Wachstum durch Forschung und Innovation

Dietmar Harhoff, LMU und Expertenkommission Forschung und Innovation, sieht Handlungsbedarf bei der Innovationsfinanzierung und im Wissens- und Technologietransfer. Da Deutschland zu sehr auf inkrementelle und zu wenig auf radikale Innovationen setze, sollte das Steuersystem „eigenkapital- und innovationsfreundlicher“ und die Rahmenbedingungen für Wagniskapitalgeber verbessert werden. Im Bereich Technologietransfer sollte die Unterstützung von Public Private Partnerships ausgebaut, die Handhabung des Neuheitsschutzes im Patentrecht verbessert und die Beteiligung von Hochschulen an Ausgründungen erleichtert werden. Auch in der Innovationspolitik werde deutlich, dass der Staat durch bessere Rahmenbedingungen für Gründungen und radikale Neuerungen viel dazu beitragen könne, die langfristigen Wachstumsaussichten zu verbessern

Langfristiges Wachstum durch Forschung und Innovation

Dietmar Harhoff, LMU und Expertenkommission Forschung und Innovation, sieht Handlungsbedarf bei der Innovationsfinanzierung und im Wissens- und Technologietransfer. Da Deutschland zu sehr auf inkrementelle und zu wenig auf radikale Innovationen setze, sollte das Steuersystem „eigenkapital- und innovationsfreundlicher“ und die Rahmenbedingungen für Wagniskapitalgeber verbessert werden. Im Bereich Technologietransfer sollte die Unterstützung von Public Private Partnerships ausgebaut, die Handhabung des Neuheitsschutzes im Patentrecht verbessert und die Beteiligung von Hochschulen an Ausgründungen erleichtert werden. Auch in der Innovationspolitik werde deutlich, dass der Staat durch bessere Rahmenbedingungen für Gründungen und radikale Neuerungen viel dazu beitragen könne, die langfristigen Wachstumsaussichten zu verbessern.Wirtschaftswachstum, Technischer Fortschritt, Forschungs- und Technologiepolitik, Wirtschaftspolitische Wirkungsanalyse, Deutschland

Extraordinary optical transmission with coaxial apertures

Recently it has been predicted that “cylindrical” surface plasmons (CSP’s) on cylindrical interfaces of coaxial ring apertures produce a different form of extraordinary optical transmission that extends to ever increasing wavelengths as the dielectric ring narrows. This letter presents experimental confirmation of this CSP assisted extraordinary transmission. Nanoarrays of submicron coaxial apertures are fabricated in a thin silverfilm on a glass substrate and far-field transmission spectra are measured. The experimental spectrum is in close agreement with predictions from finite-difference time-domain simulations and CSP dispersion theory. The role of cylindrical surface plasmons in producing extraordinary transmission is thus confirmed.This work was partially supported by the Office of Naval Research. Computations were carried out under the Department of Defense High Performance Computation Modernization Project. The support of the Australian Research Council through its Centers of Excellence, Federation Fellow and Discovery programs is gratefully acknowledged

The Development and Validation of the Ethical Climate Index for Middle and High Schools

One school characteristic that needs to be considered as important in keeping schools safe is school climate. The purposes of this study were to develop and validate an instrument that measures the ethical climate of middle and high schools. To create the School Ethical Climate Index (SECI), we adapted the Ethical Climate Index for graduate and professional school programs to apply to middle and high schools. The SECI measures a school’s sense of community by assessing student and teacher interactions and relationships through the application of five ethical principles: respect for autonomy, nonmaleficence, beneficence, justice, and fidelity. To provide evidence of the SECI’s reliability and validity, we distributed the SECI to 101 teachers and administrators who worked at middle and/or high schools. The reliability coefficients for each of the SECI subscales were greater than .80. Differences between middle and high school teacher and administrator perceptions provided evidence of construct validity. The SECI could be used in school districts to assess areas for school improvement and, thereby, help to reduce school disorder and violence

Correlation Functions and Coulomb Blockade of Interacting Fermions at Finite Temperature and Size

We present explicit expressions for the correlation functions of interacting fermions in one dimension which are valid for arbitrary system sizes and temperatures. The result applies to a number of very different strongly correlated systems, including mesoscopic quantum wires, quantum Hall edges, spin chains and quasi-one-dimensional metals. It is for example possible to calculate Coulomb blockade oscillations from our expression and determine their dependence on interaction strength and temperature. Numerical simulations show excellent agreement with the analytical results.Comment: 10 pages in revtex format including 2 embedded figures (using epsf). The latest complete postscript file is available from http://fy.chalmers.se/~eggert/papers/corrfcn.ps or by request from [email protected]

Associations of Air Pollution and Pediatric Asthma in Cleveland, Ohio

Air pollution has been associated with poor health outcomes and continues to be a risk factor for respiratory health in children. While higher particulate matter (PM) levels are associated with increased frequency of symptoms, lower lung function, and increase airway inflammation from asthma, the precise composition of the particles that are more highly associated with poor health outcomes or healthcare utilization are not fully elucidated. PM is measured quantifiably by current air pollution monitoring systems. To better determine sources of PM and speciation of such sources, a particulate matter (PM) source apportionment study, the Cleveland Multiple Air Pollutant Study (CMAPS), was conducted in Cleveland, Ohio, in 2009–2010, which allowed more refined assessment of associations with health outcomes. This article presents an evaluation of short-term (daily) and long-term associations between motor vehicle and industrial air pollution components and pediatric asthma emergency department (ED) visits by evaluating two sets of air quality data with healthcare utilization for pediatric asthma. Exposure estimates were developed using land use regression models for long-term exposures for nitrogen dioxide (NO2) and coarse (i.e., with aerodynamic diameters between 2.5 and 10 μm) particulate matter (PM) and the US EPA Positive Matrix Factorization receptor model for short-term exposures to fine (μm) and coarse PM components. Exposure metrics from these two approaches were used in asthma ED visit prevalence and time series analyses to investigate seasonal-averaged short- and long-term impacts of both motor vehicles and industry emissions. Increased pediatric asthma ED visits were found for LUR coarse PM and NO2 estimates, which were primarily contributed by motor vehicles. Consistent, statistically significant associations with pediatric asthma visits were observed, with short-term exposures to components of fine and coarse iron PM associated with steel production. Our study is the first to combine spatial and time series analysis of ED visits for asthma using the same periods and shows that PM related to motor vehicle emissions and iron/steel production are associated with increased pediatric asthma visits

Properties of a Luttinger Liquid with Boundaries at Finite Temperature and Size

We use bosonization methods to calculate the exact finite-temperature single-electron Green's function of a spinful Luttinger liquid confined by open boundaries. The corresponding local spectral density is constructed and analyzed in detail. The interplay between boundary, finite-size and thermal effects are shown to dramatically influence the low-energy properties of the system. In particular, the well-known zero-temperature critical behavior in the bulk always crosses over to a boundary dominated regime in the vicinity of the Fermi level. Thermal fluctuations cause an enhanced depletion of spectral weight for small energies E, with the spectral density scaling as E^2 for E much less than the temperature. Consequences for photoemission experiments are discussed.Comment: 18 pages in revtex format including 5 embedded figures (using epsf). The latest complete postscript file is available from http://fy.chalmers.se/~eggert/papers/longlutt.ps or by request from [email protected]. To appear in Phys. Rev. B (Dec. 1997

Implementation of a Distributed Architecture for Managing Collection and Dissemination of Data for Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder

We implemented a distributed system for management of data for an international collaboration studying Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders (FASD). Subject privacy was protected, researchers without dependable Internet access were accommodated, and researchers’ data were shared globally. Data dictionaries codified the nature of the data being integrated, data compliance was assured through multiple consistency checks, and recovery systems provided a secure, robust, persistent repository. The system enabled new types of science to be done, using distributed technologies that are expedient for current needs while taking useful steps towards integrating the system in a future grid-based cyberinfrastructure. The distributed architecture, verification steps, and data dictionaries suggest general strategies for researchers involved in collaborative studies, particularly where data must be de-identified before being shared. The system met both the collaboration’s needs and the NIH Roadmap’s goal of wide access to databases that are robust and adaptable to researchers’ needs

Antimicrobial Stewardship Training for Infectious Diseases Fellows: Program Directors Identify a Curriculum Need

A needs assessment survey of infectious diseases (ID) training program directors identified gaps in educational resources for training and evaluating ID fellows in antimicrobial stewardship. An Infectious Diseases Society of America-sponsored core curriculum was developed to address that need