Using a self-reflective journal to enhance science communication

In new times the ability to self-evaluate and reflect on one's own actions in communicating with others will be a crucial workplace skill. An innovative peer tutoring course for academic credit, by university science students in high schools, will be presented, with a review on its ability to develop a link between school tutoring and workplace communication. Course content relates to broad issues of science literacy, science communication and group situations and peer interactions. Students complete on-campus lecture and workshop component, and do 20-30 hours of in-school tutoring; assessment includes an examination, assignments in the form of journals, and a personal learning log of experiences. Findings from the first two years of the course, based on data sources of students' journal entries and responses to the end of unit evaluations (1996, n = 21; 1997, n = 21) are presented. Analysis focuses on the development of reflective skills and students' awareness of their personal power in detecting and solving problems and developing strategies to promote two way communication. The use of self-evaluation through reflective journals was found to enhance the effectiveness of tutoring. Implications for developing the 'human side' of science will be discussed, and the appropriateness of the course to develop these often under-represented aspects of science

Effects of Changes in Surface Water Regime and/or Land Use on the Vertical Distribution of Water Available for Wetland Vegetation: Dynamic Model of the Zone of Aeration (Part 1 of Completion Report for Project A-023-ARK)

A mathematical model by Green, simulating one-dimensional vertical ground-water movement in unsaturated soils of the prairie region of Kansas, has been adapted for use in a wetlands environment typified by the wetlands forest of Eastern Arkansas. The model consists of two second-order, non-linear, partial differential equations and an algorithm for their numerical solution. The original model was extended to include functions for seasonal changes in transpiration and for drainage of excess precipitation. Before the addition of the two functions, the model reliability was limited to one growth season

Effects of Changes in Surface Water Regime and/or Land Use on the Vertical Distribution of Water Available for Wetland Vegetation: Dynamic Model of the Zone of Aeration (Appendix to Part 1 of Completion Report for Project A-023-ARK)

Appendix to Part 1 of Completion Report for Project A-023-AR

Local freedom in the gravitational field revisited

Maartens {\it et al.}\@ gave a covariant characterization, in a 1+3 formalism based on a perfect fluid's velocity, of the parts of the first derivatives of the curvature tensor in general relativity which are ``locally free'', i.e. not pointwise determined by the fluid energy momentum and its derivative. The full decomposition of independent curvature derivative components given in earlier work on the spinor approach to the equivalence problem enables analogous general results to be stated for any order: the independent matter terms can also be characterized. Explicit relations between the two sets of results are obtained. The 24 Maartens {\it et al.} locally free data are shown to correspond to the $\nabla \Psi$ quantities in the spinor approach, and the fluid terms are similarly related to the remaining 16 independent quantities in the first derivatives of the curvature.Comment: LaTeX. 13 pp. To be submitted to Class. Quant. Gra

Combustion in a Gas Stream: Studies in Flame Spreading and Flame Stability

Abstract Not Provided

Treatment and secondary prevention of venous thromboembolism in cancer

Patients with cancer who develop venous thromboembolism (VTE) are at elevated risk for recurrent thrombotic events, even during anticoagulant therapy. The clinical picture is further complicated because these patients are also at increased risk of bleeding while on anticoagulants. In general, there are four key goals of treatment for VTE: preventing fatal pulmonary embolism (PE); reducing short-term morbidities associated with acute leg or lung thrombus; preventing recurrent VTE; and preventing the long-term sequelae of VTE (e.g., post-thrombotic syndrome and chronic thromboembolic pulmonary hypertension). A fifth goal – minimising the risk for bleeding while on anticoagulation – is particularly warranted in patients with cancer. Traditionally, pharmacological treatment of VTE has two phases, with the transition between phases marked by a switch from a rapid-acting, parenterally administered anticoagulant (such as unfractionated heparin (UFH), low-molecular-weight heparin (LMWH), or fondaparinux) to an oral vitamin K antagonist (e.g., warfarin). Recent clinical trials of established agents and the advent of new pharmacological options are changing this paradigm. Low-molecular-weight heparin continued for 6 months is more effective than warfarin in the secondary prevention of VTE in cancer patients without increasing the risk of bleeding and is now the preferred treatment option. Given the impact of VTE on short-term and long-term outcomes in patients with cancer, a group of health-care providers based in the United Kingdom gathered in London in 2009 to discuss recent data on cancer-associated thrombosis and to evaluate how these recommendations can be integrated or translated into UK clinical practice. This article, which is the third of four articles covering key topics in cancer thrombosis, focuses on treatment and secondary prevention of VTE in cancer patients

Patient safety and estimation of renal function in patients prescribed new oral anticoagulants for stroke prevention in atrial fibrillation

OBJECTIVE: In clinical trials of dabigatran and rivaroxaban for stroke prevention in atrial fibrillation (AF), drug eligibility and dosing were determined using the Cockcroft-Gault equation to estimate creatine clearance as a measure of renal function. This cross-sectional study aimed to compare whether using estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) by the widely available and widely used Modified Diet in Renal Disease (MDRD) equation would alter prescribing or dosing of the renally excreted new oral anticoagulants. PARTICIPANTS: Of 4712 patients with known AF within a general practitioner-registered population of 930 079 in east London, data were available enabling renal function to be calculated by both Cockcroft-Gault and MDRD methods in 4120 (87.4%). RESULTS: Of 4120 patients, 2706 were <80 years and 1414 were ≥80 years of age. Among those ≥80 years, 14.9% were ineligible for dabigatran according to Cockcroft-Gault equation but would have been judged eligible applying MDRD method. For those <80 years, 0.8% would have been incorrectly judged eligible for dabigatran and 5.3% would have received too high a dose. For rivaroxaban, 0.3% would have been incorrectly judged eligible for treatment and 13.5% would have received too high a dose. CONCLUSIONS: Were the MDRD-derived eGFR to be used instead of Cockcroft-Gault in prescribing these new agents, many elderly patients with AF would either incorrectly become eligible for them or would receive too high a dose. Safety has not been established using the MDRD equation, a concern since the risk of major bleeding would be increased in patients with unsuspected renal impairment. Given the potentially widespread use of these agents, particularly in primary care, regulatory authorities and drug companies should alert UK doctors of the need to use the Cockcroft-Gault formula to calculate eligibility for and dosing of the new oral anticoagulants in elderly patients with AF and not rely on the MDRD-derived eGFR

Dynamic Model of the Zone of Aeration

A mathematical model by Green (1), simulating one-dimensional vertical ground-water movement in unsaturated soils of the prairie region of Kansas, has been adapted for use in a wetlands environment typified by the wetlands forest of Eastern Arkansas. The model consists of two second-order, non-linear, partial differential equations and an algorithm for their numerical solution. The original model was extended to include functions for seasonal changes in transpiration and for drainage of excess precipitation. Before the addition of the two functions, the model reliability was limited to one growth season. With the mathematical model presented in this work it is possible to study interactions between hydrologic changes and the long term vegetative changes. The model potentially is a versatile management tool which could be used to help predict the environmental impact of proposed flood control projects