Selective vignetting of Type 1 X-ray telescopes

Selective vignetting technique optimizes the performance of a Type 1 X-ray telescope. The image quality of the telescope system is improved by matching the detector to the optimum focal surface and by vignetting rays which formerly contributed to the flare in comatic images

Glancing incidence telescopes for space astronomy

Design optimization is reported for glancing telescopes of increased collecting areas. Considered are nested geometries for X-ray and extreme ultraviolet telescopes, each of which generates only one singular principal surface. In the case of the X-ray telescope, the field curvature of the outer telescope serves as a standard and the focus of each of the inner telescopes is made coplanar by a slight descrease in the collecting area of each of the inner telescopes. In the case of the EUV telescope, a slight change in the maximum slope angle of the inner telescope makes the field curvatures coincide. Five concentric X-ray telescopes form a collecting area of approximately 900 sq cm, and a nested EUV telescope consisting of two concentric telescopes produces a collecting area of about 45 sq cm

Bringing Maker Culture into Media and Information Literacy. Case: Global Media and Information Literacy Online Youth Hackathon 2018.

With growing connectivity and descending prices for personal computers and smartphones more and more children and young people are gaining access to online media. This trend comes with a number of risks and has yet inevitable negative influence on how those young media users behave and feel. Therefore, Media and Information Literacy (MIL) has been a recent topic on the agenda of numerous academics, educators and policymakers. The Global Online Media and Information Literacy Youth Hackathon 2018 and the Followup 4-Week Programme (both under the name GlobalMILHack) were the centre case of this study, which emphasised the design methodology in the context of problem-based learning. The aim of this research study was to undertake a qualitative examination of the GlobalMILHack participants’ learning outcomes in order to find out what can hackathon bring from the maker culture to the MIL educational practice. The study adopted action research methodology, since the author was the active part of the whole cycle of the event process from planning to execution to closure and has collected diverse qualitative feedback along the work process and during the interviews, made field notes and observations. This study has shown that the maker culture can be integrated into MIL educational practice through online hackathon method in different ways: by making the constructive learning happen through problem-focused collaborative adhoc and hands-on approach; by opening up to inter-cultural learning through facilitating the online dialogue; leveraging the critical understanding of media and its role in the society by working on the highlighted social challenges around media use and by creating informed, engaged and empowered porto-publics around the creative solutions

Examination Of College Student Achievement Within An Ecological Framework

This study examined the extent to which variance in college student achievement was explained by self-efficacy, motivation, study habits, extracurricular activity involvement, perceptions of social support, and perceptions of support from faculty and the university as a whole. Participants were 195 college students (54 males, 141 females; mean age 20.84) from a large, urban Midwestern university, primarily a first-generation, commuter campus. Several themes surfaced, including the importance of self-efficacy and organizing study habits in predicting student achievement. Implications with respect to prevention and intervention in order to optimize college student achievement are discussed

Examination Of College Student Achievement Within An Ecological Framework

This study examined the extent to which variance in college student achievement was explained by self-efficacy, motivation, study habits, extracurricular activity involvement, perceptions of social support, and perceptions of support from faculty and the university as a whole. Participants were 195 college students (54 males, 141 females; mean age 20.84) from a large, urban Midwestern university, primarily a first-generation, commuter campus. Several themes surfaced, including the importance of self-efficacy and organizing study habits in predicting student achievement. Implications with respect to prevention and intervention in order to optimize college student achievement are discussed

De novo head and neck cancer after liver transplant with antibody-based immunosuppression induction

Background Powerful antibody-based immunosuppression induction is now used routinely during organ transplantation, and may place patients at even higher risk of post-transplant cancer. Materials and Methods Incidence of de-novo head and neck cancer was extracted from the records of 1685 consecutive adult, deceased donor liver transplant recipients with a minimum 1-year follow-up from 2001 to 2015. There were 121 patients positively identified as having developed de-novo head and neck cancer post-liver transplant. Records of these patients were analyzed to determine demographics, history of cancer pre-liver transplant, de-novo cancer type and location, treatment modalities, and alcohol and tobacco exposure. Results Of the 121 patients who developed cancer of the head and neck (7%), there were 103 cutaneous (6%) and 25 non-cutaneous (1%). For non-cutaneous cancers, factors associated with increased risk of cancer included alcohol abuse (p<0.001), any smoking history (p=0.05), and increasing exposure to tobacco (p<0.01). Ten-year Cox regression patient survival demonstrates a survival disadvantage for patients who develop non-cutaneous cancer (p=0.06), but a survival advantage for patients who develop cutaneous cancer (p<0.01). Conclusions The incidence and pattern of head and neck cancer in this population of liver transplant patients was similar to those published previously, suggesting that induction immunosuppression does not increase risk of these types of cancers. Long term survival was worse for patients with non-cutaneous cancers, but better for those with cutaneous cancers, though the reason is unclear

Reducing Reliance on Supplemental Winter Feeding in Elk (Cervus canadensis): An Applied Management Experiment at Deseret Land and Livestock Ranch, Utah

Wildlife managers have fed elk in North America for nearly 100 years. Giving winter feed to elk can compensate for a shortage of natural winter range and may boost elk populations while also helping prevent commingling with livestock and depredation of winter feed intended for livestock. In contrast to these benefits of supplemental feeding, there are economic and environmental costs associated with feeding, and elk herds that winter on feeding grounds have a higher risk of contracting and transmitting disease. Brucellosis is of primary concern now, and Chronic Wasting Disease may be in the future. Many see the discontinuation of winter-feeding programs as a necessary step for decreasing the risk of disease spread due to high animal densities associated with feeding during winter. My research evaluated the use of behavioral training to reduce reliance on supplemental winter feeding of elk, while minimizing population reductions and human-wildlife conflicts. My study was conducted at Deseret Land & Livestock (DLL) in Rich County, UT, where managers at DLL have over 20 years of data on elk feeding during winters of varying intensities. I tested the effectiveness of range improvements, strategic cattle grazing, dispersed supplemental feeding, hunting, and herding to distribute and hold elk in desired areas during winter. I compared elk numbers on the feed ground during this study with historic data on DLL, and also contrasted elk responses with other comparable feed sites in Wyoming that served as controls. In 2 mild winters we completely eliminated elk feeding without incident and were able to reduce the quantity and duration of feeding during 1 severe winter. Since the conclusion of my study, DLL has further reduced quantity and duration of feeding during severe winters, and has completely eliminated feeding in light winters. Based on a Before After Control Impact (BACI) analysis, the reduction in the proportion of the elk population fed at the study site was significantly less than the proportion of the elk populations fed at the control sites in Wyoming (P = 0.057). Based on these results, I anticipate wildlife managers can decrease dependence on costly supplemental winter feeding and reduce the risks of disease while keeping human-wildlife conflicts at a minimum. This research illustrates an adaptive method that can enable wildlife managers to keep elk populations in northern Utah at or near their current size, while constraining disease outbreak and transmission risks within acceptable levels