466 research outputs found
Exploring (the poetics of) strange (and fractal) hypertexts
The ACM Hypertext conference has a rich history of challenging the node-link hegemony of the web. At Hypertext 2011 Pisarski [12] suggested that to refocus on nodes in hypertext might unlock a new poetics, and at Hypertext 2001 Bernstein [3] lamented the lack of strange hypertexts: playful tools that experiment with hypertext structure and form. As part of the emerging Strange Hypertexts community project we have been exploring a number of exotic hypertext tools, and in this paper we set out an early experiment with media and creative writing undergraduates to see what effect one particular form â Fractal Narratives, a hypertext where readers drill down into text in a reoccurring pattern â would have on their writing. In this particular trial, we found that most students did not engage in the structure from a storytelling point of view, although they did find value from a planning point of view. Participants conceptually saw the value in non-linear storytelling but few exploited the fractal structure to actually do this. Participant feedback leads us to conclude that while new poetics do emerge from strange hypertexts, this should be viewed as an ongoing process that can be reinforced and encouraged by designing tools that highlight and support those emerging poetics in a series of feedback loops, and by providing writing contexts where they can be highlighted and collaboratively explore
Understanding of research, genetics and genetic research in a rapid ethical assessment in north west Cameroon
BACKGROUND
There is limited assessment of whether research participants in low-income settings are afforded a full understanding of the meaning of medical research. There may also be particular issues with the understanding of genetic research. We used a rapid ethical assessment methodology to explore perceptions surrounding the meaning of research, genetics and genetic research in north west Cameroon.
METHODS
Eleven focus group discussions (including 107 adults) and 72 in-depth interviews were conducted with various stakeholders in two health districts in north west Cameroon between February and April 2012.
RESULTS
Most participants appreciated the role of research in generating knowledge and identified a difference between research and healthcare but gave varied explanations as to this difference. Most participants' understanding of genetics was limited to concepts of hereditary, with potential benefits limited to the level of the individual or family. Explanations based on supernatural beliefs were identified as a special issue but participants tended not to identify any other special risks with genetic research.
CONCLUSION
We demonstrated a variable level of understanding of research, genetics and genetic research, with implications for those carrying out genetic research in this and other low resource settings. Our study highlights the utility of rapid ethical assessment prior to complex or sensitive research
Probing single electrons across 300 mm spin qubit wafers
Building a fault-tolerant quantum computer will require vast numbers of
physical qubits. For qubit technologies based on solid state electronic
devices, integrating millions of qubits in a single processor will require
device fabrication to reach a scale comparable to that of the modern CMOS
industry. Equally importantly, the scale of cryogenic device testing must keep
pace to enable efficient device screening and to improve statistical metrics
like qubit yield and process variation. Spin qubits have shown impressive
control fidelities but have historically been challenged by yield and process
variation. In this work, we present a testing process using a cryogenic 300 mm
wafer prober to collect high-volume data on the performance of
industry-manufactured spin qubit devices at 1.6 K. This testing method provides
fast feedback to enable optimization of the CMOS-compatible fabrication
process, leading to high yield and low process variation. Using this system, we
automate measurements of the operating point of spin qubits and probe the
transitions of single electrons across full wafers. We analyze the random
variation in single-electron operating voltages and find that this fabrication
process leads to low levels of disorder at the 300 mm scale. Together these
results demonstrate the advances that can be achieved through the application
of CMOS industry techniques to the fabrication and measurement of spin qubits.Comment: 15 pages, 4 figures, 7 extended data figure
Research priorities in the field of posttraumatic pain and disability: Results of a transdisciplinary consensus-generating workshop
© Copyright 2016 David M.Walton et al. Background. Chronic or persistent pain and disability following noncatastrophic \u27musculoskeletal\u27 (MSK) trauma is a pervasive public health problem. Recent intervention trials have provided little evidence of benefit from several specific treatments for preventing chronic problems. Such findings may appear to argue against formal targeted intervention for MSK traumas. However, these negative findings may reflect a lack of understanding of the causal mechanisms underlying the transition from acute to chronic pain, rendering informed and objective treatment decisions difficult. The Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) Institute ofMusculoskeletalHealth and Arthritis (IMHA) has recently identified better understanding of causalmechanisms as one of three priority foci of their most recent strategic plan. Objectives. A 2-day invitation-only active participation workshop was held inMarch 2015 that included 30 academics, clinicians, and consumers with the purpose of identifying consensus research priorities in the field of trauma-relatedMSK pain and disability, prediction, and prevention. Methods. Conversations were recorded, explored thematically, and member-checked for accuracy. Results. From the discussions, 13 themes were generated that ranged from a focus on identifying causal mechanisms and models to challenges with funding and patient engagement. Discussion. Novel priorities included the inclusion of consumer groups in research from the early conceptualization and design stages and interdisciplinary longitudinal studies that include evaluation of integrated phenotypes and mechanisms
Conclusions of the II International and IV Spanish Hydration Congress. Toledo, Spain, 2nd-4th December, 2015
Water is the major component of our organism representing about 60% of total body weight in adults and has to be obtained through the consumption of different foods and beverages as part of our diet. Water is an essential nutrient performing important functions, including transport of other nutrients, elimination of waste products, temperature regulation, lubrication and structural support. In this context, hydration through water has an essential role in health and wellness, which has been highly acknowledged in recent years among the health community experts such as nutritionists, dietitians, general practitioners, pharmacists, educators, as well as by physical activity and sport sciences experts and the general population
Re-establishing the âoutsidersâ: English press coverage of the 2015 FIFA Womenâs World Cup
In 2015, the England Womenâs national football team finished third at the Womenâs World Cup in Canada. Alongside the establishment of the Womenâs Super League in 2011, the success of the womenâs team posed a striking contrast to the recent failures of the England menâs team and in doing so presented a timely opportunity to examine the negotiation of hegemonic discourses on gender, sport and football. Drawing upon an âestablished-outsiderâ approach, this article examines how, in newspaper coverage of the England womenâs team, gendered constructions revealed processes of alteration, assimilation and resistance. Rather than suggesting that âestablishedâ discourses assume a normative connection between masculinity and football, the findings reveal how gendered âboundariesâ were both challenged and protected in newspaper coverage. Despite their success, the discursive positioning of the womenâs team as âoutsidersâ, served to (re)establish menâs football as superior, culturally salient and âbetterâ than the womenâs team/game. Accordingly, we contend that attempts to build and, in many instances, rediscover the history of womenâs football, can be used to challenge established cultural representations that draw exclusively from the history of the menâs game. In such instances, the 2015 Womenâs World Cup provides a historical moment from which the womenâs game can be relocated in a context of popular culture
Severe Asthma Standard-of-Care Background Medication Reduction With Benralizumab: ANDHI in Practice Substudy
Background: The phase IIIb, randomized, parallel-group, placebo-controlled ANDHI double-blind (DB) study extended understanding of the efficacy of benralizumab for patients with severe eosinophilic asthma. Patients from ANDHI DB could join the 56-week ANDHI in Practice (IP) single-arm, open-label extension substudy. Objective: Assess potential for standard-of-care background medication reductions while maintaining asthma control with benralizumab. Methods: Following ANDHI DB completion, eligible adults were enrolled in ANDHI IP. After an 8-week run-in with benralizumab, there were 5 visits to potentially reduce background asthma medications for patients achieving and maintaining protocol-defined asthma control with benralizumab. Main outcome measures for non-oral corticosteroid (OCS)-dependent patients were the proportions with at least 1 background medication reduction (ie, lower inhaled corticosteroid dose, background medication discontinuation) and the number of adapted Global Initiative for Asthma (GINA) step reductions at end of treatment (EOT). Main outcomes for OCS-dependent patients were reductions in daily OCS dosage and proportion achieving OCS dosage of 5 mg or lower at EOT. Results: For non-OCS-dependent patients, 53.3% (n = 208 of 390) achieved at least 1 background medication reduction, increasing to 72.6% (n = 130 of 179) for patients who maintained protocol-defined asthma control at EOT. A total of 41.9% (n = 163 of 389) achieved at least 1 adapted GINA step reduction, increasing to 61.8% (n = 110 of 178) for patients with protocol-defined EOT asthma control. At ANDHI IP baseline, OCS dosages were 5 mg or lower for 40.4% (n = 40 of 99) of OCS-dependent patients. Of OCS-dependent patients, 50.5% (n = 50 of 99) eliminated OCS and 74.7% (n = 74 of 99) achieved dosages of 5 mg or lower at EOT. Conclusions: These findings demonstrate benralizumab's ability to improve asthma control, thereby allowing background medication reduction
Multidifferential study of identified charged hadron distributions in -tagged jets in proton-proton collisions at 13 TeV
Jet fragmentation functions are measured for the first time in proton-proton
collisions for charged pions, kaons, and protons within jets recoiling against
a boson. The charged-hadron distributions are studied longitudinally and
transversely to the jet direction for jets with transverse momentum 20 GeV and in the pseudorapidity range . The
data sample was collected with the LHCb experiment at a center-of-mass energy
of 13 TeV, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 1.64 fb. Triple
differential distributions as a function of the hadron longitudinal momentum
fraction, hadron transverse momentum, and jet transverse momentum are also
measured for the first time. This helps constrain transverse-momentum-dependent
fragmentation functions. Differences in the shapes and magnitudes of the
measured distributions for the different hadron species provide insights into
the hadronization process for jets predominantly initiated by light quarks.Comment: All figures and tables, along with machine-readable versions and any
supplementary material and additional information, are available at
https://cern.ch/lhcbproject/Publications/p/LHCb-PAPER-2022-013.html (LHCb
public pages
Study of the decay
The decay is studied
in proton-proton collisions at a center-of-mass energy of TeV
using data corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 5
collected by the LHCb experiment. In the system, the
state observed at the BaBar and Belle experiments is
resolved into two narrower states, and ,
whose masses and widths are measured to be where the first uncertainties are statistical and the second
systematic. The results are consistent with a previous LHCb measurement using a
prompt sample. Evidence of a new
state is found with a local significance of , whose mass and width
are measured to be and , respectively. In addition, evidence of a new decay mode
is found with a significance of
. The relative branching fraction of with respect to the
decay is measured to be , where the first
uncertainty is statistical, the second systematic and the third originates from
the branching fractions of charm hadron decays.Comment: All figures and tables, along with any supplementary material and
additional information, are available at
https://cern.ch/lhcbproject/Publications/p/LHCb-PAPER-2022-028.html (LHCb
public pages
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