2,185 research outputs found
First year nursing students use of social media within education: results of a survey
Introduction – Social media rapidly disseminates information but is a controversial learning platform in nurse education. This study aimed to explore how students viewed the use of Twitter, and other social media, in their first year of a nursing degree.
Aim - The aim of this study was to evaluate first year student nurses’ use of social media, before and after commencing a pre-registration programme, where Twitter was used in a module
Methodology – A cross-sectional approach using a descriptive survey was completed.
Methods – An online survey, that included Likert scale and open questions, was open for one month in 2016
Sample – All students on Nursing Undergraduate Degrees, in Adult, Child and Mental Health, who were in the first year of their programme were eligible to participate. 121 students took part with a response rate of 32%.
Results –Most students were positive about using social media as they found it an engaging way to promote discussion and share information. Students use of Twitter changed in the first year with 19.8% using it once or more per week on commencement of the programme which increased to 45.5%; other social media platforms remained static. Most students (57.8%) understood the purpose of using Twitter although 14% reported that it was not used within their module; thus, not all students gained experience of using the social media. 81% of students said that using Twitter had been beneficial to increase awareness of nursing issues within their course. However, there were areas that students found difficult such as time, and not knowing what to say.
Conclusion –The study suggests that teaching about social media, and incorporating it into learning activities, may be beneficial for students. However, more research into the subject using an experimental design to assess changes over time would be useful
Sublinear Estimation of Weighted Matchings in Dynamic Data Streams
This paper presents an algorithm for estimating the weight of a maximum
weighted matching by augmenting any estimation routine for the size of an
unweighted matching. The algorithm is implementable in any streaming model
including dynamic graph streams. We also give the first constant estimation for
the maximum matching size in a dynamic graph stream for planar graphs (or any
graph with bounded arboricity) using space which also
extends to weighted matching. Using previous results by Kapralov, Khanna, and
Sudan (2014) we obtain a approximation for general graphs
using space in random order streams, respectively. In
addition, we give a space lower bound of for any
randomized algorithm estimating the size of a maximum matching up to a
factor for adversarial streams
ZnII(atsm) is protective in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis model mice via a copper delivery mechanism
AbstractMutations in the metalloprotein Cu,Zn-superoxide dismutase (SOD1) cause approximately 20% of familial cases of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), a fatal neurodegenerative disease for which effective therapeutics do not yet exist. Transgenic rodent models based on over-expression of mutant SOD1 have been developed and these have provided opportunity to test new therapeutic strategies and to study the mechanisms of mutant SOD1 toxicity. Although the mechanisms of mutant SOD1 toxicity are yet to be fully elucidated, incorrect or incomplete metallation of SOD1 confers abnormal folding, aggregation and biochemical properties, and improving the metallation state of SOD1 provides a viable therapeutic option. The therapeutic effects of delivering copper (Cu) to mutant SOD1 have been demonstrated recently. The aim of the current study was to determine if delivery of zinc (Zn) to SOD1 was also therapeutic. To investigate this, SOD1G37R mice were treated with the metal complex diacetyl-bis(4-methylthiosemicarbazonato)zincII [ZnII(atsm)]. Treatment resulted in an improvement in locomotor function and survival of the mice. However, biochemical analysis of spinal cord tissue collected from the mice revealed that the treatment did not increase overall Zn levels in the spinal cord nor the Zn content of SOD1. In contrast, overall levels of Cu in the spinal cord were elevated in the ZnII(atsm)-treated SOD1G37R mice and the Cu content of SOD1 was also elevated. Further experiments demonstrated transmetallation of ZnII(atsm) in the presence of Cu to form the Cu-analogue CuII(atsm), indicating that the observed therapeutic effects for ZnII(atsm) in SOD1G37R mice may in fact be due to in vivo transmetallation and subsequent delivery of Cu
Vector Meson Photoproduction with an Effective Lagrangian in the Quark Model
A quark model approach to the photoproduction of vector mesons off nucleons
is proposed. Its starting point is an effective Lagrangian of the interaction
between the vector meson and the quarks inside the baryon, which generates the
non-diffractive s- and u- channel resonance contributions. Additional t-channel
and exchanges are included for the and
production respectively to account for the large diffractive behavior in the
small region as suggested by Friman and Soyeur. The numerical results are
presented for the and productions in four isospin channels with
the same set of parameters, and they are in good agreement with the available
data not only in and productions but also in the charged
productions where the additional t-channel exchange does not
contribute so that it provides an important test to this approach. The
investigation is also extended to the photoproduction, and the initial
results show that the non-diffractive behavior of the productions in the
large region can be described by the s- and u- channel contributions with
significantly smaller coupling constants, which is consistent with the findings
in the similar studies in the QHD framework. The numerical investigation has
also shown that polarization observables are essential for identifying
so-called "missing resonances".Comment: 36 pages, 10 PS figures, extended version of nucl-th/9711061 and
nucl-th/9803021, submitted to PR
Corrections to the universal behavior of the Coulomb-blockade peak splitting for quantum dots separated by a finite barrier
Building upon earlier work on the relation between the dimensionless interdot
channel conductance g and the fractional Coulomb-blockade peak splitting f for
two electrostatically equivalent dots, we calculate the leading correction that
results from an interdot tunneling barrier that is not a delta-function but,
rather, has a finite height V and a nonzero width xi and can be approximated as
parabolic near its peak. We develop a new treatment of the problem for g much
less than 1 that starts from the single-particle eigenstates for the full
coupled-dot system. The finiteness of the barrier leads to a small upward shift
of the f-versus-g curve at small values of g. The shift is a consequence of the
fact that the tunneling matrix elements vary exponentially with the energies of
the states connected. Therefore, when g is small, it can pay to tunnel to
intermediate states with single-particle energies above the barrier height V.
The correction to the zero-width behavior does not affect agreement with recent
experimental results but may be important in future experiments.Comment: Title changed from ``Non-universal...'' to ``Corrections to the
universal...'' No other changes. 10 pages, 1 RevTeX file with 2 postscript
figures included using eps
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Aloiampelos ciliaris var. ciliaris. Asphodelaceae: Alooideae
Aloiampelos ciliaris is the type of a new genus of just seven species separated from Aloe in 2013 to accommodate the scrambling South African aloes. The history, taxonomy, distribution, ecology, cytology and cultivation of this species are all discussed in detail. This species is unique for Southern Africa in having a hexaploid chromosome count of 2n=42. The leaf structure is also distinctive with an amplexicaul base bearing conspicuous white cilia. It is endemic to the Eastern Cape Province
Iron oxidation at low temperature (260–500 C) in air and the effect of water vapor
The oxidation of iron has been studied at low temperatures (between 260 and 500 C) in dry air or air with 2 vol% H2O, in the framework of research on dry corrosion of nuclear waste containers during long-term interim storage. Pure iron is regarded as a model material for low-alloyed steel. Oxidation tests were performed in a thermobalance (up to 250 h) or in a laboratory furnace (up to 1000 h). The oxide scales formed were characterized using SEM-EDX, TEM, XRD, SIMS and EBSD techniques. The parabolic rate constants deduced from microbalance experiments were found to be in good agreement with the few existing values of the literature. The presence of water vapor in air was found to strongly influence the transitory stages of the kinetics. The entire structure of the oxide scale was composed of an internal duplex magnetite scale made of columnar grains and an external hematite scale made of equiaxed grains. 18O tracer experiments performed at 400 C allowed to propose a growth mechanism of the scale
Nucleonic resonance excitations with linearly polarized photon in
In this work, an improved quark model approach to the meson
photo-production with an effective Lagrangian is presented. The {\it t}-channel
{\it natural}-parity exchange is taken into account through the Pomeron
exchange, while the {\it unnatural}-parity exchange is described by the
exchange. With a very limited number of parameters, the available experimental
data in the low energy regime can be consistently accounted for. We find that
the beam polarization observables show sensitivities to some {\it s}-channel
individual resonances in the quark model symmetry limit.
Especially, the two resonances and , which belong
to the representation , have dominant contributions
over other excited states. Concerning the essential motivation of searching for
"missing resonances" in meson photo-production, this approach provides a
feasible framework, on which systematic investigations can be done.Comment: 16 pages, Revtex, 9 eps figures, to appear in PR
Determining Absorption, Emissivity Reduction, and Local Suppression Coefficients inside Sunspots
The power of solar acoustic waves is reduced inside sunspots mainly due to
absorption, emissivity reduction, and local suppression. The coefficients of
these power-reduction mechanisms can be determined by comparing time-distance
cross-covariances obtained from sunspots and from the quiet Sun. By analyzing
47 active regions observed by SOHO/MDI without using signal filters, we have
determined the coefficients of surface absorption, deep absorption, emissivity
reduction, and local suppression. The dissipation in the quiet Sun is derived
as well. All of the cross-covariances are width corrected to offset the effect
of dispersion. We find that absorption is the dominant mechanism of the power
deficit in sunspots for short travel distances, but gradually drops to zero at
travel distances longer than about 6 degrees. The absorption in sunspot
interiors is also significant. The emissivity-reduction coefficient ranges from
about 0.44 to 1.00 within the umbra and 0.29 to 0.72 in the sunspot, and
accounts for only about 21.5% of the umbra's and 16.5% of the sunspot's total
power reduction. Local suppression is nearly constant as a function of travel
distance with values of 0.80 and 0.665 for umbrae and whole sunspots
respectively, and is the major cause of the power deficit at large travel
distances.Comment: 14 pages, 21 Figure
Lifeworld Inc. : and what to do about it
Can we detect changes in the way that the world turns up as they turn up? This paper makes such an attempt. The first part of the paper argues that a wide-ranging change is occurring in the ontological preconditions of Euro-American cultures, based in reworking what and how an event is produced. Driven by the security – entertainment complex, the aim is to mass produce phenomenological encounter: Lifeworld Inc as I call it. Swimming in a sea of data, such an aim requires the construction of just enough authenticity over and over again. In the second part of the paper, I go on to argue that this new world requires a different kind of social science, one that is experimental in its orientation—just as Lifeworld Inc is—but with a mission to provoke awareness in untoward ways in order to produce new means of association. Only thus, or so I argue, can social science add to the world we are now beginning to live in
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