Clinical Placements: The Perspectives of UK Physiotherapy Students on How Prepared they were by their University for their First Clinical Placements: an example of one HEI

Background. Clinical placements are an integral component of physiotherapy education as they give physiotherapy students the opportunity to apply their academic knowledge and skills and at the same time universities aim to provide an education that responds to the demands of practice settings.Objective. This study aims to investigate the perceptions of second year physiotherapy students on a range of aspects regarding their university’s education as a preparation for their first clinical placement.Method. Second-year physiotherapy students were invited to participate in a survey before and after engaging in their first clinical placement. Domains covered by the survey were: knowledge and skills, professionalism, communication, inter-professional awareness, and stress, coping and support.Results. The findings revealed that although the students felt prepared with regard to their anatomy, physiology, manual handling and treatment strategies they felt unprepared in patient record keeping, clinical reasoning, goal setting and communicating with families and carers.Conclusion. Universities can do much to ease their students’ path into the clinical setting and create a seamless transition from academic life to the world of practice. Possible ways in which this could be achieved are discussed

Strategic groupings as competitive benchmarks for formulating future competitive strategy: A modelling approach

Previous studies on strategic groups have examined issues such as the identification of strategic groups, the relationship between strategic groups structure and industry performance, and the movement of strategic groups over time. In contrast to previous studies, this paper uses the analytical concepts of game theory to explore the question of what strategic groups will exist in the future. These benchmark (future) strategic groups represent long‐run strategic positions available within an industry and thus reference points for firms in developing sustainable competitive strategies. The benchmark strategic groups are discussed and comments are offered to illustrate how firms can use the benchmark information to redirect their strategic positions in order to survive and remain competitive in the long run.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/90332/1/4090110203_ftp.pd

Weighted growing simplicial complexes

(14 pages, 6 figures)(14 pages, 6 figures

Planning, implementation, and first results of the Tropical Composition, Cloud and Climate Coupling Experiment (TC4)

The Tropical Composition, Cloud and Climate Coupling Experiment (TC4), was based in Costa Rica and Panama during July and August 2007. The NASA ER-2, DC-8, and WB-57F aircraft flew 26 science flights during TC4. The ER-2 employed 11 instruments as a remote sampling platform and satellite surrogate. The WB-57F used 25 instruments for in situ chemical and microphysical sampling in the tropical tropopause layer (TTL). The DC-8 used 25 instruments to sample boundary layer properties, as well as the radiation, chemistry, and microphysics of the TTL. TC4 also had numerous sonde launches, two ground-based radars, and a ground-based chemical and microphysical sampling site. The major goal of TC4 was to better understand the role that the TTL plays in the Earth's climate and atmospheric chemistry by combining in situ and remotely sensed data from the ground, balloons, and aircraft with data from NASA satellites. Significant progress was made in understanding the microphysical and radiative properties of anvils and thin cirrus. Numerous measurements were made of the humidity and chemistry of the tropical atmosphere from the boundary layer to the lower stratosphere. Insight was also gained into convective transport between the ground and the TTL, and into transport mechanisms across the TTL. New methods were refined and extended to all the NASA aircraft for real-time location relative to meteorological features. The ability to change flight patterns in response to aircraft observations relayed to the ground allowed the three aircraft to target phenomena of interest in an efficient, well-coordinated manner

Inference on the Nature and the Mass of Earth's Late Veneer from Noble Metals and Gases

Noble metals and gases are very sensitive to the late accretion to the Earth of asteroids and comets. We present mass balance arguments based on these elements that indicate that 0.7E22-2.7E22 kg of extraterrestrial bodies struck the Earth after core formation and that comets comprised less than 1E-5 by mass of the impacting population. These results imply that the dynamics of asteroids and comets changed drastically with time and that biogenic elements and prebiotic molecules were not delivered to the Earth by comets but rather by carbonaceous asteroids.Comment: 10 pages, 2 figures, 1 table, submitted to JG

The histone chaperones Vps75 and Nap1 form ring-like, tetrameric structures in solution

NAP-1 fold histone chaperones play an important role in escorting histones to and from sites of nucleosome assembly and disassembly. The two NAP-1 fold histone chaperones in budding yeast, Vps75 and Nap1, have previously been crystalized in a characteristic homodimeric conformation. In this study, a combination of small angle X-ray scattering, multi angle light scattering and pulsed electron–electron double resonance approaches were used to show that both Vps75 and Nap1 adopt ring-shaped tetrameric conformations in solution. This suggests that the formation of homotetramers is a common feature of NAP-1 fold histone chaperones. The tetramerisation of NAP-1 fold histone chaperones may act to shield acidic surfaces in the absence of histone cargo thus providing a ‘self-chaperoning’ type mechanism

Why Are Male Social Relationships Complex in the Doubtful Sound Bottlenose Dolphin Population?

Copyright 2008 Elsevier B.V., All rights reserved.Peer reviewedPublisher PD

Groups of Galaxies in AEGIS: The 200 ksec Chandra Extended X-ray Source catalogue

We present the discovery of seven X-ray emitting groups of galaxies selected as extended X-ray sources in the 200 ksec Chandra coverage of the All-wavelength Extended Groth Strip International Survey (AEGIS). In addition, we report on AGN activity associated to these systems. Using the DEEP2 Galaxy Redshift Survey coverage, we identify optical counterparts and determine velocity dispersions. In particular, we find three massive high-redshift groups at z>0.7, one of which is at z=1.13, the first X-ray detections of spectroscopically selected DEEP2 groups. We also present a first look at the the L_X-T, L_X-sigma, and sigma-T scaling relations for high-redshift massive groups. We find that the properties of these X-ray selected systems agree well with the scaling relations of similar systems at low redshift, although there are X-ray undetected groups in the DEEP2 catalogue with similar velocity dispersions. The other three X-ray groups with identified redshifts are associated with lower mass groups at z~0.07 and together form part of a large structure or "supergroup" in the southern portion of the AEGIS field. All of the low-redshift systems are centred on massive elliptical galaxies, and all of the high-redshift groups have likely central galaxies or galaxy pairs. All of the central group galaxies host X-ray point sources, radio sources, and/or show optical AGN emission. Particularly interesting examples of central AGN activity include a bent-double radio source plus X-ray point source at the center of a group at z=0.74, extended radio and double X-ray point sources associated to the central galaxy in the lowest-redshift group at z=0.066, and a bright green valley galaxy (part of a pair) in the z=1.13 group which shows optical AGN emission lines.Comment: accepted to MNRAS, 15 pages, 11 figures, for version with full resolution figures see http://www.ucolick.org/~tesla/aegis_groups.ps.g

Spatially heterogeneous argon-isotope systematics and apparent ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar ages in perlitised obsidian

In situ laser ablation Ar-isotope analyses of variably hydrated and devitrified obsidian from the ~ 27 Ma Cochetopa Dome, San Juan, USA, reveal complex interplay between degassing of initial Ar and absorption of atmospheric Ar. These processes have locally modified the Ar-isotope composition of the obsidian and led to spurious, spatially-heterogeneous Ar-isotope and 40Ar/39Ar age data. Small perlite beads exhibit older apparent Ar-ages at the rims than the cores. This is interpreted as an apparent excess of 40Ar at the rims, produced either by a) diffusion of excess 40Ar into the bead during flushing of the lava with excess 40Ar-bearing volcanic gas, or by b) isotopic fractionation during degassing of initial Ar, causing preferential loss of 36Ar over 40Ar at the bead rims. The second interpretation is favoured by a relative enrichment of 36Ar in the core of a perlite bead along a microlite-free (poorly degassed) flow band, and by a lack of age variation in a larger, fresh, well-degassed perlite bead. These isotopic gradients were later overprinted during glass hydration by absorption of Ar with near-atmospheric composition, resulting in elevated 36Ar and reduced radiogenic 40Ar* yields at the rims of perlite beads. These complex interactions essentially represent the mixing of three distinct Ar reservoirs: initial trapped Ar that may or may not be fractionated, an isotopically atmospheric Ar component introduced during hydration, and radiogenic 40Ar*. Such reservoir mixing is the underlying reason for poor correlations on isotope correlation diagrams and the difficulties in validating the composition of the non-radiogenic Ar component. We thus suggest that high 36Ar yields are a combination of the incomplete degassing of initial (possibly magmatic) Ar and the gain of Ar during interaction between the obsidian and meteoric/atmospheric fluids. Our analyses emphasise the challenging nature of 40Ar/39Ar dating obsidian samples, but also point to possible solutions by careful sample characterisation and selection of highly degassed samples

Statistical methods for assays with limits of detection: Serum bile acid as a differentiator between patients with normal colons, adenomas, and colorectal cancer

In analytic chemistry a detection limit (DL) is the lowest measurable amount of an analyte that can be distinguished from a blank; many biomedical measurement technologies exhibit this property. From a statistical perspective, these data present inferential challenges because instead of precise measures, one only has information that the value is somewhere between 0 and the DL (below detection limit, BDL). Substitution of BDL values, with 0 or the DL can lead to biased parameter estimates and a loss of statistical power. Statistical methods that make adjustments when dealing with these types of data, often called left-censored data, are available in many commercial statistical packages. Despite this availability, the use of these methods is still not widespread in biomedical literature. We have reviewed the statistical approaches of dealing with BDL values, and used simulations to examine the performance of the commonly used substitution methods and the most widely available statistical methods. We have illustrated these methods using a study undertaken at the Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center, to examine the serum bile acid levels in patients with colorectal cancer and adenoma. We have found that the modern methods for BDL values identify disease-related differences that are often missed, with statistically naive approaches