Internal friction in iron-aluminium alloys

Abstract Not Provided

Identifying educational practices that promote inclusion for students with a hearing loss

The project being described in this paper used both quantitative and qualitative methods of analysis to assess the perceived effectiveness of the work of itinerant teachers of the deaf in promoting inclusion in mainstream classrooms for students with significant hearing loss. Methods of data collection used include questionnaires and semi-structured interviews. The results of the study identified factors that enhanced or inhibited the effectiveness of their interventions as well as the perceived effectiveness of the strategies used in intervention. Ages/grades of the students affected the type and perceived importance of direct intervention strategies used with students, but more specifically the students' individual educational circumstances and needs relating to accessing information delivered primarily through spoken language. The assistance offered to the classroom teacher appeared to be less influenced by a student's age or grade, and related to the imperative of curriculum delivery and time available to assist the teacher in developing the skills to adequately accommodate the students' needs

Repeat treatment with rifaximin is safe and effective in patients with diarrhea-predominant irritable bowel syndrome

Background & AimsFew treatments have demonstrated efficacy and safety for diarrhea-predominant irritable bowel syndrome (IBS-D). A phase 3, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial was performed to evaluate the safety and efficacy of repeat treatment with the nonsystemic antibiotic rifaximin.MethodsThe trial included adults with IBS-D, mean abdominal pain and bloating scores of 3 or more, and loose stool, located at 270 centers in the United States and Europe from February 2012 through June 2014. Those responding to a 2-week course of open-label rifaximin 550 mg 3 times daily, who then relapsed during an observation phase (up to 18 weeks), were randomly assigned to groups given repeat treatments of rifaximin 550 mg or placebo 3 times daily for 2 weeks. The primary end point was percentage of responders after first repeat treatment, defined as a decrease in abdominal pain of ≥30% from baseline and a decrease in frequency of loose stools of ≥50% from baseline, for 2 or more weeks during a 4-week post-treatment period.ResultsOf 1074 patients (44.1%) who responded to open-label rifaximin, 382 (35.6%) did not relapse and 692 (64.4%) did; of these, 636 were randomly assigned to receive repeat treatment with rifaximin (n = 328) or placebo (n = 308). The percentage of responders was significantly greater with rifaximin than placebo (38.1% vs 31.5%; P = .03). The percentage of responders for abdominal pain (50.6% vs 42.2%; P = .018) was significantly greater with rifaximin than placebo, but not stool consistency (51.8% vs 50.0%; P = .42). Significant improvements were also noted for prevention of recurrence, durable response, and bowel movement urgency. Adverse event rates were low and similar between groups.ConclusionsIn a phase 3 study of patients with relapsing symptoms of IBS-D, repeat rifaximin treatment was efficacious and well tolerated. ClinicalTrials.gov ID: NCT01543178

Artful Thinking: Critical and Creative Thinking in Primary and Secondary Visual Arts Education

This study is an investigation into critical and creative thinking in visual arts education. It is often claimed that the development of critical and creative thinking amongst students is a central concern of arts education. Moreover, it is frequently assumed that critical and creative thinking result naturally from arts education because the discipline is innately creative. However, educational research suggests otherwise; namely, a more deliberate teacher-directed approach is required to foster these thinking skills amongst students. While a number of studies have highlighted the value of arts learning in promoting these kinds of higher order thinking skills, little has been documented about the educational approaches or strategies used to foster them. This thesis begins to fill this gap in the research by documenting perspectives and practices associated with critical and creative thinking in the visual arts classroom. The study explores the perspectives and practices of four experienced and competent art teachers and their students. Specifically, ethnographic case study methods are used to gather, analyse and triangulate significant data. Four different cases – two in primary and two in secondary school – are included in the study. Data was collected through observation records and interviews with teachers and students in these case groups. Through field-based data collection and subsequent data analyses, a series of descriptive portraits are created that illustrate different pedagogical approaches to teaching critical and creative thinking through the visual arts. These portraits reflect teacher practitioners' theories and the value they ascribe to training critical and creative thinking through art. In addition, they reflect the ways these teachers' theories and beliefs impact on education practices in their classrooms. While the four case studies could not possibly represent the realities of the broader field of art education, they are able to capture some of the diversity that exists in art teaching practices

Feeling for and as a group member: understanding LGBT victimisation via group-based empathy and intergroup emotions

In two experimental studies (N = 120; N = 102), we apply intergroup emotions theory (IET) to examine the effects of hate crime on other community members. With participants from an oft‐targeted group – Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Trans people, we are the first to show empirically that hate crimes elicit more pronounced emotional and behavioural responses in other members of the victims’ community than comparable non‐hate crimes. The findings also reveal the psychological processes behind these effects. Consistent with IET, hate crimes were seen to pose more of a group‐based threat and so led to heightened emotional reactions (anger and anxiety) and, subsequently, to behavioural intentions (avoidance and pro‐action). Importantly, we also show that hate crime victims, due to increased perceptions of similarity, received more empathy than non‐hate crime victims. Such empathy, although neglected in previous research, was shown to be a potential mediator in understanding the indirect effects of hate crime. Results are discussed in terms of their contribution to psychological theory and their potential to support the argument for the utility and appropriateness of hate crime legislation

Cross-Canada EMR Case Studies: Analysis of Physicians' Perspectives on Benefits and Barriers

Abstract Our objective was to provide physicians with practical information on best practices and lessons learned with regards to implementation and use of electronic medical record (EMR) systems in ambulatory clinical practice settings. Methodology: A cross-Canada EMR study-the first of its kind-used case study methodology to investigate how EMRs were implemented and used in primary care. Knowledge transfer methods included print and web publications by the Canadian Medical Association (CMA) and a workshop. Results: The 20 case studies informed us in detail of the critical success factors for implementation. These were validated and augmented through a workshop. Conclusions: Electronic medical record (EMR) uptake in Canada and the US significantly lags behind other countries. Hence, there is a need to spread the good news about the actual benefits of EMRs to patients, physicians and the health care system and to mitigate barriers to EMR adoption and use

The antisaccade task as an index of sustained goal activation in working memory: modulation by nicotine

The antisaccade task provides a laboratory analogue of situations in which execution of the correct behavioural response requires the suppression of a more prepotent or habitual response. Errors (failures to inhibit a reflexive prosaccade towards a sudden onset target) are significantly increased in patients with damage to the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex and patients with schizophrenia. Recent models of antisaccade performance suggest that errors are more likely to occur when the intention to initiate an antisaccade is insufficiently activated within working memory. Nicotine has been shown to enhance specific working memory processes in healthy adults. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We explored the effect of nicotine on antisaccade performance in a large sample (N = 44) of young adult smokers. Minimally abstinent participants attended two test sessions and were asked to smoke one of their own cigarettes between baseline and retest during one session only. RESULTS AND CONCLUSION: Nicotine reduced antisaccade errors and correct antisaccade latencies if delivered before optimum performance levels are achieved, suggesting that nicotine supports the activation of intentions in working memory during task performance. The implications of this research for current theoretical accounts of antisaccade performance, and for interpreting the increased rate of antisaccade errors found in some psychiatric patient groups are discussed