Deviating From the Traditional Instructional Tools: Integrating Twitter in a Sociology of Deviance Course | S’éloigner des outils pédagogiques traditionnels : intégrer Twitter dans un cours sur la sociologie de la deviance

As the use of social media in post-secondary education expands, so does the research literature examining its effectiveness in engaging students. Studies have examined the use of Twitter as an assessment and engagement tool, and since this is a broad and growing research area, better understanding whether Twitter can promote these outcomes in an upper-level university course is valuable. This paper explores these themes based on a student survey (N=37) conducted in a Sociology Deviance course. It also reviews how students responded to the use of Twitter as a “community-classroom” engagement and assessment tool. Findings reveal that Twitter did contribute to some students’ sense of community. We offer suggestions for how instructors can successfully integrate Twitter activities into their course assessment to make them more engaging and to improve connectedness. L’utilisation des médias sociaux dans l’éducation postsecondaire prend de l’ampleur, entraînant l’augmentation de la documentation de recherche qui examine leur efficacité à motiver les élèves. Des études se sont penchées sur l’utilisation de Twitter comme outil d’évaluation et de participation. Comme il s’agit d’un domaine de recherche vaste et en croissance, il est important de mieux comprendre si Twitter peut favoriser ces résultats dans le cadre d’un cours universitaire de haut niveau. Cet article explore ces thèmes en s’appuyant sur un sondage réalisé auprès des étudiants (N=37) dans un cours de sociologie de la déviance. Il examine également comment les étudiants ont réagi à l’usage de Twitter comme outil de participation à une « classe-collectivité » et comme outil d’évaluation. Les conclusions révèlent que Twitter a contribué au sentiment d’appartenance à la collectivité de certains étudiants. Nous offrons des suggestions sur la façon dont les instructeurs peuvent intégrer avec succès des activités liées à Twitter dans leurs évaluations de cours afin de rendre ceux-ci plus motivants et d’améliorer la connectivité

Free energies of crystals computed using Einstein crystal with fixed center of mass and differing spring constants

Free energies of crystals computed using a center of mass constraint require a finite-size correction, as shown in previous work by Polson et al. [J. Chem. Phys. 112, 5339-5342 (2000)]. Their reference system is an Einstein crystal with equal spring constants. In this paper, we extend the work of Polson et al. [J. Chem. Phys. 112, 5339-5342 (2000)] to the case of differing spring constants. The generalization is convenient for constraining the center of mass in crystals with atoms of differing masses, and it helps to optimize the free energy calculations. To test the theory, we compare the free energies of LiI and NaCl crystals from calculations with differing spring constants to those computed using equal spring constants. Using these center of mass finite size corrections, we compute the true free energies of these crystals for different system sizes to eliminate the intrinsic finite-size effects. These calculations help demonstrate the size of these finite-size corrections relative to other contributions to the absolute free energy of the crystals

Longitudinal associations of fiber, vegetable, and fruit intake with quality of life and fatigue in colorectal cancer survivors up to 24 months post-treatment

BACKGROUND: The increasing colorectal cancer (CRC) survivor population highlights the need for dietary recommendations in order to enhance health-related quality of life (HRQoL) and alleviate symptoms of fatigue, chemotherapy-induced peripheral neuropathy (CIPN), and gastrointestinal problems. OBJECTIVES: Because of the therapeutic potential of dietary fiber on the gut, we aim to assess longitudinal associations of postdiagnostic dietary fiber, fruit, and vegetable intake, a major source of dietary fiber, with HRQoL, fatigue, CIPN, and gastrointestinal symptoms in CRC survivors from 6 wk to 24 mo posttreatment. METHODS: In a prospective cohort among stage I–III CRC survivors (n = 459), 5 repeated study measurements between diagnosis and 24 mo posttreatment were executed. Dietary fiber intake and fruit and vegetable intake were measured by 7-d dietary records. HRQoL, fatigue, CIPN, and gastrointestinal symptoms were measured by validated questionnaires. We applied confounder-adjusted linear mixed models to analyze longitudinal associations from 6 wk until 24 mo posttreatment and used hybrid models to disentangle the overall association into intraindividual changes and interindividual differences over time. RESULTS: Higher dietary fiber intake and fruit and vegetable intake were longitudinally associated with statistically significant better physical functioning and less fatigue. Intraindividual analyses showed that an increase of 10 g/d in dietary fiber within individuals over time was associated with better physical functioning (β: 2.3; 95% CI: 0.1, 4.4), role functioning (ability to perform daily activities; 5.9; 1.5, 10.3), and less fatigue (−4.1; −7.7, −0.5). An average increase in fruit and vegetable intake of 100 g/d between individuals over time was predominantly associated with less fatigue (−2.2; −4.2, −0.3). No associations were found with CIPN and gastrointestinal symptoms. CONCLUSIONS: Our results suggest that increasing dietary fiber, fruit, and vegetable intake is related to better physical and role functioning and less fatigue in the first 2 y after the end of treatment for CRC

How are management fashions institutionalized? The role of institutional work

We explore how transitory management fashions become institutionalized. Based on the concepts of institutional entrepreneurship and institutional work, we postulate that fashionable management practices acquire permanence when they are anchored within fieldwide institutions. The building of such institutions requires various types of institutional work, including political work, technical work and cultural work. Based on a review of the empirical literature on various management fashions, we identify the actors engaging in these different types of works, and their skills. Our results suggest that the institutionalization effect is stronger if more types of institutional work are deployed and if the skill sets of the involved actors vary. We also argue that institutional construction in the case of management fashions is likely to take the form of decentralized `partaking' rather than being led by a single dominant institutional entrepreneur. We conclude with implications for the study of management fashions and the role of agency in institutionalization

A new generation of 99.999% enriched 28Si single crystals for the determination of Avogadro's constant

A metrological challenge is currently underway to replace the present definition of the kilogram. One prerequisite for this is that the Avogadro constant, NA, which defines the number of atoms in a mole, needs to be determined with a relative uncertainty of better than 2  ×  10−8. The method applied in this case is based on the x-ray crystal density experiment using silicon crystals. The first attempt, in which silicon of natural isotopic composition was used, failed. The solution chosen subsequently was the usage of silicon highly enriched in 28Si from Russia. First, this paper reviews previous efforts from the very first beginnings to an international collaboration with the goal of producing a 28Si single crystal with a mass of 5 kg, an enrichment greater than 0.9999 and of sufficient chemical purity. Then the paper describes the activities of a follow-up project, conducted by PTB, to produce a new generation of highly enriched silicon in order to demonstrate the quasi-industrial and reliable production of more than 12 kg of the 28Si material with enrichments of five nines. The intention of this project is also to show the availability of 28Si single crystals as a guarantee for the future realisation of the redefined kilogram

Disclosure of human immunodeficiency virus status to children in South Africa: A comprehensive analysis

Background: The extent of disclosure of HIV status to children and adolescents and the context facilitating their disclosure process have received little attention. Objectives: To assess disclosure and provide a comprehensive analysis of characteristics associated with disclosure to children (3–14 years) receiving antiretroviral treatment in a South African semi-urban clinic. Methods: This cross-sectional study used structured interview administered questionnaires which were supplemented with medical record data. Predictors included child, caregiver, clinical and socio-economic characteristics, viral suppression, immune response, adherence, health-related quality of life and family functioning. Results: We included 190 children of whom 45 (23.7%) received disclosure about their HIV status, of whom 28 (14.7%) were partially disclosed and 17

A Model for the Development of the Rhizobial and Arbuscular Mycorrhizal Symbioses in Legumes and Its Use to Understand the Roles of Ethylene in the Establishment of these two Symbioses

We propose a model depicting the development of nodulation and arbuscular mycorrhizae. Both processes are dissected into many steps, using Pisum sativum L. nodulation mutants as a guideline. For nodulation, we distinguish two main developmental programs, one epidermal and one cortical. Whereas Nod factors alone affect the cortical program, bacteria are required to trigger the epidermal events. We propose that the two programs of the rhizobial symbiosis evolved separately and that, over time, they came to function together. The distinction between these two programs does not exist for arbuscular mycorrhizae development despite events occurring in both root tissues. Mutations that affect both symbioses are restricted to the epidermal program. We propose here sites of action and potential roles for ethylene during the formation of the two symbioses with a specific hypothesis for nodule organogenesis. Assuming the epidermis does not make ethylene, the microsymbionts probably first encounter a regulatory level of ethylene at the epidermis–outermost cortical cell layer interface. Depending on the hormone concentrations there, infection will either progress or be blocked. In the former case, ethylene affects the cortex cytoskeleton, allowing reorganization that facilitates infection; in the latter case, ethylene acts on several enzymes that interfere with infection thread growth, causing it to abort. Throughout this review, the difficulty of generalizing the roles of ethylene is emphasized and numerous examples are given to demonstrate the diversity that exists in plants

Discovery of naked charm particles and lifetime differences among charm species using nuclear emulsion techniques innovated in Japan

This is a historical review of the discovery of naked charm particles and lifetime differences among charm species. These discoveries in the field of cosmic-ray physics were made by the innovation of nuclear emulsion techniques in Japan. A pair of naked charm particles was discovered in 1971 in a cosmic-ray interaction, three years prior to the discovery of the hidden charm particle, J/Ψ, in western countries. Lifetime differences between charged and neutral charm particles were pointed out in 1975, which were later re-confirmed by the collaborative Experiment E531 at Fermilab. Japanese physicists led by K.Niu made essential contributions to it with improved emulsion techniques, complemented by electronic detectors. This review also discusses the discovery of artificially produced naked charm particles by us in an accelerator experiment at Fermilab in 1975 and of multiple-pair productions of charm particles in a single interaction in 1987 by the collaborative Experiment WA75 at CERN

Independent susceptibility markers for atrial fibrillation on chromosome 4q25

Background-: Genetic variants on chromosome 4q25 are associated with atrial fibrillation (AF). We sought to determine whether there is more than 1 susceptibility signal at this locus. Methods and results-: Thirty-four haplotype-tagging single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) at the 4q25 locus were genotyped in 790 case and 1177 control subjects from Massachusetts General Hospital and tested for association with AF. We replicated SNPs associated with AF after adjustment for the most significantly associated SNP in 5066 case and 30 661 referent subjects from the German Competence Network for Atrial Fibrillation, Atherosclerosis Risk In Communities Study, Cleveland Clinic Lone AF Study, Cardiovascular Health Study, and Rotterdam Study. All subjects were of European ancestry. A multimarker risk score composed of SNPs that tagged distinct AF susceptibility signals was constructed and tested for association with AF, and all results were subjected to meta-analysis. The previously reported SNP, rs2200733, was most significantly associated with AF (minor allele odds ratio 1.80, 95% confidence interval 1.50 to 2.15, P=1.2×10) in the discovery sample. Adjustment for rs2200733 genotype revealed 2 additional susceptibility signals marked by rs17570669 and rs3853445. A graded risk of AF was observed with an increasing number of AF risk alleles at SNPs that tagged these 3 susceptibility signals. Conclusions-: We identified 2 novel AF susceptibility signals on chromosome 4q25. Consideration of multiple susceptibility signals at chromosome 4q25 identifies individuals with an increased risk of AF and may localize regulatory elements at the locus with biological relevance in the pathogenesis of AF

Search for direct production of charginos and neutralinos in events with three leptons and missing transverse momentum in √s = 7 TeV pp collisions with the ATLAS detector

A search for the direct production of charginos and neutralinos in final states with three electrons or muons and missing transverse momentum is presented. The analysis is based on 4.7 fb−1 of proton–proton collision data delivered by the Large Hadron Collider and recorded with the ATLAS detector. Observations are consistent with Standard Model expectations in three signal regions that are either depleted or enriched in Z-boson decays. Upper limits at 95% confidence level are set in R-parity conserving phenomenological minimal supersymmetric models and in simplified models, significantly extending previous results