Consistency of Aviation Students When Taking the Private Pilot Knowledge Exam

Inconsistency is the enemy of performance. Several researchers have conducted a number of studies examining consistency in a variety of laboratory tasks; however, no research to date has looked at test-taking consistency in a real-world aviation environment. In this study, participants took a portion of the Federal Aviation Administration Private Pilot Knowledge Exam for credit in their Aeronautics 1 (private pilot ground school) course at their respective university. This was done twice: once after seven weeks and another time after 12 weeks into the semester. In order to measure consistency, participants took the same exam twice (questions were randomized across blocks). Participants were then asked to rate how consistent they thought they were in taking the two exams. For Exam 1, the overall consistency between the two blocks was r = .89; while the correlation between the self-assessment and consistency was rs = .55. For Exam 2, the overall consistency remained high at r = .80, while the correlation between the self-assessment and consistency fell to rs = .11. In contrast to previous laboratory data, the overall consistency between blocks was high. The self-assessment of consistency was fairly inaccurate, particularly in the second exam. The research indicates that participants still struggle to accurately self-assess their consistency

Transient Cavity Dynamics and Divergence from the Stokes-Einstein Equation in Organic Aerosol

The diffusion of small molecules through viscous matrices formed by large organic molecules is important across a range of domains, including pharmaceutical science, materials chemistry, and atmospheric science, impacting on, for example, the formation of amorphous and crystalline phases. Here we report significant breakdowns in the Stokes–Einstein (SE) equation from measurements of the diffusion of water (spanning 5 decades) and viscosity (spanning 12 decades) in saccharide aerosol droplets. Molecular dynamics simulations show water diffusion is not continuous, but proceeds by discrete hops between transient cavities that arise and dissipate as a result of dynamical fluctuations within the saccharide lattice. The ratio of transient cavity volume to solvent volume increases with size of molecules making up the lattice, increasing divergence from SE predictions. This improved mechanistic understanding of diffusion in viscous matrices explains, for example, why organic compounds equilibrate according to SE predictions and water equilibrates more rapidly in aerosols

From cook to chef: Facilitating the transition from recipe-driven to open-ended research-based undergraduate chemistry lab activities

This paper describes the development of mini-research projects in the third year practical chemistry course at the University of Nottingham for the MSci(Hons) Chemistry degree. The aim of these developments is to bridge the gap between ‘recipe-style’ experiments in the first and second year courses and research projects undertaken in the fourth year or in industry. There is much evidence that, having been given this opportunity to plan and design their own experiment, students exhibit higher-order cognitive skills, which can lead to a more valuable learning experience

Perspectives on key principles of generalist medical practice in public service in sub-saharan africa: a qualitative study

The original publication is available at http://www.biomedcentral.comAbstract Background: The principles and practice of Family Medicine that arose in developed Western countries have been imported and adopted in African countries without adequate consideration of their relevance and appropriateness to the African context. In this study we attempted to elicit a priori principles of generalist medical practice from the experience of long-serving medical officers in a variety of African counties, through which we explored emergent principles of Family Medicine in our own context. Methods A descriptive study design was utilized, using qualitative methods. 16 respondents who were clinically active medical practitioners, working as generalists in the public services or non-profit sector for at least 5 years, and who had had no previous formal training or involvement in academic Family Medicine, were purposively selected in 8 different countries in southern, western and east Africa, and interviewed. Results The respondents highlighted a number of key issues with respect to the external environment within which they work, their collective roles, activities and behaviours, as well as the personal values and beliefs that motivate their behaviour. The context is characterized by resource constraints, high workload, traditional health beliefs, and the difficulty of referring patients to the next level of care. Generalist clinicians in sub-Saharan Africa need to be competent across a wide range of clinical disciplines and procedural skills at the level of the district hospital and clinic, in both chronic and emergency care. They need to understand the patient's perspective and context, empowering the patient and building an effective doctor-patient relationship. They are also managers, focused on coordinating and improving the quality of clinical care through teamwork, training and mentoring other health workers in the generalist setting, while being life-long learners themselves. However, their role in the community, was found to be more aspirational than real. Conclusions The study derived a set of principles for the practice of generalist doctors in sub-Saharan Africa based on the reported activities and approaches of the respondents. Patient-centred care using a biopsychosocial approach remains as a common core principle despite wide variations in context. Procedural and hospital care demands a higher level of skills particularly in rural areas, and a community orientation is desirable, but not widely practiced. The results have implications for the postgraduate training of family physicians in sub-Saharan Africa, and highlight questions regarding the realization of community-orientated primary care.Publishers' Versio

The USNO-B Catalog

USNO-B is an all-sky catalog that presents positions, proper motions, magnitudes in various optical passbands, and star/galaxy estimators for 1,042,618,261 objects derived from 3,643,201,733 separate observations. The data were obtained from scans of 7,435 Schmidt plates taken for the various sky surveys during the last 50 years. USNO-B1.0 is believed to provide all-sky coverage, completeness down to V = 21, 0.2 arcsecond astrometric accuracy at J2000, 0.3 magnitude photometric accuracy in up to five colors, and 85% accuracy for distinguishing stars from non-stellar objects. A brief discussion of various issues is given here, but the actual data are available from http://www.nofs.navy.mil and other sites.Comment: Accepted by Astronomical Journa

Chronic inflammation is a feature of Achilles tendinopathy and rupture

BackgroundRecent investigation of human tissue and cells from positional tendons such as the rotator cuff has clarified the importance of inflammation in the development and progression of tendon disease. These mechanisms remain poorly understood in disease of energy-storing tendons such as the Achilles. Using tissue biopsies from patients, we investigated if inflammation is a feature of Achilles tendinopathy and rupture.MethodsWe studied Achilles tendon biopsies from symptomatic patients with either mid-portion tendinopathy or rupture for evidence of abnormal inflammatory signatures. Tendon-derived stromal cells from healthy hamstring and diseased Achilles were cultured to determine the effects of cytokine treatment on expression of inflammatory markers.ResultsTendinopathic and ruptured Achilles highly expressed CD14+ and CD68+ cells and showed a complex inflammation signature, involving NF-κB, interferon and STAT-6 activation pathways. Interferon markers IRF1 and IRF5 were highly expressed in tendinopathic samples. Achilles ruptures showed increased PTGS2 and interleukin-8 expression. Tendinopathic and ruptured Achilles tissues expressed stromal fibroblast activation markers podoplanin and CD106. Tendon cells isolated from diseased Achilles showed increased expression of pro-inflammatory and stromal fibroblast activation markers after cytokine stimulation compared with healthy hamstring tendon cells.ConclusionsTissue and cells derived from tendinopathic and ruptured Achilles tendons show evidence of chronic (non-resolving) inflammation. The energy-storing Achilles shares common cellular and molecular inflammatory mechanisms with functionally distinct rotator cuff positional tendons. Differences seen in the profile of ruptured Achilles are likely to be attributable to a superimposed phase of acute inflammation and neo-vascularisation. Strategies that target chronic inflammation are of potential therapeutic benefit for patients with Achilles tendon disease

What is the 'problem' that outreach work seeks to address and how might it be tackled? Seeking theory in a primary health prevention programme

<b>Background</b> Preventive approaches to health are disproportionately accessed by the more affluent and recent health improvement policy advocates the use of targeted preventive primary care to reduce risk factors in poorer individuals and communities. Outreach has become part of the health service response. Outreach has a long history of engaging those who do not otherwise access services. It has, however, been described as eclectic in its purpose, clientele and mode of practice; its effectiveness is unproven. Using a primary prevention programme in the UK as a case, this paper addresses two research questions: what are the perceived problems of non-engagement that outreach aims to address; and, what specific mechanisms of outreach are hypothesised to tackle these.<p></p> <b>Methods</b> Drawing on a wider programme evaluation, the study undertook qualitative interviews with strategically selected health-care professionals. The analysis was thematically guided by the concept of 'candidacy' which theorises the dynamic process through which services and individuals negotiate appropriate service use.<p></p> <b>Results</b> The study identified seven types of engagement 'problem' and corresponding solutions. These 'problems' lie on a continuum of complexity in terms of the challenges they present to primary care. Reasons for non-engagement are congruent with the concept of 'candidacy' but point to ways in which it can be expanded.<p></p> <b>Conclusions</b> The paper draws conclusions about the role of outreach in contributing to the implementation of inequalities focused primary prevention and identifies further research needed in the theoretical development of both outreach as an approach and candidacy as a conceptual framework

Activity of the DNA minor groove cross-linking agent SG2000 (SJG-136) against canine tumours

BACKGROUND: Cancer is the leading cause of death in older dogs and its prevalence is increasing. There is clearly a need to develop more effective anti-cancer drugs in dogs. SG2000 (SJG-136) is a sequence selective DNA minor groove cross-linking agent. Based on its in vitro potency, the spectrum of in vivo and clinical activity against human tumours, and its tolerability in human patients, SG2000 has potential as a novel therapeutic against spontaneously occurring canine malignancies. RESULTS: In vitro cytotoxicity was assessed using SRB and MTT assays, and in vivo activity was assessed using canine tumour xenografts. DNA interstrand cross-linking (ICL) was determined using a modification of the single cell gel electrophoresis (comet) assay. Effects on cell cycle distribution were assessed by flow cytometry and measurement of γ-H2AX by immunofluorescence and immunohistochemistry. SG2000 had a multi-log differential cytotoxic profile against a panel of 12 canine tumour cell lines representing a range of common tumour types in dogs. In the CMeC-1 melanoma cell line, DNA ICLs increased linearly with dose following a 1 h treatment. Peak ICL was achieved within 1 h and no removal was observed over 48 h. A relationship between DNA ICL formation and cytotoxicity was observed across cell lines. The formation of γ-H2AX foci was slow, becoming evident after 4 h and reaching a peak at 24 h. SG2000 exhibited significant anti-tumour activity against two canine melanoma tumour models in vivo. Anti-tumour activity was observed at 0.15 and 0.3 mg/kg given i.v. either once, or weekly x 3. Dose-dependent DNA ICL was observed in tumours (and to a lower level in peripheral blood mononuclear cells) at 2 h and persisted at 24 h. ICL increased following the second and third doses in a repeated dose schedule. At 24 h, dose dependent γ-H2AX foci were more numerous than at 2 h, and greater in tumours than in peripheral blood mononuclear cells. SG2000-induced H2AX phosphorylation measured by immunohistochemistry showed good correspondence, but less sensitivity, than measurement of foci. CONCLUSIONS: SG2000 displayed potent activity in vitro against canine cancer cell lines as a result of the formation and persistence of DNA ICLs. SG2000 also had significant in vivo antitumour activity against canine melanoma xenografts, and the comet and γ-H2AX foci methods were relevant pharmacodynamic assays. The clinical testing of SG2000 against spontaneous canine cancer is warranted. ELECTRONIC SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIAL: The online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s12917-015-0534-2) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users