1,866 research outputs found
An empirical study on the preferred size of the participant information sheet in research
Background: Informed consent is a requirement for all research. It is not, however, clear how much information is sufficient to make an informed decision about participation in research. Information on an online questionnaire about childhood development was provided through an unfolding electronic participant sheet in three levels of information. \ud
Methods: 552 participants, who completed the web-based survey, accessed and spent time reading the participant information sheet (PIS) between July 2008 and November 2009. The information behaviour of the participants was investigated. The first level contained less information than might be found on a standard PIS, the second level corresponded to a standard PIS, and the third contained more information than on a standard PIS. The actual time spent on reading the information provided in three incremental levels and the participants' evaluation of the information were calculated. \ud
Results: 77% of the participants chose to access the first level of information, whereas 12% accessed the first two levels, 6% accessed all three levels of information and 23% participated without accessing information. The most accessed levels of information were those that corresponded to the average reading times. \ud
Conclusion: The brief information provided in the first level was sufficient for participants to make informed decisions, while a sizeable minority of the participants chose not to access any information at all. This study adds to the debate about how much information is required to make a decision about participation in research and the results may help inform the future development of information sheets by providing data on participants' actual needs when deciding about questionnaire surveys.\u
Die Effek Van Direkte Instruksie Oor Voegwoord-Gebruik Op Die Sintaktiese Kompleksiteit Van Narratiewe
No abstract available
Comparison of Two Detailed Models of Aedes aegypti Population Dynamics
The success of control programs for mosquito-Âborne diseases can be enhanced by crucial information provided by models of the mosquito populations. Models, however, can differ in their structure, complexity, and biological assumptions, and these differences impact their predictions. Unfortunately, it is typically difficult to determine why two complex models make different predictions because we lack structured side-Âby-Âside comparisons of models using comparable parameterization. Here, we present a detailed comparison of two complex, spatially explicit, stochastic models of the population dynamics of Aedes aegypti, the main vector of dengue, yellow fever, chikungunya, and Zika viruses. Both models describe the mosquito?s biological and ecological characteristics, but differ in complexity and specific assumptions. We compare the predictions of these models in two selected climatic settings: a tropical and weakly seasonal climate in Iquitos, Peru, and a temperate and strongly seasonal climate in Buenos Aires, Argentina. Both models were calibrated to operate at identical average densities in unperturbedconditions in both settings, by adjusting parameters regulating densities in each model (number of larval development sites and amount of nutritional resources). We show that the models differ in their sensitivityto environmental conditions (temperature and rainfall) and trace differences to specific model assumptions.Temporal dynamics of the Ae. aegypti populations predicted by the two models differ more markedly under strongly seasonal Buenos Aires conditions. We use both models to simulate killing of larvae and/or adults with insecticides in selected areas. We show that predictions of population recovery by the models differ substantially, an effect likely related to model assumptions regarding larval development and (director delayed) density dependence. Our methodical comparison provides important guidance for model improvement by identifying key areas of Ae. aegypti ecology that substantially affect model predictions, and revealing the impact of model assumptions on population dynamics predictions in unperturbed and perturbed conditions.Fil: Legros, Mathieu. University of North Carolina; Estados UnidosFil: Otero, Marcelo Javier. Universidad de Buenos Aires; ArgentinaFil: Romeo Aznar, Victoria Teresa. Universidad de Buenos Aires; ArgentinaFil: Solari, Hernan Gustavo. Universidad de Buenos Aires; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones CientĂficas y TĂ©cnicas. Oficina de CoordinaciĂłn Administrativa Ciudad Universitaria. Instituto de FĂsica de Buenos Aires. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales. Instituto de FĂsica de Buenos Aires; ArgentinaFil: Gould, Fred. National Institutes of Health; Estados UnidosFil: Lloyd, Alun L.. National Institutes of Health; Estados Unido
T-cell activation without proliferation in juvenile idiopathic arthritis
A study was done to determine if the differentiation and activation phenotype of T cells in synovial fluid (SF) from patients with juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA) is associated with T-cell proliferation in situ. Mononuclear cells were isolated from 44 paired samples of peripheral blood and SF. Differentiation and activation markers were determined on CD4 and CD8 T cells by flow cytometry. Cell-cycle analysis was performed by propidium iodide staining, and surface-marker expression was also assessed after culture of the T cells under conditions similar to those found in the synovial compartment. The majority of the T cells in the SF were CD45RO+CD45RBdull. There was greater expression of the activation markers CD69, HLA-DR, CD25 and CD71 on T cells from SF than on those from peripheral blood. Actively dividing cells accounted for less than 1% of the total T-cell population in SF. The presence or absence of IL-16 in T-cell cultures with SF or in a hypoxic environment did not affect the expression of markers of T-cell activation. T cells from the SF of patients with JIA were highly differentiated and expressed early and late markers of activation with little evidence of in situ proliferation. This observation refines and extends previous reports of the SF T-cell phenotype in JIA and may have important implications for our understanding of chronic inflammation
Life table analysis of Diaphorina citri (Hemiptera: Psyllidae) infesting sweet orange (Citrus sinensis) in SĂŁo Paulo
An ecological life table for eggs and nymphs of Diaphorina citri Kuwayama (Hemiptera:
Psyllidae) was constructed with data obtained from orange orchards (Citrus sinensis Osbeck) in 2 regions of the State of SĂŁo Paulo, over 4 generations in the period from XI-2006
to V-2007, comprising spring, summer, and fall seasons. Young growing shoots with D. citri
eggs present were identifed, and live individuals were counted until adult emergence. No
predatory arthropods were observed in association with D. citri eggs and nymphs during
the study. The mean parasitism of fourth- and ffth-instar nymphs by Tamarixia radiata
Waterston (Hymenoptera: Eulophidae) was 2.3%. The durations of the eggâadult period
were similar among the 4 generations, ranging from 18.0 to 24.7 d (at mean temperatures
ranging from 21.6 to 26.0 °C) and followed the temperature requirement models obtained
in the laboratory for D. citri. However, survival from the egg to the adult stage for the same
period varied considerably from 1.7 to 21.4%; the highest mortalities were observed in the
egg and small nymphal (frst- to thirdinstar) stages, which were considered to be key phases
for population growth of the pest.Uma tabela de vida ecolĂłgica foi construĂda para ovos e ninfas de Diaphorina citri Kuwayama (Hemiptera: Psyllidae) com dados obtidos em pomares de laranja (Citrus sinensis Osbeck) em 2 regiĂ”es do estado de SĂŁo Paulo, com 4 geraçÔes, no perĂodo de novembro de 2006
a maio de 2007, compreendendo as estaçÔes de primavera, verão e outono. Ramos jovens
em crescimento com a presença de ovos de D. citri foram identificados e os indivĂduos vivos
foram contados atĂ© a emergĂȘncia dos adultos. Nenhum predador foi observado associado a
ovos e ninfas de D. citri durante o estudo. A taxa média de parasitismo de ninfas de quarto
e quinto Ănstares por Tamarixia radiata Waterson (Hymenoptera: Eulophidae) foi de 2.3%.
A duração do perĂodo de ovo a adulto foi semelhante entre as quatro geraçÔes, variando de
18.0 a 24.7 dias (com temperaturas médias de 21.6 a 26.0 °C) e seguiram os modelos de
exigencias térmicas obtidas em laboratório para D. citri. Todavia, a sobrevivencia de ovo
atĂ© o estĂĄgio adulto variou consideravelmente para o mesmo perĂodo, de 1.7 a 21.4%, sendo
que as maiores mortalidades foram observadas nos estĂĄgios de ovos e ninfas pequenas (de
primeiro a terceiro Ănstares), as quais foram consideradas fases chaves para o crescimento
populacional desta praga.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio
A Viscous Heating Mechanism for the Hot Plasma in the Galactic Center Region
In addition to lines originating in a soft phase at ~0.8 keV and to cold
molecular clouds, the X-ray spectra from the Galactic center region also
exhibit properties similar to those of a diffuse, thin, very hot plasma at 8
keV on a scale of hundreds of parsecs. This phase is surprising for more than
one reason. First, such a hot plasma should not be bound to the Galactic plane
and the power needed to sustain the escaping matter would be higher then any
known source. Second, there is no known mechanism able to heat the plasma to
more than a few keV. Recently we have suggested that, hydrogen having escaped,
the hot plasma could be a helium plasma, heavy enough to be gravitationally
confined. In this case, the required power is much more reasonable. We present
here a possible heating mechanism which taps the gravitational energy of the
molecular clouds. We note that the 8 keV plasma is highly viscous and we show
how viscous friction of molecular clouds flowing within the hot phase can
dissipate energy in the gas and heat it. We detail the MHD wake of a spherical
cloud by considering the different MHD waves the cloud can excite. We find that
most of the energy is dissipated by the damping of Alfvenic perturbations in
two possible manners, namely by non-linear effects and by a large scale
curvature of the field lines. Depending on the field strength, this heating can
balance the radiative cooling. We note that the plasma parameters may be
optimal to make the dissipation most efficient, suggesting a self-regulation
mechanism. The loss of kinetic and gravitational energy also causes accretion
of the clouds and may have significant action on the gas dynamics in this
region between the large scale, bar dominated flow and the central accretion to
the massive black hole.Comment: 17 pages, 6 figures, accepted for publication in A&
"Actual" does not imply "feasible"
The familiar complaint that some ambitious proposal is infeasible naturally invites the following response: Once upon a time, the abolition of slavery and the enfranchisement of women seemed infeasible, yet these things were actually achieved. Presumably, then, many of those things that seem infeasible in our own time may well be achieved too and, thus, turn out to have been perfectly feasible after all. The Appeal to History, as we call it, is a bad argument. It is not true that if some desirable state of affairs was actually achieved, then it was feasible that it was achieved. âActualâ does not imply âfeasible,â as we put it. Here is our objection. âFeasibleâ implies ânot counterfactually fluky.â But âactualâ does not imply ânot counterfactually fluky.â So, âactualâ does not imply âfeasible.â While something like the Flukiness Objection is sometimes hinted at in the context of the related literature on abilities, it has not been developed in any detail, and both premises are inadequately motivated. We offer a novel articulation of the Flukiness Objection that is both more precise and better motivated. Our conclusions have important implications, not only for the admissible use of history in normative argument, but also by potentially circumscribing the normative claims that are applicable to us
Acoustically Derived Perceptual Evidence for Coarticulatory Errors in Apraxic and Conduction Aphasic Speech Production
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