The Therapeutic Effect of Colloidal Manganese in Chronic Psoriasis

Abstract Not Provided

Relativistic Meson Spectroscopy and In-Medium Effects

We extend our earlier model of $q\bar q$ mesons using relativistic quasipotential (QP) wave equations to include open-flavor states and running quark-gluon coupling effects. Global fits to meson spectra are achieved with rms deviations from experiment of 43-50 MeV. We examine in-medium effects through their influence on the confining interaction and predict the confining strength at which the masses of certain mesons fall below the threshold of their dominant decay channel.Comment: 12 Pages, 2 Postscript figures (appended at the end with instructions, available also from [email protected]

The influence of competitive co-action on kata performance

Social facilitation is a phenomenon that can help explain performance outcomes in competitive sports. Previous research has shown that performing in the presence of others may increase physiological arousal and that performance can be either facilitated or inhibited depending on the skill level of the performers and the complexity of the skill performed. Although extensive research on this phenomenon has been reported in the sport psychology and related literature, previous findings have not focused on individual differences in terms of how social facilitation influences performance, and very little research has focused on martial arts. To bridge these gaps in knowledge, we investigated how a co-action situation would affect performance among 17 participants performing karate kata routines at a regional competition in SE England, comparing outcomes across age and sex variables. Expert judges awarded scores to each participant in both solo and co-action settings. Results showed higher performance scores in the co-action setting across the entire sample, with female karateka and older performers appearing to benefit the most. We argue that more research is required to explain this phenomenon, specifically with respect to understanding the apparent effects of age and sex on social facilitation

An Adaptive Newton--Picard Algorithm with Subspace Iteration for Computing Periodic Solutions

International audienceThis paper is concerned with the efficient computation of periodic orbits in large-scale dynamical systems that arise after spatial discretization of partial differential equations (PDEs). A hybrid Newton–Picard scheme based on the shooting method is derived, which in its simplest form is the recursive projection method (RPM) of Shroff and Keller [SIAM J. Numer. Anal., 30 (1993), pp. 1099–1120] and is used to compute and determine the stability of both stable and unstable periodic orbits. The number of time integrations needed to obtain a solution is shown to be determined only by the system's dynamics. This contrasts with traditional approaches based on Newton's method, for which the number of time integrations grows with the order of the spatial discretiza-tion. Two test examples are given to show the performance of the methods and to illustrate various theoretical points

Flexible non-parametric tests of sample exchangeability and feature independence

In scientific studies involving analyses of multivariate data, two questions often arise for the researcher. First, is the sample exchangeable, meaning that the joint distribution of the sample is invariant to the ordering of the units? Second, are the features independent of one another, or can the features be grouped so that the groups are mutually independent? We propose a non-parametric approach that addresses these two questions. Our approach is conceptually simple, yet fast and flexible. It controls the Type I error across realistic scenarios, and handles data of arbitrary dimensions by leveraging large-sample asymptotics. In the exchangeability detection setting, through extensive simulations and a comparison against unsupervised tests of stratification based on random matrix theory, we find that our approach compares favorably in various scenarios of interest. We apply our method to problems in population and statistical genetics, including stratification detection and linkage disequilibrium splitting. We also consider other application domains, applying our approach to post-clustering single-cell chromatin accessibility data and World Values Survey data, where we show how users can partition features into independent groups, which helps generate new scientific hypotheses about the features.Comment: Main Text: 25 pages Supplementary Material: 39 page

Development of an Ultraflex-Based Thin Film Solar Array for Space Applications

As flexible thin film photovoltaic (FTFPV) cell technology is developed for space applications, integration into a viable solar array structure that optimizes the attributes of this cell technology is critical. An advanced version of ABLE'sS UltraFlex solar array platform represents a near-term, low-risk approach to demonstrating outstanding array performance with the implementation of FTFPV technology. Recent studies indicate that an advanced UltraFlex solar array populated with 15% efficient thin film cells can achieve over 200 W/kg EOL. An overview on the status of hardware development and the future potential of this technology is presented

Think Like a Scientist and Engineer: Schools, University, and Community Partnerships Using an Aquaponics Project During COVID-19

One way to expand the time spent teaching science in elementary grades and teacher access to science resources is through partnerships with local universities. This article examines one collaboration that aimed to help students “Think Like a Scientist and an Engineer” using aquaponics. This self-sustainable garden combines aquaculture (fish farming) and hydroponics (growing plants in water). The Biological Sciences Curriculum Study (BSCS) 5E Instructional Model was used to introduce the aquaponics project. This article first discusses the University-School partnership, highlighting the project logistics, successes, challenges, and lessons learned, and follows up with recommendations for future STEM teaching projects

Problematizing profit and profitability:Discussions

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to report the outcome of an interdisciplinary discussion, in this AAAJ special issue, on the concepts of profit and profitability and various ways in which we could potentially problematise these concepts. It is our hope that a much greater attention or reconsideration of the problematisation of profit and related accounting numbers will be fostered in part by the exchanges we include here.Design/methodology/approach: This paper adopts an interdisciplinary discussion approach. It also brings into conversation ideas and views of several scholars on problematising profit and profitability in various contexts and explores potential implications of such problematisation.Findings: An interdisciplinary approach to problematising profit and profitability has a lot to offer. While profit and profitability are stigmas that corporations need to address, they tend to make invisible the collective endeavour of people who work hard (mostly in backstage) to achieve a desired profit level for a division and/or an organisation. Profit tends to preclude the social process of debating about the potential contradictions of ends and indeed the means of collective activity. An inherent message that we can decipher from the contributions to this discussion is the increasing need to worry about how managers are socialised to think that critical theory and interpretive research have no lessons for them. It is the failure of positivist researchers and practitioners to learn from the lessons that are offered by critical research in contrast to the suffocating influence of neo-liberal economic ideas. The impact of a fixation with markets and associated neo-liberal ideas that has led to a situation where organisations are strongly distrusted and in instances reviled in their attempts to make profits, at times illicitly.Originality/value: In setting out a future research agenda, our paper fosters theoretical and methodological pluralism focussing on problematising profit and profitability in various settings. The discussion perspectives offered in this paper provides not only a basis for further research in this essential area of discourse and regulation on the role and status of profit and profitability, but also provides emancipatory potential for practitioners (to be reflective of their practices and the undesirable consequences of such practices) whose overarching focus is on these socially constructed accounting numbers.Impact: Problematising opens-up the potential for interesting and significant theoretical insights. A much greater pragmatic and theoretical reconsideration of profit and profitability will be fostered by the exchanges we include here.</div

Task force on immigration and higher education in Central Massachusetts

In August 2007, the Colleges of Worcester Consortium, Inc. created a task force to examine the issue of immigration and higher education in Central Massachusetts. It has become increasingly clear from recent demographic and economic studies and projections that the population in the northeast, and certainly in Central Massachusetts, is showing minimal growth. There is evidence that a decline in the “native-born” population is caused by significant out-migration due to a number of factors, including the high cost of living, limited career opportunities and a declining birth rate. The limited population growth that is evident is due primarily to the recent influx of immigrants to this area, with the most significant numbers in Worcester coming from Ghana, Brazil, the Dominican Republic, Kenya, El Salvador, Albania and Liberia. It is also clear that the area’s economy is becoming more knowledge-based with an increasing percentage of all new jobs requiring some form of postsecondary education. According to the 2007 Massachusetts Department of Workforce Development’s Job Vacancy Survey, 38 percent of current job vacancies in Massachusetts require an associate’s degree or higher. This represents an increase from 30 percent in 2003. Consequently, the level of education that the immigrant population attains is of vital importance to everyone—not only to immigrant students and their families but also to the economic well-being of the entire region. The Task Force was charged with researching the barriers to higher education faced by this new wave of immigrants and suggesting recommendations to address those barriers. The 36-member Task Force was made up of representatives from Consortium member institutions; federal, state and local governments; community and faithbased organizations; the Worcester Public Schools; the Massachusetts Board of Higher Education; and the Massachusetts Immigrant and Refugee Advocacy (MIRA) Coalition. Meetings were held over six months, during which the Task Force identified three main barriers faced by immigrant communities in accessing higher education, and sub-committees were created to work on each of these. Speakers were invited to present on topics of interest. Two public hearings were held, the first of which was conducted at Worcester State College in October. It attracted community representatives, as well as college and high school faculty and administrators. The second hearing, held at the downtown branch of Quinsigamond Community College (QCC) in December, was attended by immigrants (English for Speakers of Other Languages – ESOL and GED) students as well as QCC staff.Published versio