726 research outputs found
James Hutton’s geological tours of Scotland : romanticism, literary strategies, and the scientific quest
This article explores a somewhat neglected part of the story of the emergence of geology as a science and discourse in the late eighteenth century – James Hutton’s posthumously published accounts of the geological tours of Scotland that he undertook in the years 1785 to 1788 in search of empirical evidence in support of his theory of the Earth and that he intended to include in the projected third volume of his Theory of the Earth of 1795. The article brings some of the assumptions and techniques of literary criticism to bear on Hutton’s scientific travel writing in order to open up new connections between geology, Romantic aesthetics and eighteenth-century travel writing about Scotland. Close analysis of Hutton’s accounts of his field trips to Glen Tilt, Galloway and Arran, supplemented by later accounts of the discoveries at Jedburgh and Siccar Point, reveals the interplay between desire, travel and the scientific quest and foregrounds the textual strategies that Hutton uses to persuade his readers that they share in the experience of geological discovery and interpretation as ‘virtual witnesses’. As well as allowing us to revisit the interrelation between scientific theory and discovery, this article concludes that Hutton was a much better writer than he has been given credit for and suggests that if these geological tours had been published in 1795 they would have made it impossible for critics to dismiss him as an armchair geologist
Fermion sea along the sphaleron barrier
In this revised version we have improved the treatment of the top and bottom
quark mass. This leads to slight changes of the numerical results, especially
of those presented in Fig.4. The discussion of the numerical procedure and
accuracy has been extended.Comment: 39 pages (LaTex) plus 5 figures (uuencoded postscript files);
RUB-TPII-62/93, to appear in Phys.Rev.
A Review of Controlling Motivational Strategies from a Self-Determination Theory Perspective: Implications for Sports Coaches
The aim of this paper is to present a preliminary taxonomy of six controlling strategies, primarily based on the parental and educational literatures, which we believe are employed by coaches in sport contexts. Research in the sport and physical education literature has primarily focused on coaches’ autonomysupportive behaviours. Surprisingly, there has been very little research on the use of controlling strategies. A brief overview of the research which delineates each proposed strategy is presented, as are examples of the potential manifestation of the behaviours associated with each strategy in the context of sports coaching. In line with self-determination theory (Deci & Ryan, 1985; Ryan & Deci, 2002), we propose that coach behaviours employed to pressure or control athletes have the potential to thwart athletes’ feelings of autonomy, competence,and relatedness, which, in turn, undermine athletes’ self-determined motivation and contribute to the development of controlled motives. When athletes feel pressured to behave in a certain way, a variety of negative consequences are expected to ensue which are to the detriment of the athletes’ well-being. The purpose of this paper is to raise awareness and interest in the darker side of sport participation and to offer suggestions for future research in this area
Bats Use Magnetite to Detect the Earth's Magnetic Field
While the role of magnetic cues for compass orientation has been confirmed in numerous animals, the mechanism of detection is still debated. Two hypotheses have been proposed, one based on a light dependent mechanism, apparently used by birds and another based on a “compass organelle” containing the iron oxide particles magnetite (Fe3O4). Bats have recently been shown to use magnetic cues for compass orientation but the method by which they detect the Earth's magnetic field remains unknown. Here we use the classic “Kalmijn-Blakemore” pulse re-magnetization experiment, whereby the polarity of cellular magnetite is reversed. The results demonstrate that the big brown bat Eptesicus fuscus uses single domain magnetite to detect the Earths magnetic field and the response indicates a polarity based receptor. Polarity detection is a prerequisite for the use of magnetite as a compass and suggests that big brown bats use magnetite to detect the magnetic field as a compass. Our results indicate the possibility that sensory cells in bats contain freely rotating magnetite particles, which appears not to be the case in birds. It is crucial that the ultrastructure of the magnetite containing magnetoreceptors is described for our understanding of magnetoreception in animals
Systematic review of communication technologies to promote access and engagement of young people with diabetes into healthcare
Background: Research has investigated whether communication technologies (e.g. mobile telephony, forums,
email) can be used to transfer digital information between healthcare professionals and young people who live
with diabetes. The systematic review evaluates the effectiveness and impact of these technologies on
communication.
Methods: Nine electronic databases were searched. Technologies were described and a narrative synthesis of all
studies was undertaken.
Results: Of 20,925 publications identified, 19 met the inclusion criteria, with 18 technologies assessed. Five
categories of communication technologies were identified: video-and tele-conferencing (n = 2); mobile telephony
(n = 3); telephone support (n = 3); novel electronic communication devices for transferring clinical information (n =
10); and web-based discussion boards (n = 1). Ten studies showed a positive improvement in HbA1c following the
intervention with four studies reporting detrimental increases in HbA1c levels. In fifteen studies communication
technologies increased the frequency of contact between patient and healthcare professional. Findings were
inconsistent of an association between improvements in HbA1c and increased contact. Limited evidence was
available concerning behavioural and care coordination outcomes, although improvement in quality of life, patientcaregiver
interaction, self-care and metabolic transmission were reported for some communication technologies.
Conclusions: The breadth of study design and types of technologies reported make the magnitude of benefit and
their effects on health difficult to determine. While communication technologies may increase the frequency of
contact between patient and health care professional, it remains unclear whether this results in improved
outcomes and is often the basis of the intervention itself. Further research is needed to explore the effectiveness
and cost effectiveness of increasing the use of communication technologies between young people and
healthcare professionals
History of sentinel node and validation of the technique
Sentinel node biopsy is a minimally invasive technique to select patients with occult lymph node metastases who may benefit from further regional or systemic therapy. The sentinel node is the first lymph node reached by metastasising cells from a primary tumour. Attempts to remove this node with a procedure based on standard anatomical patterns did not become popular. The development of the dynamic technique of intraoperative lymphatic mapping in the 1990s resulted in general acceptance of the sentinel node concept. This hypothesis of sequential tumour dissemination seems to be valid according to numerous studies of sentinel node biopsy with confirmatory regional lymph node dissection. This report describes the history and the validation of the technique, with particular reference to breast cancer
Quantitative relationship between coronary artery calcium score and hyperemic myocardial blood flow as assessed by hybrid 15O-water PET/CT imaging in patients evaluated for coronary artery disease
Bayesian analysis of neutrinos observed from supernova SN 1987A
We present a Bayesian analysis of the energies and arrival times of the
neutrinos from supernova SN 1987A detected by the Kamiokande II, IMB, and
Baksan detectors, and find strong evidence for two components in the neutrino
signal: a long time scale component from thermal Kelvin-Helmholtz cooling of
the nascent neutron star, and a brief (~< 1 s), softer component similar to
that expected from emission by accreting material in the delayed supernova
scenario. In the context of this model, we show that the data constrain the
electron antineutrino rest mass to be less than 5.7 eV with 95% probability.
Our analysis takes advantage of significant advances that have occured in the
years since the detections in both our understanding of the supernova mechanism
and our ability to analyze sparse data. As a result there are substantial
differences between our inferences and those found in earlier studies. We find
that two-component models for the neutrino signal make the data >100 times more
probable than single-component models. In addition, the radius and binding
energy of the nascent neutron star implied by single-component models deviates
significantly from the values predicted by current neutron star models, whereas
those implied by models with an accretion component are in complete agreement
with the predictions. As a result, two-component models are hundreds to
thousands of times more probable than single-component models. The neutrino
data thus provide the first direct observational evidence in favor of the
delayed supernova scenario over the prompt scenario. (Abridged abstract)Comment: 46 pages, 12 figures, RevTeX; for submission to Physical Review
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