Schizophrenia trials in China: a survey

OBJECTIVE: China's biomedical research activity is increasing and this literature is becoming more accessible online. Our aim was to survey all randomized control schizophrenia trials (RCTs) in one Chinese bibliographic database. METHOD: Chinese Academic Journals was electronically searched for RCTs and all relevant citations were also sought on PubMed to ascertain global accessibility. RESULTS: The search identified 3275 records, of which 982 were RCTs relevant to schizophrenia. A total of 71% (699) could be found by using English phrases. All the main body of text of the 982 papers was in Mandarin. On average, these trials involved about 100 people, with interventions and outcome measures familiar to schizophrenia trialists worldwide. Four of the 982 records (<1%) were identified on PubMed. CONCLUSION: Those undertaking systematic reviews should search the Chinese literature for relevant material. Failing to do this will leave the results of systematic reviews prone to random error or bias, or both

G(2) quivers

We present, in explicit matrix representation and a modernity befitting the community, the classification of the finite discrete subgroups of G2 and compute the McKay quivers arising therefrom. Of physical interest are the classes of Script N = 1 gauge theories descending from M-theory and of mathematical interest are possible steps toward a systematic study of crepant resolutions to smooth G2 manifolds as well as generalised McKay Correspondences. This writing is a companion monograph to hep-th/9811183 and hep-th/9905212, wherein the analogues for Calabi-Yau three- and four-folds were considered

Chu

My composition Chu is based on a historical Chinese story of Xiang Yu, which happened during the end of Qin Dynasty over 2000 years ago. It is a three-movement work with dance based on the story. Each movement bears a different title. The first movement is Deadly Folk Song; the second is Until death, faith; the third is Sacrifice beside Wu River. The essential purpose of this composition is to fashion a coherent musical depiction of these events by creating the dramatic atmosphere of the story through orchestration and texture, simulating Chinese national instrumental sounds, and imitating the rhythm of Beijing opera. Historically, there were many versions of the Chu story presented in various art forms. In my work, I sought to make a new version for this story using contemporary composing techniques. This composition shows not only my view and emotion about this story, but also my personal narrative method of my composition. These methods contain different kinds of implications that lead the audience following the storyline. This paper describes the relationship between ancient music, art, and opera, and presents my interpretation of the Chu story. Furthermore, the performing techniques of Chinese national instruments are illustrated to compare these sounds and the sounds of my own work. After completing the composition of these three movements, I realized that it broke the rules of the ancient Chinese music. But at the same time, it kept the charm of the ancient Chinese forms of expression. My goal is to guide the audiences to imagine the Chu story acoustically. This work reveals my long-term interest about how to embed ancient Chinese music elements in contemporary music; in other words, how to make a contemporary Chinese music. After finishing composing such a story, I want to refine my exploration of Chinese musical contexts, abstract these Chinese themes and fuse them into spectral music

OPTICAL SURFACE CHARACTERIZATION WITH THE STRUCTURE FUNCTION

It is important to characterize surface and transmitted wavefront errors in terms of the spatial content. The errors are typically analyzed in three spatial domains: figure, ripple (or mid-spatial frequency) and roughness. These errors can affect optical system performance. For example, mid-spatial frequency errors can lead to self-focusing and power loss in a high-power laser system. Currently, power spectral density (PSD) is used for the spatial content characterization in high-end optics, although there are potential pitfalls. For example, the low spatial content is removed before calculation, only a small fraction of surface data are used, and the results are sensitive to details like the windowing. As an alternative, the structure function (SF) does not have such problems. It is the expectation of the squared height difference as a function of separation. The linear SF has been used in astronomy and captures data of all spatial frequencies. However, it does not capture anisotropy on the surface. The two-quadrant area SF introduced in this dissertation obviates this problem. It is computationally correct for any arbitrary aperture over all spatial content with anisotropic information. This dissertation discusses some computational issues of the SF, which includes the calculation of the linear / area SF, sliding sampling method for large numbers of points within the aperture, analysis of periodic errors, and connection between the linear SF and area SF. Moreover, the relationships between the SF and other surface characterization echniques (Zernike polynomials, autocorrelation function (ACF), PSD, and RMS gradient) have been investigated. It turns out that the linear SF of the sum of the Zernike terms only equals to the sum of the linear SF of each of the Zernike polynomials with different azimuthal frequencies. However, this theorem does not apply to the area SF. For stationary surfaces, the SF contains similar information as ACF, but it provides better visualization. The SF is computationally correct for any arbitrary aperture shape without extra processing, while the PSD always needs additional mathematical processing. After connecting the SF to the RMS gradient, the SF slope at the origin has been evaluated. Use of a SF to specify optical surfaces over the full range of spatial frequencies of interest implies the combination of data from instruments with substantially different lateral resolutions. This research shows the combination of data from a Fizeau and a coherence scanning interferometer (CSI) for various precision surfaces. The investigation includes the connection method of the coordinate systems between the Fizeau data and the CSI sub-aperture data, the convergence of the averaged SF of sub-aperture samples, the uncertainty analysis, and the effect of the instrument transfer function (ITF). In addition, the SF was used to explore two typical noise contributions (electronic noise and air turbulence) in phase shifting interferometry. Based on dynamic measurements, the SF was used to analyze the spatial components of a diamond turned surface after the compensation machining. In summary, the SF is a useful tool to specify and characterize the spatial content of optical surfaces and wavefronts

The application of the ABC's model in ESL teacher education : patterns and effects

"In order to increase English-as-a-Second-Language (ESL) teachers' cultural diversity awareness, this study applied Schmidt's ABC's (Autobiography, Biography, and Cross-cultural Comparison) Model to an ESL teacher education course and described the patterns and effects of the adaptation. The Multicultural Attitude Survey and the Cultural Diversity Awareness Inventory were conducted in a pre/post manner with 17 participants. The results showed a significant difference (p&lt;.01) between teachers' pre and post scores, indicating higher levels of cultural diversity awareness and perceptions of better preparedness for multicultural classrooms among the participants after conducting the ABC's project. Qualitative analysis was then conducted to illustrate the development of cultural diversity awareness of eight individual teachers with different cross-cultural and teaching experiences. Group comparisons were provided to capture the impact of teachers' cross-cultural and teaching experiences on their development. Hones' (1999) model of teachers' cultural roles was applied in the analysis of this study. The results of the study indicated that teachers' cross-cultural experiences and their teaching experiences strongly impact their development of cultural diversity awareness in conducting the ABC's project. It was confirmed that the adaptation of the ABC's model facilitated the development of ESL teachers' cultural roles. Hones' model was also modified and expanded based on the empirical data."--Abstract from author supplied metadata

Supersymmetric Contributions to Bs->K+K-

Inspired by the existing calculation of B->piK decays in supersymmetry (SUSY), we evaluate the dominant SUSY contributions to Bs->K+K-. We show that the observables of this process can be significantly modified in the presence of SUSY. In particular, the branching ratio can be increased considerably compared to the prediction of the standard model (SM). The effect is even more dramatic for the CP-violating asymmetries A_dir and A_mix. These asymmetries, expected to be small in the SM (A_dir is predicted to take only positive values), change drastically with SUSY contributions. The measurement of these observables can therefore be used to detect the presence of physics beyond the SM, and put constraints on its parameters.Comment: 17 pages, 2 figures. This new version contains one added reference and some minor style change

Investigating the Content and Sources of Teacher Candidates’ Personal Practical Theories (PPTS)

Research on teachers’ (personal) theories and beliefs and their (practical) knowledge derived from experience, whether held implicitly or stated explicitly as their personal practical theories (PPTs), indicates that such beliefs can influence teachers’ classroom practices and, therefore, the opportunities that their students have for learning. This study uses a content analysis of 472 self-reported PPTs collected from 94 prospective teachers to develop a model of categories of beliefs, and describes the relationship between the content and sources of teacher candidates’ beliefs, expressed as PPTs. The purpose of this study is to help teacher educators better understand beliefs that teacher candidates bring to their teacher education program as we try to influence their knowledge and practices

Investigating the Content and Sources of Teacher Candidates’ Personal Practical Theories (PPTS)

Research on teachers’ (personal) theories and beliefs and their (practical) knowledge derived from experience, whether held implicitly or stated explicitly as their personal practical theories (PPTs), indicates that such beliefs can influence teachers’ classroom practices and, therefore, the opportunities that their students have for learning. This study uses a content analysis of 472 self-reported PPTs collected from 94 prospective teachers to develop a model of categories of beliefs, and describes the relationship between the content and sources of teacher candidates’ beliefs, expressed as PPTs. The purpose of this study is to help teacher educators better understand beliefs that teacher candidates bring to their teacher education program as we try to influence their knowledge and practices

Match or Mismatch? How congruent are the beliefs of teacher candidates, cooperating teachers, and university-based teacher educators?

As is recognized by many teacher educators, teacher candidates enter their teacher preparation programs with individual attitudes, views, beliefs, or personal theories of teaching (Lortie, 1975; Pajares, 1992; Richardson, 1996, 2003). These views may or may not change, develop, or consolidate as a result of coursework and field experiences throughout the teacher preparation program. Nevertheless, in order to guide, assist, and encourage teacher candidates in their professional development, and prepare them to make decisions based on well-articulated visions of practice formed from moral considerations of justice, responsibility, and virtue (Shulman, 1998), we believe it is important for university-based teacher educators to be aware of their teacher candidates' beliefs, and the cooperating teachers' beliefs, and to compare these beliefs to their own beliefs

The ABCs for pre-service teacher cultural competency development

In an effort to combine pre-service teachers' self-reflection with their field experiences to enhance their cultural competency, this study adopted Schmidt's ABC's (Autobiography, Biography, and Cross-cultural Comparison) Model in two courses in a pre-service teacher education program. Through group comparisons, this study measured the impact that self-reflection combining autobiography, field experiences involving the writing of student biographies, and field-based reflection focused on conducting cross-cultural comparisons had on the development of pre-service teachers' cultural competency. The results of the study illustrated the discomforts pre-service teachers experience in working with diverse student populations and documented the impact of the ABC's model on participants' cultural awareness development