CONFOUNDING CONSTITUENTS IN REMOTE SENSING OF PHYCOCYANIN

Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI)This project examines the impact of confounding variables that have limited the accuracy of remotely predicting phycocyanin in three Indiana drinking and recreational water reservoirs. In-situ field reflectance spectra were collected from June to November 2006 over a wide range of algal bloom conditions using an ASD Fieldspec (UV/VNIR) spectroradiometer. Groundtruth samples were analyzed for chlorophyll a, phycocyanin, total suspended matter, and other water quality constituents. Previously published spectral algorithms for the detection of phycocyanin were evaluated against lab measured pigment concentrations using linear least squares regression. Algorithm performance varied across study sites (best performing models by reservoir resulted in r2 values of 0.32 to 0.84). Residuals of predicted versus measured pigment concentrations were analyzed against concentration of potential confounding water constituents. Residual analysis revealed optically active constituents contributed between 25% and 95% of original phycocyanin model errors. Inclusion of spectral variables into models to account for significant confounders resulted in improved spectral estimates of phycocyanin (r2 = 0.56 to 0.93)

Engaging students on their devices with Mentimeter

This technology review shares an interesting insight into snapshot cases of the online student voting tool Mentimeter (MM) used with students in the Teacher Education Department. The use of MM in both lectures and seminars is presented along with three illustrative screenshots. Advantages and disadvantages of MM are discussed, with reference to recent literature about student engagement. The authors ideas for future plans with the tool are shared, with the hope of inspiring other HE colleagues to trial or further integrate MM into lectures and seminars, in order to promote student engagement and enhance the teaching and learning experience for all.Key words: Mentimeter, mobile devices, Student Response Systems, voting too

Sexually transmitted infections in pregnancy: a narrative review of the global research gaps, challenges, and opportunities

Background Sexually transmitted infections (STI), such as chlamydial, gonorrheal, and trichomonal infection, are prevalent in pregnant women in many countries and are widely reported to be associated with increased risk of poor maternal and neonatal outcomes. Syndromic STI management is frequently used in pregnant women in low- and middle-income countries, yet its low specificity and sensitivity lead to both over- and undertreatment. Etiologic screening for chlamydial, gonorrheal, and/or trichomonal infection in all pregnant women combined with targeted treatment might be an effective intervention. However, the evidence base is insufficient to support development of global recommendations. We aimed to describe key considerations and knowledge gaps regarding chlamydial, gonorrheal, and trichomonal screening during pregnancy to inform future research needed for developing guidelines for low- and middle-income countries. Methods We conducted a narrative review based on PubMed and clinical trials registry searches through January 20, 2020, guidelines review, and expert opinion. We summarized our findings using the frameworks adopted by the World Health Organization for guideline development. Results Adverse maternal-child health outcomes of potential interest are wide-ranging and variably defined. No completed randomized controlled trials on etiologic screening and targeted treatment were identified. Evidence from observational studies was limited and trials of presumptive STI treatment have shown mixed results. Subgroups that might benefit from specific recommendations were identified. Evidence on harms was limited. Cost-effectiveness was influenced by STI prevalence and availability of testing infrastructure and high-accuracy/low-cost tests. Preliminary data suggested high patient acceptability. Discussion Preliminary data on harms, acceptability, and feasibility and the availability of emerging test technologies suggest that etiologic STI screening deserves further evaluation as a potential tool to improve maternal and neonatal health outcomes worldwide

Women and the ascetic ideal in Jainism

grantor: University of TorontoThis is a study of Jain ethics based on 13 months of fieldwork in the town of Ladnun, Rajasthan, India. The research was conducted among a community of Terapanthi Svetambar Jains and explores the many facets of what constitutes a moral life within the Terapanthi ascetic community. Jainism's core values are ascetic. Its ethical ideals revolve around non-violence, non-possession and non-attachment. These ideals are embodied in the ascetics who, by renouncing the world to dedicate their lives to spiritual pursuits, serve as the community's cultural heroes. The central distinctions--common to all Jain communities--between ascetic and household life, between the 'spiritual' and 'worldly' and between non-violence and violence, are more sharply delineated among the Terapanthi than among any other Jain community. Their notions of what constitutes a moral life are narrowly circumscribed to include only that of complete detachment and non-violence, in other words, a life of renunciation. The ontological separation between the spiritual and the worldly is at the centre of the Terapanthi worldview. The research explores how Terapanthi religious ideals related to the lives of the ascetics who profess them. It focuses on the Terapanthi moral universe from the perspective of female renouncers. In Indian ascetic traditions, women are perceived as ambivalent symbols--both as symbols of detachment and attachment, of renunciation and worldliness. The research explores how Terapanthi Jain women create their own ascetic subjectivities, and how they construct and understand themselves as symbols of renunciation.Ph.D

Ottawa Journal of Religion // La Revue des sciences des religions d’Ottawa

2010 Full issue. Volume complète de 201

Ottawa Journal of Religion // La Revue des sciences des religions d’Ottawa

2009 Full issue. Volume complète de 200

An analysis of the implications of diversity for students' first level accounting performance

The present study investigates the impact of student diversity on performance of first-year undergraduate accounting students. The paper is motivated by (i) increasing diversity amongst the accounting student cohort because of the trend to internationalise education services in industrialised countries; and (ii) inconsistent and inconclusive prior evidence on the determinants of accounting student performance. The major contribution of the present paper is to provide a theoretical framework from the published educational literature that can explain much of the variation in the findings of prior studies. We employ this framework to develop and test several propositions in relation to students' prior content and metacognitive knowledge. The results indicate students studying on-campus significantly outperform students studying by distance education. On average, international students studying on-campus perform better than domestic students (studying either on- or off-campus), with international students studying off-campus performing worst of all. Prior high school accounting, tertiary entrance score and motivation (reflected by both major of study and tutorial attendance) also influence student performance