1,694 research outputs found

    Virtual geological outcrops - fieldwork and analysis made less exhaustive?

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    For geologists studying outcrops in the field, there is an ever‐increasing need for the acquisition of accurate and comprehensive data, whatever their purpose. Fortunately, this need is mirrored by an expanding range of digital data capturing technologies that provide the possibility of examining geological outcrops in minute detail from the desktop. Although difficult technologically, there is also a need to combine differing datasets into a single, accurate, digital model that will allow field geologists to place their data in a wider context. This paper examines the techniques available, and highlights new Light Detection and Ranging (LIDAR) technology which should prove to be a unifying technique, being able to combine images and local coordinates on‐site

    The Learning Experiences of Nontraditional Students Enrolled in Organizational Management and Business Administration Cohort- and Study-group Programs

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    The primary purpose of the study was to examine the learning experiences of nontraditional students enrolled in organizational management and business administration cohort- and study-group programs at four, small, private, church-related, arts-based colleges in Virginia, Tennessee, and Georgia. The objective of the study was to examine how cohorts and study groups were implemented at four colleges. In addition, the study explored ways that cohorts and study groups contributed to students\u27 satisfaction and academic performance levels, interpersonal relations, and leadership skills. Three hundred forty-five informants and respondents participated in this study. The subjects included 286 students enrolled in organizational management and business administration programs at four small, private, church-related, arts-based colleges (referred to as A, B, C, and D) that were located in southeastern United States. Using a qualitative research design, the researcher also gathered information by interviewing one pilot focus group, consisting of 5 participants, and four official focus groups, consisting of 25 participants. Through the use of content analysis, information was codified into a questionnaire used to explore students\u27 perceptions of cohorts and study groups. Student questionnaires were hand delivered; thus, 286 students responded, and an 88% return rate resulted. Additionally, information about the effectiveness of cohorts and study groups and structural design and variables of cohorts and study groups was collected through four individual student interviews, In addition, 25 surveys were sent to instructors, and 17 (68%) responded. Four program directors and four employers of students responded to questionnaires, for a return rate of 100%. Based on students\u27 responses, this study reveals that cohorts and study groups increase satisfaction, raise academic performance levels, strengthen interpersonal relations, and enhance leadership skills. Data collected from program directors, instructors, and employers supported the results of the student self-reports. Recommendations were made for a refinement of the instrument, which would request additional quantitative data, and replication of the study at other colleges nationwide. Further recommendations included a more thorough study of employers\u27 attitudes, a comparison of mandatory and voluntary study groups, an investigation of cohort-student dropouts, the benefits of mentoring, the effectiveness of class representatives, use of personality tests to determine study-group membership, and attitudes of college administrators and their support offices and boards toward nontraditional programs

    Exploring the potential challenges and benefits of multi-media self-advocacy tools for young people aged 16 -25 with cerebral palsy.

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    This action research study aimed to improve practice by identifying the barriers of using multimedia self-advocacy tools with young people with Cerebral Palsy, and developing strategies to overcome these challenges. A literature review highlighted the limited evidence in the area of self-advocacy for young people with Cerebral Palsy, as well as demonstrating the benefits of emancipatory qualitative methodologies. The planning of the research was person-centred, and carried out with immense thought towards the Children and Families Act (2014), and other relevant codes of practice. Three young people with Cerebral Palsy were recruited in a special educational setting. The action research cycle, in conjunction with a measurement of active participation known as the ladder of participation, were utilised to provide a framework for a collaborative working partnership between researcher, facilitator and participant. Thematic analysis was employed to treat the subsequent data. The results demonstrate that multimedia self-advocacy tools can be beneficial for young people with Cerebral Palsy, and establishes adaptations that successfully increased participation. These findings have the potential to inform the researcher’s own professional practice and that of the wider EP community; the strategies implemented by institutions; and policy, including legislation, at a national level

    The influence of time of storage on performance of the insect parasitic nematode, Heterorhabditis sp

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    Summary -The inf1uence of the time of storage on efficacy, persistence and migration rate of the insect parasitic nematode HelerorhabdiLis sp. was investigated. Various batches of the Dutch isolates HFr86 and HL81 stored for different periods (4 to 340 days) at 4-5 oC were compared. Efficacy of HFr86 against the black vine weevil, Oliorhynchus su/calUs, ranged from 15 to 93 % effect, the difference in persistence in potting soil ran up to five weeks, migration rate in 9 cm sand columns ranged from 1 to 3 cm in 4 h in the absence of a host and from 1 to 7 cm in the presence of Galleria mel/onella. An increase of the time of storage caused a decrease of" quality " of the nematodes with respect to persistence and efficacy against black vine weevil. Migration rate in sand columns ref1ected efficacy on the nematodes for control of the weevil and might be suitable as a sensitive laboratory assay of nematode " quality ", at least for Dutch heterorhabditids. Résumé -Influence de la durée de conservation sur les performances du nématode entomoparasite Heterorhabditis sp. -L'inf1uence de la durée de conservation sur l'efficacité, la persistance et le taux de migration du nématode entomoparasite Helerorhabditis sp. a été étudiée. Plusieurs lots des isolats hollandais HFr86 et HL81 conservés pendant des périodes variables -de 4 à 340 jours -à 4-5 oC sont comparés. L'efficacité de l'isolat HFr86 contre l'otiorrhynque, Oliorhynchus SU/calUs, varie de 15 à 93 %; la différence en ce qui concerne la persistance dans du terreau croît jusqu'à cinq semaines; la distance de migration dans des colonnes de sable de 9 cm varie de 1 cm à 3 cm en quatre heures en l'absence d'hôte et de 1 à 7 cm en présence de Galleria mellonella. Un allongement de la période de conservation a pour résultat une diminution de la « qualité» des nématodes en ce qui concerne la persistance et l'efficacité contre l'otiorhynque. Le taux de migration dans les colonnes de sable démontre l'efficacité des nématodes dans la lutte contre !'otiorhynque et pourrait convenir pour une analyse fine de laboratoire en vue de déterminer la « qualité» du nématode, du moins pour les Heterorhabditis hollandais

    Countertransference and the Patient\u27s Experience: Exploring How Engagement with Affect is Related to Short-Term Psychotherapy Outcomes

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    Background: Therapist focus on affect in the here-and-now can facilitate a patient’s emotional experience as well as expression of affect, both of which are associated with better outcome over the course of treatment (Diener et al., 2007). A therapist’s use of her own experience of the patient can serve as a signal to intervene in the here-and-now. While “countertransference” was historically seen as an obstacle to a therapist’s neutrality and therefore efficacy (Freud, 1910), shifts in the field toward a two-person psychology model led some to reconsider it as a potential source of clinical data (Winnicott, 1947; Heimann, 1950; Racker, 1957). Empirical studies have shown that therapist awareness of countertransference is critical in order to manage internal reactions and use it as a clinical tool, as well as prevent contributions to negative therapeutic processes by withdrawing or avoiding content (Hayes et al., 2018; Westerling et al., 2019; Fauth & Hayes, 2006). Experientially grounded reflection requires an individual to become aware of their internal reactions in a nonjudgmental fashion (Experiencing, Gendlin, 1969). Therapists with higher levels of Experiencing are more likely to 1) articulate and process aspects of their internal experience, and 2) repair more ruptures over the course of treatment as compared to therapists with lower levels of Experiencing (Boutwell et al., 2015; Safran et al., 2014; Kazariants, 2011). Objective: The present study aimed to better understand the relationships among therapist countertransference, therapist capacity for experientially grounded reflection, therapist engagement with patient affect, and patient change in short-term alliance focused psychotherapy. Method: Approved by the International Review Board at The City College of New York on August 6, 2019, the present study examined five short-term alliance focused psychotherapy treatments using both quantitative and qualitative assessment methods. Therapists completed quantitative self-report measures pertaining to countertransferential experiences. Patients completed quantitative self-report measures regarding level of emotional, psychological, and interpersonal functioning. Third-party observers coded two sources of clinical data: 1) video-recorded therapy sessions to assess for the therapist’s level of observable engagement with the patient’s emotional experience during sessions, and 2) audio-recorded and transcribed termination interviews with therapists to assess for the therapist’s capacity for experientially grounded reflection. An additional source of qualitative data included patient responses to treatment feedback questions at termination. Results: Five sets of key findings emerged. First, a positive association was found between a therapist’s capacity for experientially grounded reflection and that therapist’s engagement with patient affect. Second, countertransference is related to the frequency of therapist engagement with patient affect. While there are trends in how negative and positive types of countertransference might influence therapist behavior during sessions, results indicate that every therapist responds uniquely to countertransference in each unique dyadic relationship. Results suggest that countertransference is not inherently problematic, but a therapist’s lack of awareness of its occurrence can be. Third, therapist countertransference is sometimes associated with patient presentation, namely the severity of the patient’s symptomatology. Fourth, results suggest that patients achieve better outcomes in alliance-focused psychotherapy when working with therapists who: 1) more actively engage with their affect in the here-and-now across treatment, and 2) have a greater capacity for experiential reflection. The fifth finding points to the importance of supervision. Supervision can be helpful in promoting a therapist’s capacity for experientially grounded reflection and instrumental in the identification of negative countertransference. The present study found that supervision might contribute to the quality of therapist engagement with patient affect during subsequent sessions. Two unanticipated discoveries suggest the necessity for further investigation given that all patients in the sample attained clinically significant improvement. First, group-level data revealed a distinct trend in the frequency of therapist engagement with patient affect over the course of treatment. Second, four categories of therapist engagement of patient affect were revealed: 1) Use of Patient Experience, 2) Use of Therapist Experience, 3) Use of Observed Shift, and 4) Use of Therapeutic Process or Relationship. Conclusion: Findings have the potential to inform training and supervision of therapists providing short-term psychotherapy treatments. The incorporation of experientially based learning might help therapists to cultivate a capacity for self-reflection. This may facilitate a therapeutic stance characterized by curiosity, appreciation of the complexity of the patient’s emotional experience, and empathic engagement

    Geometric realizations of generalized algebraic curvature operators

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    We study the 8 natural GL equivariant geometric realization questions for the space of generalized algebraic curvature tensors. All but one of them is solvable; a non-zero projectively flat Ricci antisymmetric generalized algebraic curvature is not geometrically realizable by a projectively flat Ricci antisymmetric torsion free connection

    Heterorhabditis sp., during storage

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    Summary -Performance, defined as migration rates, efficacy and persistence of ten batches of the insect parasitic nematode, Heterorhabditis sp. HFr86, stored for different periods of time in a cold-room at 4-5 "C, was described by linear regression models. Input factors were : time of storage, percentage nematodes with ample food reserves, percentage ensheathment and percentage mortaliry. Migration rate in 9 cm high sand columns in the absence of insects and persistence in non-sterile potting soil was well described by these input factors (R: = 95 "10 and 91 % respectively). Efficacy against Otiorhynchus SU/caLUs in strawberries and migration rate in the presence of Gallerl:a mellonella, on the other hand, were not well described (R-' = 76~o and 68 "/u respectively). The time of storage was a dominating factor in all models. Percentage mortaliry of nematodes was the only factor that did not contribute to a better description of migration rates, efficacy or persistence. The equation for efficacy showed that the percentage effect will decrease by 10 % in the first 100 days of storage, followed by more than 30 0/0 in each subsequent period of 100 days. Efficacy and persistence could also be described in terms of migration rates (R.' = 77 o'u and 82 "" respectively). Résumé -Modèles de régression linéaire permettant de représenter les performances du nématode entomoparasite Heterorhabditis sp. pendant sa conservation -Les performances -exprimées par le taux de migration, l'efficacité et la persistance -de dix lots du nématode entomoparasite Helerorhabditis sp. HFr86 conservés pendant des périodes variables à 4-5 "C sont représentées par des modèles de régression linéaire. Les facteurs pris en compte sont: le temps de conservation, le pourcentage de nématodes avec réserves complètes, le pourcentage de nématodes conservant la cuticule du deuxième stade et le pourcentage de mortalité. La persistance dans du terreau non stérile et le taux de migration dans des colonnes de sable de 9 cm en l'absence d'insectes peuvent être convenablement représentés par les facteurs cités (R: = 95 % et 91 0/ 0, respectivement). L'efficacité contr

    Cost Effectiveness of Molecular Diagnostic Testing Algorithms for the Treatment Selection of Frontline Ibrutinib for Patients with Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia in Australia

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    BACKGROUND: Clinical indications for ibrutinib reimbursement in Australia should consider the inclusion of patients with chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) harboring prognostically unfavorable TP53/IGHV genomic aberrations. This study assessed the cost effectiveness of five first-line treatment strategies in CLL for young (aged ≤ 65 years), fit patients without significant comorbidities: (1) no testing (fludarabine, cyclophosphamide and rituximab [FCR] for all), (2) test for del(17p) only, (3) test for TP53 gene mutation status, (4) test for TP53 and IGHV gene mutation status and (5) no testing (ibrutinib for all).METHOD: A decision analytic model (decision tree and partitioned survival model) was developed from the Australian healthcare system perspective with a lifetime horizon. Comparative treatment effects were estimated from indirect treatment comparisons and survival analysis using several studies. Costs, utility and adverse events were derived from public literature sources. Deterministic and probabilistic sensitivity analyses explored the impact of modeling uncertainties on outcomes.RESULTS: Strategy 1 was associated with 5.69 quality-adjusted life-years (QALYs) and cost 458,836 Australian dollars (AUD). All other strategies had greater effectiveness but were more expensive than Strategy 1. At the willingness-to-pay (WTP) threshold of 100,000 AUD per QALY gained, Strategy 1 was most cost effective with an estimated probability of 68.8%. Strategy 4 was cost effective between thresholds 155,000-432,300 AUD per QALY gained, and Strategy 5 &gt;432,300 AUD per QALY gained.CONCLUSION: Population targeting using mutation testing for TP53 and IGHV when performed with del(17p) testing specifically in the context of frontline ibrutinib choice does not make a cost-ineffective treatment into a cost-effective treatment.</p
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