473 research outputs found
Education Through Athletics: An Examination of Academic Courses Designed for NCAA Athletes
Fundamental to the union of athletics and the academy is an underlying theoretical premise of education through athletics. Despite an organizational union of varsity athletics and American higher education, athletics is commonly viewed as extracurricular, tangential, or a detractor from the educational mission of the academy, and athletics-centric curricula have historically not been viewed as worthy of academic credit despite documented educational benefits. Through survey of a stratifiedrandom sample of National Collegiate Athletics Association (NCAA) Division I, II, and III athletic academic advisors (n = 240), this exploratory study examined the prevalence, design, and institutional perceptions of classes offered exclusively for varsity athletes. Results indicate roughly 1/3 of sample schools facilitate athletecentric academic opportunities, with the majority of courses being 1st semester transition, physical education, or leadership courses. Academic opportunities for athletes were greatest in western, public, and Division I institutions
A very luminous, highly extinguished, very fast nova - V1721 Aquilae
Fast novae are primarily located within the plane of the Galaxy, slow novae
are found within its bulge. Because of high interstellar extinction along the
line of sight many novae lying close to the plane are missed and only the
brightest seen. One nova lying very close to the Galactic plane is V1721
Aquilae, discovered in outburst on 2008 September 22. Spectra obtained 2.69
days after outburst revealed very high expansion velocities (FWHM ~6450 km/s).
In this paper we have used available pre- and post-outburst photometry and
post-outburst spectroscopy to conclude that the object is a very fast,
luminous, and highly extinguished A_V=11.6+/-0.2) nova system with an average
ejection velocity of ~3400 km/s. Pre-outburst near-IR colours from 2MASS
indicate that at quiescence the object is similar to many quiescent CNe and
appears to have a main sequence/sub-giant secondary rather than a giant. Based
on the speed of decline of the nova and its emission line profiles we
hypothesise that the axis ratio of the nova ejecta is ~1.4 and that its
inclination is such that the central binary accretion disc is face-on to the
observer. The accretion disc's blue contribution to the system's near-IR
quiescent colours may be significant. Simple models of the nova ejecta have
been constructed using the morphological modelling code XS5, and the results
support the above hypothesis. Spectral classification of this object has been
difficult owing to low S/N levels and high extinction, which has eliminated all
evidence of any He/N or FeII emission within the spectra. We suggest two
possibilities for the nature of V1721 Aql: that it is a U Sco type RN with a
sub-giant secondary or, less likely, that it is a highly energetic bright and
fast classical nova with a main sequence secondary. Future monitoring of the
object for possible RN episodes may be worthwhile, as would archival searches
for previous outbursts.Comment: 9 pages 10 figures, accepted for publication in A&A. Abstract has
been slightly shortened from published versio
Protocol for a pragmatic feasibility randomised controlled trial of peer coaching for adults with long-term conditions: PEER CONNECT.
INTRODUCTION: Patients with low levels of knowledge, skills and confidence to manage their health and well-being (activation) are more likely to have unmet health needs, delay seeking healthcare and need emergency care. National Health Service England estimates that this may be applicable to 25%-40% of patients with long-term health conditions. Volunteer peer coaching may support people to increase their level of activation. This form of intervention may be particularly effective for people with low levels of activation. METHODS AND ANALYSIS: This single site, two-arm randomised controlled trial has been designed to assess the feasibility of conducting a definitive trial of volunteer peer health and well-being coaching for people with long-term health conditions (multiple sclerosis, rheumatic diseases or chronic pain) and low activation. Feasibility outcomes include recruitment and retention rates, and intervention adherence. We will measure patient activation, mental health and well-being as potential outcomes for a definitive trial. These outcomes will be summarised descriptively for each time point by allocated group and help to inform sample size calculation for the definitive trial. Criteria for progression to a full trial will be used. ETHICS AND DISSEMINATION: Ethical approval has been granted by the London - Surrey Research Ethics Committee, reference 21/LO/0715. Results from this feasibility trial will be shared directly with participants, presented at local, regional and national conferences and published in an open-access journal. TRIAL REGISTRATION NUMBER: ISRCTN12623577
A Theoretical Approach for the Discrimination of Crack Tip and Small Defect Echoes
Due to diffraction of US by crack tips, a misinterpretation of C-Scans can be made by mistaking detection of a large misoriented crack for a small flaw. As the latter is often tolerable, the former jeopardizes the life of the piece. Fig. 1. shows C-Scans at various amplification levels. The two spots due to diffraction by the near and far tips of a crack can be interpreted as arising from two small defects, even at high amplification level (+18 dB) for which S/N ratio becomes unacceptable
IL12/23 blockade for refractory immune-mediated colitis: 2 center experience
BACKGROUND AND AIMS: Immune checkpoint inhibitor mediated colitis (IMC) is commonly managed with steroids and biologics. We evaluated the efficacy of ustekinumab (UST) in treating IMC refractory to steroids plus infliximab and/or vedolizumab. RESULTS: Nineteen patients were treated with UST for IMC refractory to steroids plus infliximab (57.9%) and/or vedolizumab (94.7%). Most had grade ≥3 diarrhea (84.2%) and colitis with ulceration was present in 42.1%. Thirteen patients (68.4%) attained clinical remission with UST and mean fecal calprotectin levels dropped significantly after treatment (629±101.5 mcg/mg to 92.0±21.7 mcg/mg, p=0.0004). CONCLUSIONS: UST is a promising therapy for treatment of refractory IMC
Long-term optical and X-ray observations of the old novae DI Lacertae and V841 Ophiuchi
We present an analysis of ground-based optical photometry and spectroscopy,
and Rossi X-ray Timing Explorer X-ray observations of the old novae DI Lacertae
and V841 Ophiuchi. Our optical photometry data (obtained with the automated
photometry telescope RoboScope) comprise an almost decade-long light curve for
each star, while the contemporaneous spectroscopy and X-ray observations
repeatedly sampled each nova during separate intervals of ~45-55 d in length.
The long-term optical light curves of both novae reveal quasiperiodic
variability on typical time scales of ~30-50 d with amplitudes of dV ~ 0.4-0.8
mag. V841 Oph also displays a long-term, sinusoidal modulation of its optical
light on a time scale of 3.5-5 yr. The optical spectra of these novae display
quite different characteristics from each other, with DI Lac showing narrow
Balmer emission cores situated in broad absorption troughs while V841 Oph
exhibits strong single-peaked Balmer, He I and He II emission lines. We find
little change between spectra obtained during different optical brightness
states. The X-ray count rates for both novae were very low (< ~1.5 ct/s) and
there was no reliable correlation between X-ray and optical brightness. The
combined X-ray spectrum of DI Lac is best fit by a bremsstrahlung emission
model (with kT ~ 4 keV and N_H < 1.8x10^22 cm^-3); the X-ray spectrum of V841
Oph is too weak to allow model fitting. We discuss the possible origin of
variability in these old novae in terms of magnetic activity on the secondary
star, dwarf nova type disk instabilities, and the ``hibernation'' scenario for
cataclysmic variable stars.Comment: 16 pages, 9 figures, 4 tables; accepted by PASP on 28 August 2000 for
the December 2000 issu
Infrared Properties of Cataclysmic Variables from 2MASS: Results from the 2nd Incremental Data Release
Because accretion-generated luminosity dominates the radiated energy of most
cataclysmic variables, they have been ``traditionally'' observed primarily at
short wavelengths. Infrared observations of cataclysmic variables contribute to
the understanding of key system components that are expected to radiate at
these wavelengths, such as the cool outer disk, accretion stream, and secondary
star. We have compiled the J, H, and Ks photometry of all cataclysmic variables
located in the sky coverage of the 2 Micron All Sky Survey (2MASS) 2nd
Incremental Data Release. This data comprises 251 systems with reliably
identified near-IR counterparts and S/N > 10 photometry in one or more of the
three near-IR bands.Comment: 2 pages, including 1 figure. To appear in the proceedings of The
Physics of Cataclysmic Variables and Related Objects, Goettingen, Germany.
For our followup ApJ paper (in press), also see
http://www.ctio.noao.edu/~hoard/research/2mass/index.htm
Elucidating pathways of Toxoplasma gondii invasion in the gastrointestinal tract: involvement of the tight junction protein occludin
Toxoplasma gondii is an obligate intracellular parasite infecting one third of the world’s population. The small intestine is the parasite’s primary route of infection, although the pathway of epithelium transmigration remains unclear. Using an in vitro invasion assay and live imaging we showed that T. gondii (RH) tachyzoites infect and transmigrate between adjacent intestinal epithelial cells in polarized monolayers without altering barrier integrity, despite eliciting the production of specific inflammatory mediators and chemokines. During invasion, T. gondii co-localized with occludin. Reducing the levels of endogenous cellular occludin with specific small interfering RNAs significantly reduced the ability of T. gondii to penetrate between and infect epithelial cells. Furthermore, an in vitro invasion and binding assays using recombinant occludin fragments established the capacity of the parasite to bind occludin and in particular to the extracellular loops of the protein. These findings provide evidence for occludin playing a role in the invasion of T. gondii in small intestinal epithelial cells
- …