Summary of the Structure Functions and Low-x working group

We report a summary of the structure function working group which covers a wide range of the recent results from HERA, Tevatron, RHIC, and JLab experiments, and many theoretical issues from low x to high x.Comment: 20 pages, presented at 13th International Workshop on Deep Inelastic Scattering (DIS 05), Madison, Wisconsin, 27 Apr - 1 May 200

Up Sector of Minimal Flavor Violation: Top Quark Properties and Direct D meson CP violation

Minimal Flavor Violation in the up-type quark sector leads to particularly interesting phenomenology due to the interplay of flavor physics in the charm sector and collider physics from flavor changing processes in the top sector. We study the most general operators that can affect top quark properties and $D$ meson decays in this scenario, concentrating on two CP violating operators for detailed studies. The consequences of these effective operators on charm and top flavor changing processes are generically small, but can be enhanced if there exists a light flavor mediator that is a Standard Model gauge singlet scalar and transforms under the flavor symmetry group. This flavor mediator can satisfy the current experimental bounds with a mass as low as tens of GeV and explain observed $D$-meson direct CP violation. Additionally, the model predicts a non-trivial branching fraction for a top quark decay that would mimic a dijet resonance.Comment: 27 pages, 7 figure

Improving EFL Students’ Critical Thinking Skills through Organization Development Intervention Strategies at Zhejiang Yuexiu University in China

Critical thinking (CT) has become a key teaching goal in higher education, many language instructors consider it very significant to integrate CT into instruction of English as a Foreign Language (EFL) courses. A quasi-experimental design was utilized in this study to determine the effectiveness of Organization Development Intervention(ODI) in developing second-year EFL students’ CT skills in a private university in China. 71 participants were divided into an experimental group and control group. The experimental group (n=36) received collaborative learning plus team-building interventions, while the control group (n=35) received regular English instruction with exercises that did not build CT. After the semester-long interventions, mixed results demonstrated that the experimental group got significantly higher CT performance and collaboration among team members than the control group. The findings indicate that collaborative learning is beneficial to developing students’ CT skills, but instructors should use some techniques to foster team members’ collaboration skills. This study recommends that instructors bring ODI strategies such as team building and conflict management to support collaborative learning in the education realm. Lastly, EFL instructors must add CT elements to teaching curriculum activities that encourage student teams to practice critical thinking

Functionality and design influence on fitness fashion

The growing debate between design and functionality dominates within the sportswear industry. Consumers purchase sportswear indirectly due to personal and social intrinsic attributes. Sportswear should be functional, comfortable and safe, developed in line with the performance needs of a person. Hence this study aims to explore the intrinsic factors of consumers purchase intention towards fitness fashion. The conceptual model which is an integration of Social Cognition and Enclothed Cognition theories was analysed using double mediation and reveals that personal and social factors affect perceived importance on functionality and design. While most research claims extrinsic values as main factors of purchase, other perceptions of consumers could come into play which would be beneficial for sportswear brands to identify with and leverage on. The results of this research can assist companies to gain prominence, leveraging on the growing popularity of active lifestyles by designing clothing that match those perceptions

Neural stem cells and the regulation of adult neurogenesis

Presumably, the 'hard-wired' neuronal circuitry of the adult brain dissuades addition of new neurons, which could potentially disrupt existing circuits. This is borne out by the fact that, in general, new neurons are not produced in the mature brain. However, recent studies have established that the adult brain does maintain discrete regions of neurogenesis from which new neurons migrate and become incorporated into the functional circuitry of the brain. These neurogenic zones appear to be vestiges of the original developmental program that initiates brain formation. The largest of these germinal regions in the adult brain is the subventricular zone (SVZ), which lines the lateral walls of the lateral ventricles. Neural stem cells produce neuroblasts that migrate from the SVZ along a discrete pathway, the rostral migratory stream, into the olfactory bulb where they form mature neurons involved in the sense of smell. The subgranular layer (SGL) of the hippocampal dentate gyrus is another neurogenic region; new SGL neurons migrate only a short distance and differentiate into hippocampal granule cells. Here, we discuss the surprising finding of neural stem cells in the adult brain and the molecular mechanisms that regulate adult neurogenesis

Stock Assessment of Ballot's saucer scallop (Ylistrum balloti) in Queensland

This assessment estimates the status of saucer scallops in the main fishing grounds of the Queensland Southern Inshore fishery. The stock assessment data inputs included total harvests, standardised catch rates and fishery independent density estimates.   Analyses suggested that spawning biomass in 2019 fell to around 17 per cent of the unfished level. The report presents recommendations on fishing effort levels to begin rebuilding the stock to levels consistent with 40 per cent of unfished biomass

EXOGEN Ultrasound Bone Healing System for Long Bone Fractures with Non-Union or Delayed Healing: A NICE Medical Technology Guidance

A routine part of the process for developing National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) medical technologies guidance is a submission of clinical and economic evidence by the technology manufacturer. The Birmingham and Brunel Consortium External Assessment Centre (EAC; a consortium of the University of Birmingham and Brunel University) independently appraised the submission on the EXOGEN bone healing system for long bone fractures with non-union or delayed healing. This article is an overview of the original evidence submitted, the EAC’s findings, and the final NICE guidance issued

Services and Staffing Practices within Academic Libraries Serving College of Osteopathic Medicine Programs: A Mixed Methods Study

This study provides a systematic comparison of services and staffing within academic health sciences libraries serving College of Osteopathic Medicine programs in the U.S. Library directors, not only those affiliated with new medical schools, but also with long- standing, and more traditional schools, can use this data to make a case for new resources, services, or staffing. In addition, medical school administrators may find opportunities in this study’s results for more productive collaborations with the library, in areas such as curriculum-integrated instruction, research development, and scholarly publishing. Finally, leaders within developing medical schools will become better informed about current library services being provided, and staffing trends, in order to plan for an appropriate budget and staffing for their future health sciences libraries