6,905 research outputs found
Asymmetric Epoxidation: A Twinned Laboratory and Molecular Modeling Experiment for Upper-Level Organic Chemistry Students
The coupling of a student experiment
involving the preparation
and use of a catalyst for the asymmetric epoxidation of an alkene
with computational simulations of various properties of the resulting
epoxide is set out in the form of a software toolbox from which students
select appropriate components. At the core of these are the computational
spectroscopic tools, whereby a measured spectrum can be interpreted
in some detail using theoretical simulations. These include a range
of modern chiroptical methods to accompany the increased use of such
techniques in modern teaching laboratories. Computational experiments
are captured in a Wiki-based electronic laboratory notebook, which
features data-stamping, authenticated entries, and inclusion of semantically
intact data via interactive models rendered within the Wiki using
JSmol and its referencing via a digital object identifier (DOI) to
a digital data repository
Evaluation of the Good Life Festival : a model for co-produced dementia events
The article presents an evaluation of The Good Life Festival, a co-produced event between people living with dementia, Salford University Dementia Institute, Alzheimerâs Society, Salford and Salford Adventures. This was a new way of working but important because people living with dementia said they thought there should be an event organised âfor people with dementia by people with dementiaâ. A dementia friendly evaluation form was circulated asking: did you enjoy the event, did you learn something new, and do you feel more positive about living with dementia following the event. Thirty five of the eighty people who attended completed the evaluation form all of whom said they enjoyed it. 32 (91%) learned something new, and 27 (77%) left feeling more positive about living with dementia. Qualitative feedback is also included in this article including planning group reflections. Recommendations based on what we learned from planning and running the event are provided which includes having a media strategy in place and to send a follow up letter to remind people of information about resources/services advertised on the da
Negative time delay for wave reflection from a one-dimensional semi-harmonic well
It is reported that the phase time of particles which are reflected by a
one-dimensional semi-harmonic well includes a time delay term which is negative
for definite intervals of the incoming energy. In this interval, the absolute
value of the negative time delay becomes larger as the incident energy becomes
smaller. The model is a rectangular well with zero potential energy at its
right and a harmonic-like interaction at its left.Comment: 6 pages, 5 eps figures. Talk presented at the XXX Workshop on
Geometric Methods in Physics, Bialowieza, Poland, 201
Dietary modulation of cortical excitation and inhibition
The balance of excitatory and inhibitory neurotransmitters in the brain affects both neural responses and behaviour in humans and animals. Here we investigated whether dietary intervention aimed at increasing levels of the inhibitory neurotransmitter GABA can influence neural responses to basic sensory stimuli. Using a steady-state EEG paradigm, we found that the neural response to visual patterns was reduced in individuals who consumed a yeast-extract product rich in substances associated with the production of GABA (glutamate and B vitamins), but not in a control group who consumed a placebo substance (N=14 per group). This demonstrates that the balance of excitation and inhibition in the brain can be influenced by dietary interventions, suggesting possible clinical benefits in conditions (e.g. epilepsy) where inhibition is abnormal
The acceptability and feasibility of using a 3D body size scale to initiate conversations about weight in toddlerhood: a mixed-methods study
Background: Health Care Professionals struggle to initiate conversations about overweight in toddlerhood. A novel 3D body size scale (3D BSS) may facilitate engagement with this topic during pediatric appointments.
Objectives: To explore barriers and facilitators to using the 3D BSS through a mixedmethods design.
Methods: For the qualitative phase, parents of toddlers (n = 38) participated in semistructured interviews introducing the 3D BSS of 4â5-year-old children. For the quantitative phase, pre- and post-interview questionnaires were administered to ascertain
the acceptability of the 3D BSS.
Results: Parents rated the 3D BSS as âveryâ (n = 20, 52.6%) to âmoderatelyâ (n = 12,
31.6%) acceptable. Thematic analysis revealed four barriers to acceptability: i) the
sensitive nature of child weight, ii) the belief that weight does not determine health,
iii) the visual normalisation of overweight and iv) the need to account for individual
variation in growth patterns. However, these barriers could be overcome through
three facilitators: i) the provision of expert guidance ii) the value of simple tools, and
iii) tailoring conversations to familial needs.
Conclusions: Parents considered the 3D BSS an acceptable visual resource to discuss
child weight during routine appointments. However, the acceptability of the tool was
conditional on a sensitive, collaborative, and tailored delivery approach
Are virtues national, supranational, or universal?
Many studies investigated cultural differences in values, most notably by Hofstede and Schwarz. Relatively few have focused on virtues, a related and important concept in contemporary social science. The present paper examines the similarities and differences between nations, or blocks of - culturally related - nations on the perceived importance of virtues. Adults (Nâ=â2.809 students) from 14 countries were asked to freely mention which virtues they found important to practice in daily life, and next to rate a list of 15 virtues, which reflect the most frequently mentioned categories in The Netherlands, as found in a previous study. The 14 nations included the United States, Mexico, nine European and three Asian nations. For the free-listed virtues, we compared the top-ten lists of most frequently mentioned virtues across the nations. We used a correspondence analysis on the frequency table to assess the relationships between the virtues and nations. For the 15 virtues ratings, a MANOVA, and follow-up ANOVAâs were used to examine effects of nation, age, gender and religion. We found strong evidence for relationships between nations and blocks of culturally related nations and the importance attached to various virtues. There appear to be some country specific virtues, such as generosity in France, but also some relatively universal virtues, most notably honesty, respect, and kindness
The development of path integration: combining estimations of distance and heading
Efficient daily navigation is underpinned by path integration, the mechanism by which we use self-movement information to update our position in space. This process is well-understood in adulthood, but there has been relatively little study of path integration in childhood, leading to an underrepresentation in accounts of navigational development. Previous research has shown that calculation of distance and heading both tend to be less accurate in children as they are in adults, although there have been no studies of the combined calculation of distance and heading that typifies naturalistic path integration. In the present study 5-year-olds and 7-year-olds took part in a triangle-completion task, where they were required to return to the startpoint of a multi-element path using only idiothetic information. Performance was compared to a sample of adult participants, who were found to be more accurate than children on measures of landing error, heading error, and distance error. 7-year-olds were significantly more accurate than 5-year-olds on measures of landing error and heading error, although the difference between groups was much smaller for distance error. All measures were reliably correlated with age, demonstrating a clear development of path integration abilities within the age range tested. Taken together, these data make a strong case for the inclusion of path integration within developmental models of spatial navigational processing
Poor survival outcomes in HER2 positive breast cancer patients with low grade, node negative tumours
We present a retrospective analysis on a cohort of low-grade, node-negative patients showing that human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2) status significantly affects the survival in this otherwise very good prognostic group. Our results provide support for the use of adjuvant trastuzumab in patients who are typically classified as having very good prognosis, not routinely offered standard chemotherapy, and who as such do not fit current UK prescribing guidelines for trastuzumab
The holistic phase model of early adult crisis
The objective of the current study was to explore the structural, temporal and experiential manifestations of crisis episodes in early adulthood, using a holistic-systemic theoretical framework. Based on an analysis of 50 interviews with individuals about a crisis episode between the ages of 25 and 35, a holistic model was developed. The model comprises four phases: (1) Locked-in, (2) Separation/Time-out, (3) Exploration and (4) Rebuilding, which in turn have characteristic features at four levelsâperson-in-environment, identity, motivation and affect-cognition. A crisis starts out with a commitment at work or home that has been made but is no longer desired, and this is followed by an emotionally volatile period of change as that commitment is terminated. The positive trajectory of crisis involves movement through an exploratory period towards active rebuilding of a new commitment, but âfast-forwardâ and ârelapseâ loops can interrupt Phases 3 and 4 and make a positive resolution of the episode less likely. The model shows conceptual links with life stage theories of emerging adulthood and early adulthood, and it extends current understandings of the transitional developmental challenges that young adults encounter
Multimorbidity in bipolar disorder and under-treatment of cardiovascular disease: a cross sectional study
Background: Individuals with serious mental disorders experience poor physical health, especially increased rates of cardiometabolic morbidity and premature morbidity. Recent evidence suggests that individuals with schizophrenia have numerous comorbid physical conditions which may be under-recorded and under-treated but to date very few studies have explored this issue for bipolar disorder.
Methods:We conducted a cross-sectional analysis of a dataset of 1,751,841 registered patients within 314 primary-care practices in Scotland, U.K. Bipolar disorder was identified using Read Codes recorded within electronic medical records. Data on 32 common chronic physical conditions were also assessed. Potential prescribing inequalities were evaluated by analyzing prescribing data for coronary heart disease (CHD) and hypertension.
Results: Compared to controls, individuals with bipolar disorder were significantly less likely to have no recorded physical conditions (OR 0.59, 95% CI 0.54-0.63) and significantly more likely to have one physical condition (OR 1.27, 95% CI 1.16-1.39), two physical conditions (OR 1.45, 95% CI 1.30-1.62) and three or more physical conditions (OR 1.44, 95% CI 1.30-1.64). People with bipolar disorder also had higher rates of thyroid disorders, chronic kidney disease, chronic pain, chronic obstructive airways disease and diabetes but, surprisingly, lower recorded rates of hypertension and atrial fibrillation. People with bipolar disorder and comorbid CHD or hypertension were significantly more likely to be prescribed no antihypertensive or cholesterol-lowering medications compared to controls, and bipolar individuals with CHD or hypertension were significantly less likely to be on 2 or more antihypertensive agents.
Conclusions: Individuals with bipolar disorder are similar to individuals with schizophrenia in having a wide range of comorbid and multiple physical health conditions. They are also less likely than controls to have a primary-care record of cardiovascular conditions such as hypertension and atrial fibrillation. Those with a recorded diagnosis of CHD or hypertension were less likely to be treated with cardiovascular medications and were treated less intensively. This study highlights the high physical healthcare needs of people with bipolar disorder, and provides evidence for a systematic under-recognition and under-treatment of cardiovascular disease in this group
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