183 research outputs found
Serious games for information literacy : a scoping review and design recommendations
PURPOSE: The purpose of this paper is to provide an overview of the literature on digital games designed or adapted for information literacy instruction, as well as practical design recommendations. DESIGN/METHODOLOGY/APPROACH: The paper presents an analysis of a compiled set of peer-reviewed articles on games in the provision of information literacy instruction published between 2013 and 2018, categorized by game mechanics utilized. FINDINGS: Application of the inclusion criteria led to 12 papers considered relevant. Synthesis of the papers suggests that although studies indicate positive outcomes for information literacy games, such games continue to rely on transcription of declarative tasks to digital environments. ORIGINALITY/VALUE: While previous literature reviews provide summaries on information literacy digital games, this paper not only presents an up-to-date review but also provides step-by-step instructions and worked examples for aligning information literacy learning mechanics with game mechanics.Post-printIncludes bibliographical references
Supplement: Going the Distance: Mapping Host Galaxies of LIGO and Virgo Sources in Three Dimensions Using Local Cosmography and Targeted Follow-up
This is a supplement to the Letter of Singer et al.
(https://arxiv.org/abs/1603.07333), in which we demonstrated a rapid algorithm
for obtaining joint 3D estimates of sky location and luminosity distance from
observations of binary neutron star mergers with Advanced LIGO and Virgo. We
argued that combining the reconstructed volumes with positions and redshifts of
possible host galaxies can provide large-aperture but small field of view
instruments with a manageable list of targets to search for optical or infrared
emission. In this Supplement, we document the new HEALPix-based file format for
3D localizations of gravitational-wave transients. We include Python sample
code to show the reader how to perform simple manipulations of the 3D sky maps
and extract ranked lists of likely host galaxies. Finally, we include
mathematical details of the rapid volume reconstruction algorithm.Comment: For associated data release, see
http://asd.gsfc.nasa.gov/Leo.Singer/going-the-distanc
Improving the sensitivity of Advanced LIGO using noise subtraction
This paper presents an adaptable, parallelizable method for subtracting linearly coupled noise from Advanced LIGO data. We explain the features developed to ensure that the process is robust enough to handle the variability present in Advanced LIGO data. In this work, we target subtraction of noise due to beam jitter, detector calibration lines, and mains power lines. We demonstrate noise subtraction over the entirety of the second observing run, resulting in increases in sensitivity comparable to those reported in previous targeted efforts. Over the course of the second observing run, we see a 30% increase in Advanced LIGO sensitivity to gravitational waves from a broad range of compact binary systems. We expect the use of this method to result in a higher rate of detected gravitational-wave signals in Advanced LIGO data
Birth outcomes following antiretroviral exposure during pregnancy : initial results from a pregnancy exposure registry in South Africa
CITATION: Mehta, U. C. et al. 2019. Birth outcomes following antiretroviral exposure during pregnancy : initial results from a pregnancy exposure registry in South Africa. Southern African Journal of HIV Medicine, 20(1):a971, doi:10.4102/sajhivmed.v20i1.971.The original publication is available at https://sajhivmed.org.zaBackground: In 2013, a pregnancy exposure registry and birth defects surveillance (PER/BDS)
system was initiated in eThekwini District, KwaZulu-Natal (KZN), to assess the impact of
antiretroviral treatment (ART) on birth outcomes.
Objectives: At the end of the first year, we assessed the risk of major congenital malformations
(CM) and other adverse birth outcomes (ABOs) detected at birth, in children born to women
exposed to ART during pregnancy.
Method: Data were collected from women who delivered at Prince Mshiyeni Memorial
Hospital, Durban, from 07 October 2013 to 06 October 2014, using medicine exposure histories
and birth outcomes from maternal interviews, clinical records and neonatal surface
examination. Singleton births exposed to only one ART regimen were included in bivariable
analysis for CM risk and multivariate risk analysis for ABO risk.
Results: Data were collected from 10 417 women with 10 517 birth outcomes (4013 [38.5%]
HIV-infected). Congenital malformations rates in births exposed to Efavirenz during the first
trimester (T1) (RR 0.87 [95% CI 0.12–6.4; p = 0.895]) were similar to births not exposed to ART
during T1. However, T1 exposure to Nevirapine was associated with the increased risk of CM
(RR 9.28 [95% CI 2.3–37.9; p = 0.002]) when compared to the same group. Other ABOs were
more frequent in the combination of HIV/ART-exposed births compared to HIV-unexposed
births (29.9% vs. 26.0%, adjusted RR 1.23 [1.14–1.31; p < 0.001]).
Conclusion: No association between T1 use of EFV-based ART regimens and CM was
observed. Associations between T1 NVP-based ART regimen and CM need further
investigation. HIV- and ART-exposed infants had more ABOs compared to HIV-unexposed
infants.Publisher's versio
Characterising the Mucosal and Systemic Immune Responses to Experimental Human Hookworm Infection
The mucosal cytokine response of healthy humans to parasitic helminths has never been reported. We investigated the systemic and mucosal cytokine responses to hookworm infection in experimentally infected, previously hookworm naive individuals from non-endemic areas. We collected both peripheral blood and duodenal biopsies to assess the systemic immune response, as well as the response at the site of adult worm establishment. Our results show that experimental hookworm infection leads to a strong systemic and mucosal Th2 (IL-4, IL-5, IL-9 and IL-13) and regulatory (IL-10 and TGF-β) response, with some evidence of a Th1 (IFN-γ and IL-2) response. Despite upregulation after patency of both IL-15 and ALDH1A2, a known Th17-inducing combination in inflammatory diseases, we saw no evidence of a Th17 (IL-17) response. Moreover, we observed strong suppression of mucosal IL-23 and upregulation of IL-22 during established hookworm infection, suggesting a potential mechanism by which Th17 responses are suppressed, and highlighting the potential that hookworms and their secreted proteins offer as therapeutics for human inflammatory diseases
Energy Estimation of Cosmic Rays with the Engineering Radio Array of the Pierre Auger Observatory
The Auger Engineering Radio Array (AERA) is part of the Pierre Auger
Observatory and is used to detect the radio emission of cosmic-ray air showers.
These observations are compared to the data of the surface detector stations of
the Observatory, which provide well-calibrated information on the cosmic-ray
energies and arrival directions. The response of the radio stations in the 30
to 80 MHz regime has been thoroughly calibrated to enable the reconstruction of
the incoming electric field. For the latter, the energy deposit per area is
determined from the radio pulses at each observer position and is interpolated
using a two-dimensional function that takes into account signal asymmetries due
to interference between the geomagnetic and charge-excess emission components.
The spatial integral over the signal distribution gives a direct measurement of
the energy transferred from the primary cosmic ray into radio emission in the
AERA frequency range. We measure 15.8 MeV of radiation energy for a 1 EeV air
shower arriving perpendicularly to the geomagnetic field. This radiation energy
-- corrected for geometrical effects -- is used as a cosmic-ray energy
estimator. Performing an absolute energy calibration against the
surface-detector information, we observe that this radio-energy estimator
scales quadratically with the cosmic-ray energy as expected for coherent
emission. We find an energy resolution of the radio reconstruction of 22% for
the data set and 17% for a high-quality subset containing only events with at
least five radio stations with signal.Comment: Replaced with published version. Added journal reference and DO
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