The effects of internalising a narrative text structure on the comprehension and recall of narrative texts

This study was an analysis of an aspect of oral language comprehension. The major purpose was to evaluate the impact of the facilitating effect of a knowledge of a narrative text framework, upon listeners\u27 comprehension of narratives. One research question was addressed: In the immediate recall of a simple, unfamiliar narrative text, presented orally, once only, will year six listeners who have been taught the schematic structure of narratives perform significantly better than similar year six students who have not? A teacher-devised listening text was modified from an S.R.A. (1975) listening kit. The results of that test were used as a classifying variable to place students into groups on the basis of being skilful or less-skilful listeners. To investigate the research question, a simple pre-test-treatment post- test design was used, consisting of two experimental groups and two control groups. The testing procedure for the pre-text and post-test was identical. It consisted of Ss in both the experimental and control groups listening to a taped story, followed by each subject\u27s immediate, free recall of the story. The data made available through the recounts, were analysed according to two quantifiable dimensions; 1. amount of information recalled, and 2. the sequence in which the story was recalled. The treatment given to the experimental groups involved a selection of activities and strategies. These included one focused, teaching session, an activity involving language reconstruction, and, the application of the knowledge of the narrative structure to Ss\u27 own writing of a narrative. The results of the pre-test and post-test were statistically analysed using a one-tailed t-test. It was concluded that, for the restricted sample of year six listeners investigated, those students who had been taught a standard schematic structure for the writing of narratives, performed- significantly better than similar students who had not, More specifically, subjects who had internalised the narrative schema were better able to comprehend and recall a specific, orally-presented, narrative text than subjects who did not possess such a schema. Since this study was designed as a pilot study only. Further research using a larger sample is required to establish the generalizability of these findings

Towards Automated Benchmarking of Atomistic Forcefields: Neat Liquid Densities and Static Dielectric Constants from the ThermoML Data Archive

Atomistic molecular simulations are a powerful way to make quantitative predictions, but the accuracy of these predictions depends entirely on the quality of the forcefield employed. While experimental measurements of fundamental physical properties offer a straightforward approach for evaluating forcefield quality, the bulk of this information has been tied up in formats that are not machine-readable. Compiling benchmark datasets of physical properties from non-machine-readable sources require substantial human effort and is prone to accumulation of human errors, hindering the development of reproducible benchmarks of forcefield accuracy. Here, we examine the feasibility of benchmarking atomistic forcefields against the NIST ThermoML data archive of physicochemical measurements, which aggregates thousands of experimental measurements in a portable, machine-readable, self-annotating format. As a proof of concept, we present a detailed benchmark of the generalized Amber small molecule forcefield (GAFF) using the AM1-BCC charge model against measurements (specifically bulk liquid densities and static dielectric constants at ambient pressure) automatically extracted from the archive, and discuss the extent of available data. The results of this benchmark highlight a general problem with fixed-charge forcefields in the representation low dielectric environments such as those seen in binding cavities or biological membranes

COVID-19 as a mass death event

As of the first week of February 2021, the COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in over two million people dead across the globe. This essay argues that in order to fully understand the politics arising from the COVID-19 pandemic, we need to focus on the individual and collective experiences of death, loss, and grief. While the emerging scholarly discourse on the pandemic, particularly in political science and international relations, typically considers death only in terms of its effects on formal state-level politics and as a policy objective for mitigation, we argue that focusing on the particularities of the experience of death resulting from COVID-19 can help us fully understand the ways in which the pandemic is reordering our worlds. Examining the ambiguous sociopolitical meaning of death by COVID-19 can provide broader analytical comparisons with other mass death events. Ultimately, the essay argues that centering the impact of the pandemic on the experience of death and loss directly poses the question of how politics should value human lives in the post-pandemic world, helping us better formulate the normative questions necessary for a more ethical future

The human ecology of need and relief on the Lincoln Heath, c.1790-1850

This thesis examines the extent of change and continuity in experiences of need and relief at the local scale within the transitional period between the Old and New Poor Laws. In doing so, it tests the impact of the 1834 Poor Law Amendment Act against both the dynamic nature of welfare in the waning period of the Old Poor Law and the importance of localised socio-economic factors. Methodologically, the thesis moves away from common framings currently adopted by the literature. Instead, it grounds analysis in a human ecological methodology which aims to examine relationships and impacts between people and their local environment. Research is embedded within Lincolnshire, an understudied area in the context of English and Welsh welfare historiography, and focusses on ten proximate parishes on the Lincoln Heath, a distinct geological region of the county. Change and continuity between poor laws was mixed. The main aims of the New Poor Law were generally administrative and restrictive in nature, aiming to restructure the management of the poor law and curtail outdoor relief for the able-bodied. This thesis argues that these goals were broadly met within the area of study. The administrative variation evident under the Old Poor Law was largely erased through unionisation and the formation of New Poor Law salaried staff. In addition, this thesis suggests a reduction in outdoor relief given to able-bodied males under the New Poor Law, with this cohort being a key target of the Poor Law Amendment Act itself and later special and general orders issued by the Poor Law Commission. The creation of union workhouses multiplied the potential for indoor relief to be a composite factor of relief outcomes under the New Poor Law, generally standardising the experience of the workhouse within the poor law union area in comparison to a mixed indoor relief expression evident under the Old Poor Law within the area of study. However, dominant parish ratepayers staffed key administrative positions under both poor laws, leading to broad demographic persistence in some aspects of administration. Despite the growth of poor law staffing under the New Poor Law, salaried positions within poor law unions were filled by local choice, meaning such staff became part of a rearticulated forum of poor law management which exhibited elements of continuation. Additionally, periods of increased need and levels of poor law receipt remained temporally variable across the period of study, with the New Poor Law not negating the fact that these often relied on localised economic conditions. Similarly, there was a broad continuity in the demography of receipt under both poor laws, with cohorts such as women, children and the elderly being dominant. Outdoor relief remained the primary poor law relief outcome into the New Poor Law, seeing continuation with previous practice, particularly from the 1820s onwards as outdoor relief seemingly became the dominant relief outcome in the parish selection. Moreover, the poor law itself always sat in relation to other avenues of relief within a broader mixed economy of welfare, with individuals amalgamating differing strands of support within personal relief strategies. As such, the impact of the 1834 Poor Law Amendment Act was nuanced, with conclusions on the extent of change and continuity often dependent on the framing of questions asked. What is clear, however, is that the poor law in its localised expression was embedded in an underlying socio-economic locale, impacting how it was conceived, managed and utilised

modCHIMERA: A novel murine closed-head model of moderate traumatic brain injury

AbstractTraumatic brain injury is a major source of global disability and mortality. Preclinical TBI models are a crucial component of therapeutic investigation. We report a tunable, monitored model of murine non-surgical, diffuse closed-head injury—modCHIMERA—characterized by impact as well as linear and rotational acceleration. modCHIMERA is based on the Closed-Head Impact Model of Engineered Rotational Acceleration (CHIMERA) platform. We tested this model at 2 energy levels: 1.7 and 2.1 Joules—substantially higher than previously reported for this system. Kinematic analysis demonstrated linear acceleration exceeding injury thresholds in humans, although outcome metrics tracked impact energy more closely than kinematic parameters. Acute severity metrics were consistent with a complicated-mild or moderate TBI, a clinical population characterized by high morbidity but potentially reversible pathology. Axonal injury was multifocal and bilateral, neuronal death was detected in the hippocampus, and microglial neuroinflammation was prominent. Acute functional analysis revealed prolonged post-injury unconsciousness, and decreased spontaneous behavior and stimulated neurological scores. Neurobehavioral deficits were demonstrated in spatial learning/memory and socialization at 1-month. The overall injury profile of modCHIMERA corresponds with the range responsible for a substantial portion of TBI-related disability in humans. modCHIMERA should provide a reliable platform for efficient analysis of TBI pathophysiology and testing of treatment modalities.</jats:p

A comparative analysis of particle tracking in a mixer by discrete element method and positron emission particle tracking

Characterisation of particle flow using Positron Emission Particle Tracking (PEPT) is based on tracking the position of a single particle in a dynamic system. Recent developments in PEPT have facilitated tracking multiple particles aiming at improvements in data representation. Nevertheless for systems with a wide residence time distribution and/or dead zone, the conditions for getting representative data which could reflect the bulk behaviour of the powders need to be analysed and specified. In the present work, an attempt is made to simulate PEPT experiments for a paddle mixer using Discrete Element Method (DEM), with a view to investigate the effect of increasing the number of tracers on their time-averaged velocity distribution and whether it can represent the data on whole population of particles. The time averaged velocity distribution of the individual tracer particles (resembling simulated PEPT) is obtained and compared with the time averaged data on entire particle population. The DEM results indicate that for the investigated paddle mixer, it takes 251. s for one tracer to travel adequately in all the active space of the system. The instantaneous tracer velocity fluctuates around the average value obtained for all the particles, suggesting that the average tracer velocity is adequately representative of the average particle velocity in the system. The data of the PEPT experiment with one tracer with those of DEM with one tracer are in good agreement; however, DEM simulation suggests that increasing the number of tracers in the paddle mixer system does not influence the average velocity distribution. Furthermore, the velocity for all particles in the DEM shows a smooth distribution with a peak frequency of the velocity distribution that is lower than PEPT and DEM tracer. When tracking a single tracer in DEM or PEPT, it may not be detected to have zero velocity at any instant of time, whilst the data for all particles show that about 0.3% of particles are stagnant

Advection of vector fields by chaotic flows

We have introduced a new transfer operator for chaotic flows whose leading eigenvalue yields the dynamo rate of the fast kinematic dynamo and applied cycle expansion of the Fredholm determinant of the new operator to evaluation of its spectrum. The theory hs been tested on a normal form model of the vector advecting dynamical flow. If the model is a simple map with constant time between two iterations, the dynamo rate is the same as the escape rate of scalar quantties. However, a spread in Poincar\'e section return times lifts the degeneracy of the vector and scalar advection rates, and leads to dynamo rates that dominate over the scalar advection rates. For sufficiently large time spreads we have even found repellers for which the magnetic field grows exponentially, even though the scalar densities are decaying exponentially.Comment: 12 pages, Latex. Ask for figures from [email protected]

Integrated knowledge translation strategies that enhance the lives of persons with dementia and their family caregivers

Purpose: To understand the lived experience of persons with dementia and their family caregivers who receive home care in northern Alberta, Canada, and to reveal how integrated knowledge translation (iKT) strategies influence the uptake of best available dementia care evidence over time. Sample: Three persons living with dementia and thirteen family caregivers were interviewed at the beginning of the study, nine months after implementation of the knowledge broker (KB), and six months after termination of the KB role (total interviews = 41). Method: The PARiHS framework guided our longitudinal case study that included two rural home care centres. A qualitative interpretive descriptive approach was used. A KB was hired for 12 months to facilitate the development of different iKT strategies with staff. Site A developed two strategies: 1) a planning meeting to discuss local needs and suggestions for improving access to dementia care information and community supports; and 2) the development of an information package. Site B focused on working through modules of the U-First program that entailed dementia education and training for the home care providers (HCPs). They then used the U-First wheels with clients during their home visits. Findings: Persons living with dementia spoke of both positive and negative aspects of their dementia journey and how they attempted to manage their lives. Family caregivers struggled to find the best approaches and supports to use to enable their family member with dementia to remain at home for as long as possible. iKT strategies such as a KB, the information resource package developed by the HCPs, use of the U-First modules and wheels, and a support group were examples of effective iKT. Conclusion: iKT strategies and projects increased access to dementia care information and supports. These assisted caregivers to better care for their family member for longer periods at home. Keywords: Persons living with dementia, family caregivers, integrated knowledge translation strategies, rural, and home car

Personal pack display and active smoking at outdoor café strips: assessing the impact of plain packaging 1 year postimplementation

Aims: We observed tobacco pack display and smoking at outdoor venues over three summers to assess changes in their prevalence following Australia's introduction of plain tobacco packaging with larger pictorial health warnings. Methods: Between January and April 2012 (preplain packaging (PP)), 2013 (early post-PP) and 2014 (1 year post-PP), we counted patrons, smokers and tobacco packs at cafés, restaurants and bars with outdoor seating. Pack type (branded, plain or unknown) and orientation were noted. Rates of active smoking, pack display and pack orientation were analysed using multilevel Poisson regression. Results: Prevalence of pack display among patrons declined from pre-PP (1 pack per 8.7 patrons) to early post-PP (1 pack per 10.4), and remained low 1 year post-PP (1 pack per 10.3). This appeared to be driven by a sustained decline in active smoking post-PP (pre-PP: 8.4% of patrons were smoking; early post-PP: 6.4%; 1 year post-PP: 6.8%). Notably, active smoking declined more in venues with children present than in those without. While early post-PP, plain packs were less often displayed face-up (74.0%) and more often concealed (8.9%) than branded packs pre-PP (face-up: 85.2%; concealed: 4.0%), this was not sustained 1 year post-PP (face-up: 85.7%; concealed: 4.4%). Also, external case use increased from pre-PP (1.2%) to early post-PP (3.5%), but returned to pre-PP levels 1 year post-PP (1.9%). Conclusions: This study demonstrated a sustained reduction in visibility of tobacco products and smoking in public, particularly in the presence of children, from pre-PP to 1 year post-PP. This effect is likely to reduce smoking-related social norms, thereby weakening an important influence on smoking uptake and better supporting quit attempts.Meghan Zacher, Megan Bayly, Emily Brennan, Joanne Dono, Caroline Miller, Sarah Durkin, Michelle Scollo, Melanie Wakefiel