Position Paper On Use Of Stereoscopy To Support Science Learning: Ten Years Of Research

Stereoscopys potential as a tool for science education has been largely eclipsed by its popularity as an entertainment platform and marketing gimmick. Dozens of empirical papers have been published in the last decade about the impact of stereoscopy on learning. As a result, a corpus of research now points to a coherent message about how, when, and where stereoscopy can be most effective in supporting science education. This position paper synthesizes that research with examples from three studies recently completed and published by the authors of this paper. Results of the synthesis point towards generally limited successful uses of stereoscopic media in science education with a pocket of potentially beneficial applications. Our position is that stereoscopy should be used only where its unique properties can accommodate specific requirements of understanding topics and tasks namely visualizations where the spatial sense of depth is germane to conveying core ideas and cognitive load is high. Stereoscopys impact on learning is also related to the spatial ability of the viewer. More research is needed on the effect of novelty, long-term learning and possible learning differences between the various methods of implementing stereoscopy

Comparison of Narcotic Prescribing Habits Between Trainee and Attending Orthopaedic Surgeons

Background: Orthopaedic surgeons are among the highest prescribing physicians of narcotics to opioidnaïve patients. Despite the current opioid epidemic, few studies have specifically quantified the appropriate amount of opioids necessary for postoperative pain control. We hypothesized a significant variability in the quantity of postoperative opioids prescribed among trainee (ie, residents and fellows) and attending surgeons at a single institution. Methods: Postoperative narcotic prescribing habits were assessed using an anonymous survey. Ultimately, 28 trainee physicians and 17 attending physicians responded to the survey (86.5%). The survey recorded the amount of 5-mg oxycodone tablets that were commonly prescribed to manage pain after various typical orthopaedic procedures (eg, total knee arthroplasty). Non-narcotic analgesic use was also measured. Mean, standard deviation, and variance values were calculated, with significance set at α = 0.05. Results: After the following procedures, the respondents reported prescribing the following quantities of 5-mg oxycodone tablets: total knee arthroplasty, 56 (SD, 16); total hip arthroplasty, 53 (SD, 13); anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction, 38 (SD, 16); partial meniscectomy, 23 (SD, 14); arthroscopic rotator cuff repair, 39 (SD, 16); carpal tunnel release, 10 (SD, 10); A1 pulley release for treating trigger finger, 9 (SD, 9); open reduction and internal fixation (ORIF) for treating distal radius fractures, 32 (SD, 16); and ORIF for treating ankle fractures, 39 (SD, 15). Statistically significant variation existed between trainee and attending physicians for total hip arthroplasty and A1 pulley release. There was no difference for acetaminophen or nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, with about 70% of patients receiving at least one of these adjuncts. Conclusions: Variability exists in postoperative opioid prescribing habits between trainee and attending physicians at the academic training institution we accessed. In light of the ongoing opioid epidemic, institutions may benefit from standardized postoperative pain protocols

Spatial variation of subduction zone fluids during progressive subduction: Insights from Serpentinite Mud Volcanoes

Geological processes at subduction zones control seismicity, plutonism and volcanism, and geochemical cycling between the oceans, crust, and mantle. The down-going plate experiences metamorphism, and the associated dehydration and fluid flow alters the physical properties of the plate interface and mantle wedge, as well as controlling the composition of material descending into the mantle. Any direct study of slab evolution during subduction is inhibited by the prohibitive depths at which these processes occur. To examine these processes we use serpentinite mud volcanoes in the Mariana forearc, that permit sampling of serpentinite materials and their pore waters that ascend from the subduction channel. We present new pore water chemical data from the summit and flanks of three serpentinite mud volcanoes that were drilled during International Ocean Discovery Program Expedition 366 which are reflective of reactions within the crust and mantle during the early, shallow (<20 km) stages of subduction. We show, via thermodynamic modelling, that our new data on the evolution of pore water chemical compositions reflect mineralogical characteristics of a predominately basaltic source from the downgoing Pacific Plate. However, a component from sedimentary sources is likely, especially for those mud volcanoes near the trench. Other potential slab-derived constituents, such as lithospheric serpentinite, carbonate-rich sediments, or seamount basalts with an intraplate geochemical character, are not required to explain our results. Our results indicate that with progressive subduction the lawsonite-epidote mineral transformation boundary at ∼250 °C may help drive slab carbonate destabilisation, despite its apparent thermodynamic stability at such temperatures and projected pressures (∼300 °C and ∼0.6 GPa). New dissolved gas data also point to primary thermodynamic controls over methane/ethane production within the subduction channel as depths-to-slab increase. Our findings provide direct evidence for the progressive mineralogical and chemical evolution of a subducting oceanic plate, which liberates a progressively evolving fluid phase into the subduction channel

Management Of Community-Acquired Pneumonia:An Observational Study In UK Primary Care

CCW is an employee and Director of Oxford PharmaGenesis Ltd and a shareholder and Director of Oxford PharmaGenesis Holdings Ltd. DR is a Consultant Strategic Medical Director of Optimum Patient Care. DBP has board membership with Amgen, AstraZeneca, Boehringer Ingelheim, Chiesi, Circassia, Mylan, Mundipharma, Napp, Novartis, Regeneron Pharmaceuticals, Sanofi Genzyme, Teva Pharmaceuticals; consultancy agreements with Amgen, AstraZeneca, Boehringer Ingelheim, Chiesi, GlaxoSmithKline, Mylan, Mundipharma, Napp, Novartis, Pfizer, Teva Pharmaceuticals, Theravance; grants and unrestricted funding for investigator-initiated studies (conducted through Observational and Pragmatic Research Institute Pte Ltd) from AKL Research and Development Ltd, AstraZeneca, Boehringer Ingelheim, British Lung Foundation, Chiesi, Circassia, Mylan, Mundipharma, Napp, Novartis, Pfizer, Regeneron Pharmaceuticals, Respiratory Effectiveness Group, Sanofi Genzyme, Teva Pharmaceuticals, Theravance, UK National Health Service, Zentiva (Sanofi Generics); payment for lectures/speaking engagements from AstraZeneca, Boehringer Ingelheim, Chiesi, Cipla, GlaxoSmithKline, Kyorin, Mylan, Merck, Mundipharma, Novartis, Pfizer, Regeneron Pharmaceuticals, Sanofi Genzyme, Teva Pharmaceuticals; payment for manuscript preparation from Mundipharma, Teva Pharmaceuticals; payment for the development of educational materials from Mundipharma, Novartis; payment for travel/accommodation/meeting expenses from AstraZeneca, Boehringer Ingelheim, Circassia, Mundipharma, Napp, Novartis, Teva Pharmaceuticals; funding for patient enrolment or completion of research from Chiesi, Novartis, Teva Pharmaceuticals, Zentiva (Sanofi Generics); stock/stock options from AKL Research and Development Ltd which produces phytopharmaceuticals; owns 74% of the social enterprise Optimum Patient Care Ltd (Australia and UK) and 74% of Observational and Pragmatic Research Institute Pte Ltd (Singapore); and is peer reviewer for grant committees of the Efficacy and Mechanism Evaluation programme, and Health Technology Assessment. The authors report no other conflicts of interest in this work.Peer reviewedPublisher PD

Projected increase in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis from 2015 to 2040

Although amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is relatively rare, the socioeconomic significance of the disease is extensive. It is therefore vital to project the epidemiologic trend of ALS. To date, there have been few published studies attempting to estimate the number and distribution of ALS cases in the upcoming years. Here we show that the number of ALS cases across the globe will increase from 222,801 in 2015 to 376,674 in 2040, representing an increase of 69%. This increase is predominantly due to ageing of the population, particularly among developing nations. This projection is likely an underestimate due to improving healthcare and economic conditions. The results should be used to inform healthcare policy to more efficiently allocate healthcare resources

No bursts detected from FRB121102 in two 5-hour observing campaigns with the Robert C. Byrd Green Bank Telescope

Here, we report non-detection of radio bursts from Fast Radio Burst FRB 121102 during two 5-hour observation sessions on the Robert C. Byrd 100-m Green Bank Telescope in West Virginia, USA, on December 11, 2017, and January 12, 2018. In addition, we report non-detection during an abutting 10-hour observation with the Kunming 40-m telescope in China, which commenced UTC 10:00 January 12, 2018. These are among the longest published contiguous observations of FRB 121102, and support the notion that FRB 121102 bursts are episodic. These observations were part of a simultaneous optical and radio monitoring campaign with the the Caltech HIgh- speed Multi-color CamERA (CHIMERA) instrument on the Hale 5.1-m telescope.Comment: 1 table, Submitted to RN of AA

Ion-Molecule Interactions Enable Unexpected Phase Transitions in Organic-Inorganic Aerosol

Atmospheric aerosol particles are commonly complex, aqueous organic-inorganic mixtures, and accurately predicting the properties of these particles is essential for air quality and climate projections. The prevailing assumption is that aqueous organic-inorganic aerosols exist predominately with liquid properties and that the hygroscopic inorganic fraction lowers aerosol viscosity relative to the organic fraction alone. Here, in contrast to those assumptions, we demonstrate that increasing inorganic fraction can increase aerosol viscosity (relative to predictions) and enable a humidity-dependent gel phase transition through cooperative ion-molecule interactions that give rise to long-range networks of atmospherically relevant low-mass oxygenated organic molecules (180 to 310 Da) and divalent inorganic ions. This supramolecular, ion-molecule effect can drastically influence the phase and physical properties of organic-inorganic aerosol and suggests that aerosol may be (semi)solid under more conditions than currently predicted. These observations, thus, have implications for air quality and climate that are not fully represented in atmospheric models

A simultaneous search for prompt radio emission associated with the short GRB 170112A using the all-sky imaging capability of the OVRO-LWA

We have conducted the most sensitive low frequency (below 100 MHz) search to date for prompt, low-frequency radio emission associated with short-duration gamma-ray bursts (GRBs), using the Owens Valley Radio Observatory Long Wavelength Array (OVRO-LWA). The OVRO-LWA's nearly full-hemisphere field-of-view ($\sim20$,$000$ square degrees) allows us to search for low-frequency (sub-$100$ MHz) counterparts for a large sample of the subset of GRB events for which prompt radio emission has been predicted. Following the detection of short GRB 170112A by Swift, we used all-sky OVRO-LWA images spanning one hour prior to and two hours following the GRB event to search for a transient source coincident with the position of GRB 170112A. We detect no transient source, with our most constraining $1\sigma$ flux density limit of $650~\text{mJy}$ for frequencies spanning $27~\text{MHz}-84~\text{MHz}$. We place constraints on a number of models predicting prompt, low-frequency radio emission accompanying short GRBs and their potential binary neutron star merger progenitors, and place an upper limit of $L_\text{radio}/L_\gamma \lesssim 7\times10^{-16}$ on the fraction of energy released in the prompt radio emission. These observations serve as a pilot effort for a program targeting a wider sample of both short and long GRBs with the OVRO-LWA, including bursts with confirmed redshift measurements which are critical to placing the most constraining limits on prompt radio emission models, as well as a program for the follow-up of gravitational wave compact binary coalescence events detected by advanced LIGO and Virgo.Comment: 14 pages, 5 figures, ApJ submitte

Evaluation of a low-cost optical particle counter (Alphasense OPC-N2) for ambient air monitoring

A fast-growing area of research is the development of low-cost sensors for measuring air pollutants. The affordability and size of low-cost particle sensors makes them an attractive option for use in experiments requiring a number of instruments such as high-density spatial mapping. However, for these low-cost sensors to be useful for these types of studies their accuracy and precision need to be quantified. We evaluated the Alphasense OPC-N2, a promising low-cost miniature optical particle counter, for monitoring ambient airborne particles at typical urban background sites in the UK. The precision of the OPC-N2 was assessed by co-locating 14 instruments at a site to investigate the variation in measured concentrations. Comparison to two different reference optical particle counters as well as a TEOM-FDMS enabled the accuracy of the OPC-N2 to be evaluated. Comparison of the OPC-N2 to the reference optical instruments shows some limitations for measuring mass concentrations of PM1, PM2.5 and PM10. The OPC-N2 demonstrated a significant positive artefact in measured particle mass during times of high ambient RH (>85%) and a calibration factor was developed based upon °-Köhler theory, using average bulk particle aerosol hygroscopicity. Application of this RH correction factor resulted in the OPC-N2 measurements being within 33% of the TEOM-FDMS, comparable to the agreement between a reference optical particle counter and the TEOM-FDMS (20%). Inter-unit precision for the 14 OPC-N2 sensors of 22±13% for PM10 mass concentrations was observed. Overall, the OPC-N2 was found to accurately measure ambient airborne particle mass concentration provided they are (i) correctly calibrated and (ii) corrected for ambient RH. The level of precision demonstrated between multiple OPC-N2s suggests that they would be suitable devices for applications where the spatial variability in particle concentration was to be determined

Can majority support save an endangered language? A case study of language attitudes in Guernsey

Many studies of minority language revitalisation focus on the attitudes and perceptions of minorities, but not on those of majority group members. This paper discusses the implications of these issues, and presents research into majority andf minority attitudes towards the endangered indigenous vernacular of Guernsey, Channel Islands. The research used a multi-method approach (questionnaire and interview) to obtain attitudinal data from a representative sample of the population that included politicians and civil servants (209 participants). The findings suggested a shift in language ideology away from the post-second world war ‘culture of modernisation’ and monolingual ideal, towards recognition of the value of a bi/trilingual linguistic heritage. Public opinion in Guernsey now seems to support the maintenance of the indigenous language variety, which has led to a degree of official support. The paper then discusses to what extent this ‘attitude shift’ is reflected in linguistic behaviour and in concrete language planning measures