WorldWideScience

Sample records for previously unresolved questions

  1. Answering unresolved questions about the relationship between cognitive ability and prejudice

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Brandt, M.J.; Crawford, Jarret T

    2016-01-01

    Previous research finds that lower cognitive ability predicts greater prejudice. We test two unresolved questions about this association using a heterogeneous set of target groups and data from a representative sample of the United States (N = 5,914). First, we test “who are the targets of

  2. Thyrotropin receptor mutations and thyroid hyperfunctioning adenomas ten years after their first discovery: unresolved questions.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Arturi, F; Scarpelli, D; Coco, A; Sacco, R; Bruno, R; Filetti, S; Russo, D

    2003-04-01

    Ten years after the first description of activating mutations in the thyroid stimulating hormone receptor (TSHR) gene in sporadic autonomous hyperfunctioning thyroid adenomas, there is general agreement in assigning a major pathogenic role of this genetic abnormality, acting via the constitutive activation of the cAMP pathway, in both the growth and functional characteristic of these tumours. From the beginning, however, the pathophysiological and clinical relevance of somatic TSHR mutations has been debated and some arguments still exist against a fully causative role of these mutations and the practical value of detecting these mutations for the diagnosis, treatment and prognosis of thyroid hot nodules. Some major issues will be examined herein, including (a) the frequency of TSHR alterations in various reports showing that the genetic abnormality underlying the pathogenesis of a substantial subset of thyroid tumours has yet to be identified; (b) the limitations of the present experimental models, which suggest greater caution in the interpretation of in vitro results; (c) the still unresolved question of absence of genotype-phenotype correlation. Clarification of these issues may hopefully provide new and useful tools for improving the clinical management of this disease.

  3. Unresolved mourning, supernatural beliefs and dissociation: a mediation analysis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Thomson, Paula; Jaque, S Victoria

    2014-01-01

    Unresolved mourning is marked by disorganized behavior and states of mind. In this study, we speculated that pathological dissociation would mediate the effects of unresolved mourning on supernatural beliefs. This hypothesis was determined based on findings that indicate an association between higher levels of dissociation, stronger beliefs in the supernatural and unresolved mourning. We examined two groups of participants, one classified as non-unresolved (non-U) (n = 56) and the other as unresolved (n = 26) (U) with respect to past loss/trauma as measured by the Adult Attachment Interview (AAI). Two self-report instruments were administered to measure supernatural beliefs and dissociation. As hypothesized, the multivariate analysis of variance indicated mean differences between the two groups. The unresolved group had greater belief in the supernatural and more pathological dissociative processes. The mediation analysis demonstrated that pathological dissociation fully mediated the effects of unresolved mourning on supernatural beliefs.

  4. Some of the unanswered questions in finance

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Đurić Dragana M.

    2006-01-01

    Full Text Available A very dynamic development of finance in the last 50 years is inter alia probably due to experiments and innovations in this field. Previously theoretical base could not explain and predict movements especially in volatile times. "The new finance" appeared 50 years ago (portfolio theory CAPM, the efficient market theory, M&M theorem and made substantial progress in understanding movements in globalized and internationalized financial markets. However, many questions remain open. The author tries to put emphasis on some of these questions, perfectly aware that these are not the only ones. Unresolved questions are related to company's aims, project's risks, degree of portfolio optimization, importance of liquidity, dividend policy, as well as factors that determine M&A. As the "new finance" is not able to predict and explain volatile movements, a question that should be posed is whether it is appropriate to add some non-economic factors as the behaviorist theory suggests. Although the behaviorist theory is an important part of "new finance", it is unfortunately the only theory able to explain movements in volatile times. In conclusion, many questions still remain unanswered and wait for appropriate theoretical explanations.

  5. Degradation of aged plants by corrosion: 'Long cell action' in unresolved corrosion issues

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Saji, Genn

    2009-01-01

    In a series of previously published papers the author has identified that 'long cell action' corrosion plays a pivotal role in practically all unresolved corrosion issues for all types of nuclear power plants (e.g. PWR/VVER, BWR/RBMK and CANDU). Some of these unresolved issues are IGSCC, PWSCC, AOA and FAC (erosion-corrosion). In conventional corrosion science it is well established that 'long cell action' can seriously accelerate or suppress the local cell corrosion activities. Although long cell action is another fundamental mechanism of corrosion, especially in a 'soil corrosion' arena, potential involvement of this corrosion process has never been studied in nuclear and fossil power plants as far as the author has been able to establish. The author believes that the omission of this basic corrosion mechanism is the root cause of practically all un-resolved corrosion issues. In this paper, the author further elaborated on his assessment to other key corrosion issues, e.g. steam generator and turbine corrosion issues, while briefly summarizing previous discussions for completeness purposes, as well as introducing additional experimental and theoretical evidence of this basic corrosion mechanism. Due to the importance of this potential mechanism the author is calling for institutional review activities and further verification experiments in the form of a joint international project.

  6. Error due to unresolved scales in estimation problems for atmospheric data assimilation

    Science.gov (United States)

    Janjic, Tijana

    modeling of the covariance matrix obtained by evaluating the covariance function at the observation points. We first assumed that this covariance matrix is stationary and that the unresolved scales are not correlated between the observation points, i.e., the matrix is diagonal, and that the values along the diagonal are constant. Tests with these assumptions were unsuccessful, indicating that a more sophisticated model of the covariance is needed for assimilation of data with nonstationary spectrum. A new method for modeling the covariance matrix based on an extended set of modeling assumptions is proposed. First, it is assumed that the covariance matrix is diagonal, that is, that the unresolved scales are not correlated between the observation points. It is postulated that the values on the diagonal depend on a wavenumber that is characteristic for the unresolved part of the spectrum. It is further postulated that this characteristic wavenumber can be diagnosed from the observations and from the estimate of the projection of the state that is being estimated. It is demonstrated that the new method successfully overcomes previously encountered difficulties.

  7. Unresolved safety issues summary: aqua book

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    1982-06-01

    The unresolved safety issues summary is designed to provide the management of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission with a quarterly overview of the progress and plans for completion of generic tasks addressing unresolved safety issues reported to Congress pursuant to Section 210 of the Energy Reorganization Act of 1974 as amended. This summary utilizes data collected from the Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation, Office of Nuclear Regulatory Research, and the National Laboratories and is prepared by the Office of Resource Management. The schedules in this book include a milestone at the end of each action plan which represents the initiation of the implementation process both with respect to incorporation of the technical resolution in the NRC official guidance or requirements and also the application of changes to individual operating plants. The progress and status for implementation of unresolved safety issues for which a technical resolution has been completed are reported specifically in a separate table provided in this summary

  8. Unresolved safety issues summary: aqua book

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    1983-06-01

    The unresolved safety issues summary is designed to provide the management of the nuclear regulatory commission with a quarterly overview of the progress and plans for completion of generic tasks addressing unresolved safety issues reported to congress pursuant to section 210 of the Energy Reorganization Act of 1974 as amended. The schedules in this book include a milestone at the end of each action plan which represents the initiation of the implementation process both with respect to incorporation of the technical resolution in the NRC official guidance or requirements and also the application of changes to individual operating plants. The schedule for implementation will not normally be included in the task action plan(s) for the resolution of a USI since the nature and extent of the activities necessary to accomplish the implementation cannot normally be reasonably determined prior to the determination of a technical resolution. The progress and status for implementation of unresolved safety issues for which a technical resolution has been completed are reported specifically in a separate table provided in this summary

  9. Self-shielding effect in unresolved resonance data in JENDL-4.0

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Konno, Chikara; Takakura, Kosuke; Ochiai, Kentaro; Sato, Satoshi; Kato, Yoshinari

    2012-01-01

    At International Conference on Nuclear Data for Science and Technology in 2007 we pointed out that most of unresolved resonance data in JENDL-3.3 have a problem related to self-shielding correction. Here with a simple calculation model we have investigated whether the latest JENDL, JENDL-4.0, was improved for the problem or not. The results suggest that unresolved resonance data in JENDL-4.0 have no problem, but it seems that self-shielding effects for the unresolved resonance data in JENDL-4.0 are too large. New benchmark experiments for unresolved resonance data are strongly recommended in order to verify unresolved resonance data. (author)

  10. Unresolved safety issues: where do we go from here

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Aycock, M.B.

    1980-01-01

    Section 210 of the Energy reorganization Act of 1974, as amended requires the NRC to develop a program for resolving Unresolved Safety Issues related to nuclear power plants. Seventeen Unresolved Safety Issues were identified by the NRC in 1978 and by early 1979 the NRC Unresolved Safety Issues Program was quickly becoming a well defined and manageable effort. Although, the Three Mile Island accident caused the momentum developed in early 1979 to be lost, efforts on ongoing generic tasks were continued by a special NRC Task Force established in June 1979. The momentum that was lost must be regained, however, if the Congressional mandate in Section 210 is to be met. With increased industry involvement and the marriage of the Unresolved Safety Issues Program with the improved and broader safety program development, audit and evaluation activities of the new NRR Division of Safety Technology, this should be possible

  11. Containment-emergency-sump performance. Technical findings related to Unresolved Safety Issue A-43

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    1983-04-01

    This report summarizes key technical findings related to the Unresolved Safety Issue A-43, Containment Emergency Sump Performance, and provides recommendations for resolution of attendant safety issues. The key safety questions relate to: (a) effects of insulation debris on sump performance; (b) sump hydraulic performance as determined by design features, submergence, and plant induced effects, and (c) recirculation pump performance wherein air and/or particulate ingestion can occur. The technical findings presented in this report provide information relevant to the design and performance evaluation of the containment emergency sump

  12. Transmission access raises unresolved economic issues

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Happ, H.H.

    1994-01-01

    The electric utility industry is in the process of gradual change from a fully regulated industry to one of partial deregulation. Instead of relying on regulation to achieve a fair and equitable price to the consumer for electric energy, the reliance is placed more and more on market forces, through competition, to provide wholesale energy at the best market price. Clearly, open transmission access is required to create a viable competitive wholesale market for new generation resources. This article describes four unresolved, or at least partially unresolved, issues associated with transmission access for wholesale wheeling. Wheeling has been defined as the use of a utility's transmission facilities to transmit power for other buyers and sellers. At least three parties are involved in a wheeling transaction: a seller, a buyer, and one or more wheeling utilities that transmit the power from the seller to the buyer. This article considers wholesale or bulk wheeling only, and does not consider retail wheeling. The four unresolved economic issues described in this article pertain to transmission access: Actual cost of providing transmission services, Methodology or methodologies used in evaluating the cost of wheeling, Contract path versus the actual power flows of the wheel, Issues associated with the formation of transmission regions

  13. Detecting unresolved binary stars in Euclid VIS images

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kuntzer, T.; Courbin, F.

    2017-10-01

    Measuring a weak gravitational lensing signal to the level required by the next generation of space-based surveys demands exquisite reconstruction of the point-spread function (PSF). However, unresolved binary stars can significantly distort the PSF shape. In an effort to mitigate this bias, we aim at detecting unresolved binaries in realistic Euclid stellar populations. We tested methods in numerical experiments where (I) the PSF shape is known to Euclid requirements across the field of view; and (II) the PSF shape is unknown. We drew simulated catalogues of PSF shapes for this proof-of-concept paper. Following the Euclid survey plan, the objects were observed four times. We propose three methods to detect unresolved binary stars. The detection is based on the systematic and correlated biases between exposures of the same object. One method is a simple correlation analysis, while the two others use supervised machine-learning algorithms (random forest and artificial neural network). In both experiments, we demonstrate the ability of our methods to detect unresolved binary stars in simulated catalogues. The performance depends on the level of prior knowledge of the PSF shape and the shape measurement errors. Good detection performances are observed in both experiments. Full complexity, in terms of the images and the survey design, is not included, but key aspects of a more mature pipeline are discussed. Finding unresolved binaries in objects used for PSF reconstruction increases the quality of the PSF determination at arbitrary positions. We show, using different approaches, that we are able to detect at least binary stars that are most damaging for the PSF reconstruction process. The code corresponding to the algorithms used in this work and all scripts to reproduce the results are publicly available from a GitHub repository accessible via http://lastro.epfl.ch/software

  14. New population-based exome data question the pathogenicity of some genetic variants previously associated with Marfan syndrome

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Yang, Ren-Qiang; Jabbari, Javad; Cheng, Xiao-Shu

    2014-01-01

    BACKGROUND: Marfan syndrome (MFS) is a rare autosomal dominantly inherited connective tissue disorder with an estimated prevalence of 1:5,000. More than 1000 variants have been previously reported to be associated with MFS. However, the disease-causing effect of these variants may be questionable...

  15. Can temporal fine structure represent the fundamental frequency of unresolved harmonics?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Oxenham, Andrew J; Micheyl, Christophe; Keebler, Michael V

    2009-04-01

    At least two modes of pitch perception exist: in one, the fundamental frequency (F0) of harmonic complex tones is estimated using the temporal fine structure (TFS) of individual low-order resolved harmonics; in the other, F0 is derived from the temporal envelope of high-order unresolved harmonics that interact in the auditory periphery. Pitch is typically more accurate in the former than in the latter mode. Another possibility is that pitch can sometimes be coded via the TFS from unresolved harmonics. A recent study supporting this third possibility [Moore et al. (2006a). J. Acoust. Soc. Am. 119, 480-490] based its conclusion on a condition where phase interaction effects (implying unresolved harmonics) accompanied accurate F0 discrimination (implying TFS processing). The present study tests whether these results were influenced by audible distortion products. Experiment 1 replicated the original results, obtained using a low-level background noise. However, experiments 2-4 found no evidence for the use of TFS cues with unresolved harmonics when the background noise level was raised, or the stimulus level was lowered, to render distortion inaudible. Experiment 5 measured the presence and phase dependence of audible distortion products. The results provide no evidence that TFS cues are used to code the F0 of unresolved harmonics.

  16. A Structural Approach to Unresolved Mourning in Single Parent Family Systems.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fulmer, Richard H.

    1983-01-01

    Considers the mother's depression as a special problem in therapy of single-parent families, resulting from unresolved mourning maintained by the family system. Offers reasons why the single-parent family's structure seems inherently vulnerable to unresolved mourning. Suggests techniques of Structural Family Therapy to facilitate mourning in such…

  17. Unresolved trauma in mothers: intergenerational effects and the role of reorganization

    Science.gov (United States)

    Iyengar, Udita; Kim, Sohye; Martinez, Sheila; Fonagy, Peter; Strathearn, Lane

    2014-01-01

    A mother's unresolved trauma may interfere with her ability to sensitively respond to her infant, thus affecting the development of attachment in her own child, and potentially contributing to the intergenerational transmission of trauma. One novel construct within the Dynamic Maturational Model of Attachment and Adaptation (DMM) coding of the Adult Attachment Interview (AAI) is “reorganization,” a process whereby speakers are actively changing their understanding of past and present experiences and moving toward attachment security. We conducted a study of mothers with unresolved trauma, exploring their own attachment classification, attachment outcomes of their children, and the potential effects of reorganization on child attachment. Forty-seven first-time mothers participated in the AAI during pregnancy, and returned with their child at 11 months to assess child attachment using the Strange Situation Procedure. Mothers with and without unresolved trauma were compared. We found that mothers with unresolved trauma had insecure attachment themselves and were more likely to have infants with insecure attachment. However, the one exception was that all of the mothers with unresolved trauma who were reorganizing toward secure attachment had infants with secure attachment. These preliminary findings suggest that mothers who are reorganizing may be able to more sensitively respond to their child's cues, contributing to the development of secure attachment. While our results need to be replicated in a larger cohort, this study is the first to explore the construct of reorganization and its potential relationship with child attachment. If confirmed in future studies, it may provide clinical insight into the intergenerational transmission of insecure attachment within the context of unresolved trauma. PMID:25225490

  18. Preterm birth, an unresolved issue

    OpenAIRE

    Beliz?n, Jose M; Hofmeyr, Justus; Buekens, Pierre; Salaria, Natasha

    2013-01-01

    Premature birth is the world?s leading cause of neonatal mortality with worldwide estimates indicating 11.1% of all live births were preterm in 2010. Preterm birth rates are increasing in most countries with continual differences in survival rates amongst rich and poor countries. Preterm birth is currently an important unresolved global issue with research efforts focusing on uterine quiescence and activation, the ?omics? approaches and implementation science in order to reduce the incidence ...

  19. Assessing 1D Atmospheric Solar Radiative Transfer Models: Interpretation and Handling of Unresolved Clouds.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Barker, H. W.; Stephens, G. L.; Partain, P. T.; Bergman, J. W.; Bonnel, B.; Campana, K.; Clothiaux, E. E.; Clough, S.; Cusack, S.; Delamere, J.; Edwards, J.; Evans, K. F.; Fouquart, Y.; Freidenreich, S.; Galin, V.; Hou, Y.; Kato, S.; Li, J.;  Mlawer, E.;  Morcrette, J.-J.;  O'Hirok, W.;  Räisänen, P.;  Ramaswamy, V.;  Ritter, B.;  Rozanov, E.;  Schlesinger, M.;  Shibata, K.;  Sporyshev, P.;  Sun, Z.;  Wendisch, M.;  Wood, N.;  Yang, F.

    2003-08-01

    The primary purpose of this study is to assess the performance of 1D solar radiative transfer codes that are used currently both for research and in weather and climate models. Emphasis is on interpretation and handling of unresolved clouds. Answers are sought to the following questions: (i) How well do 1D solar codes interpret and handle columns of information pertaining to partly cloudy atmospheres? (ii) Regardless of the adequacy of their assumptions about unresolved clouds, do 1D solar codes perform as intended?One clear-sky and two plane-parallel, homogeneous (PPH) overcast cloud cases serve to elucidate 1D model differences due to varying treatments of gaseous transmittances, cloud optical properties, and basic radiative transfer. The remaining four cases involve 3D distributions of cloud water and water vapor as simulated by cloud-resolving models. Results for 25 1D codes, which included two line-by-line (LBL) models (clear and overcast only) and four 3D Monte Carlo (MC) photon transport algorithms, were submitted by 22 groups. Benchmark, domain-averaged irradiance profiles were computed by the MC codes. For the clear and overcast cases, all MC estimates of top-of-atmosphere albedo, atmospheric absorptance, and surface absorptance agree with one of the LBL codes to within ±2%. Most 1D codes underestimate atmospheric absorptance by typically 15-25 W m-2 at overhead sun for the standard tropical atmosphere regardless of clouds.Depending on assumptions about unresolved clouds, the 1D codes were partitioned into four genres: (i) horizontal variability, (ii) exact overlap of PPH clouds, (iii) maximum/random overlap of PPH clouds, and (iv) random overlap of PPH clouds. A single MC code was used to establish conditional benchmarks applicable to each genre, and all MC codes were used to establish the full 3D benchmarks. There is a tendency for 1D codes to cluster near their respective conditional benchmarks, though intragenre variances typically exceed those for

  20. Unresolved safety issues summary. Aqua Book. Volume 6, No. 3

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Butts, J.

    1984-01-01

    The unresolved safety issues summary is designed to provide the management of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission with a quarterly overview of the progress and plans for completion of generic tasks addressing unresolved safety issues reported to Congress pursuant to Section 210 of the Energy Reorganization Act of 1974 as amended. This summary utilizes data collected from the Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation, Office of Nuclear Regulatory Research, and the national laboratories and is prepared by the Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation

  1. A Short History of ENDF/B Unresolved Resonance Parameters

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Cullen, Dermott E. [Lawrence Livermore National Lab. (LLNL), Livermore, CA (United States)

    2010-10-31

    This paper is designed to address two topics relating to ENDF/B data in the unresolved resonance region, Part 1: For years code users have pointed out and complained that various ENDF data processing codes, in particular PREPRO and NJOY, produce different answers from one another for the cross sections in unresolved resonance region. First I assure code users that NJOY has now been updated to agree with PREPRO, so that this problem has now been solved. Part 2: Next, this paper documents why we saw these differences; the emphasis here is on explaining what my own codes do, but I will also try to briefly outline what other codes do, so the reader can understand why we were producing different answers. The first topic should be of general interest to all readers, particularly users of our codes, whereas the second topic will be of more limited interest only to those readers who are interested in the details of our calculations in the unresolved resonance region. Now that our PREPRO and NJOY results agree we consider this problem solved and no further action is necessary.

  2. Interactions among resonances in the unresolved region

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Queiroz Bogado Leite, S. de.

    1982-11-01

    The theory on resonance absorption in the unresolved region is reviewed and a subroutine is presented, optional to UNRES in MC 2 code. Comparisons with the isolated resonance model suggest the necessity, in some cases, of considering interference and overlapping effects among resonances of the system. (Author) [pt

  3. Biodiversity and systematics in cephalopods: Unresolved problems ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Some problems of cephalopod biodiversity are discussed. Many squid species are represented by 2–4 intraspecies groupings that may be wholly or partly sympatric, but differ in spawning season and size at maturity. They may be genetically distinct stock units, but their taxonomic status remains unresolved. Discovery of a ...

  4. Stochasticity effects on derivation of physical parameters of unresolved star clusters

    OpenAIRE

    de Meulenaer, Philippe; Narbutis, Donatas; Mineikis, Tadas; Vansevičius, Vladas

    2013-01-01

    We developed a method for a fast modeling of broad-band UBVRI integrated magnitudes of unresolved star clusters and used it to derive their physical parameters (age, mass, and extinction). The method was applied on M33 galaxy cluster sample and consistency of ages and masses derived from unresolved observations with the values derived from resolved stellar photometry was demonstrated. We found that interstellar extinction causes minor age-extinction degeneracy for the studied sample due to a ...

  5. Unresolved safety issues summary. Volume 3, Number 3. Aqua book

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    1981-01-01

    The 'Unresolved Safety Issues' summary is designed to provide the management of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission with a quarterly overview of the progress and plans for completion of generic tasks addressing Unresolved Safety Issues reported to Congress pursuant to section 210 of The Energy Reorganization Act of 1974 as amended. This summary utilizes data collected from the Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation, Office of Nuclear Regulatory Research, and the National Laboratories and is prepared by the office of Management and Program Analysis. The definition of what constitutes completion of an unresolved safety issue (USI) has recently been expanded to include the implementation of the technical resolution. This is in acknowledgement of the fact that real safety benefits occur only after the implementation has taken place. The schedules in this book include a milestone at the end of each action plan which represents the initiation of the implementation process both with respect to incorporation of the technical resolution in the NRC official guidance or requirements and also the application of changes to individual operating plants. The schedule for implementation will not normally be included in the task action plan(s) for the resolution of a USI since the nature and extent of the activities necessary to accomplish the implementation cannot normally be reasonably determined prior to the determination of a technical resolution. The progress and status for implementation of unresolved safety issues for which a technical resolution has been completed are reported specifically in a separate table provided in this summary

  6. The Nature of the Unresolved Extragalactic Cosmic Soft X-Ray Background

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cappelluti, N.; Ranalli, P.; Roncarelli, M.; Arevalo, P.; Zamorani, G.; Comastri, A.; Gilli, R.; Rovilos, E.; Vignali, C.; Allevato, V.; hide

    2013-01-01

    In this paper we investigate the power spectrum of the unresolved 0.5-2 keV cosmic X-ray background (CXB) with deep Chandra 4-Msec (Ms) observations in the Chandra Deep Field South (CDFS). We measured a signal that, on scales >30 arcsec, is significantly higher than the shot noise and is increasing with angular scale. We interpreted this signal as the joint contribution of clustered undetected sources like active galactic nuclei (AGN), galaxies and the intergalactic medium (IGM). The power of unresolved cosmic source fluctuations accounts for approximately 12 per cent of the 0.5-2 keV extragalactic CXB. Overall, our modelling predicts that approximately 20 per cent of the unresolved CXB flux is produced by low-luminosity AGN, approximately 25 per cent by galaxies and approximately 55 per cent by the IGM. We do not find any direct evidence of the so-called 'warm hot intergalactic medium' (i.e. matter with 10(exp 5) less than T less than 10(exp 7) K and density contrast delta less than 1000), but we estimated that it could produce about 1/7 of the unresolved CXB. We placed an upper limit on the space density of postulated X-ray-emitting early black holes at z greater than 7.5 and compared it with supermassive black hole evolution models.

  7. Assessment method to predict the rate of unresolved false alarms

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Reardon, P.T.; Eggers, R.F.; Heaberlin, S.W.

    1982-06-01

    A method has been developed to predict the rate of unresolved false alarms of material loss in a nuclear facility. The computer program DETRES-1 was developed. The program first assigns the true values of control unit components receipts, shipments, beginning and ending inventories. A normal random number generator is used to generate measured values of each component. A loss estimator is calculated from the control unit's measured values. If the loss estimator triggers a detection alarm, a response is simulated. The response simulation is divided into two phases. The first phase is to simulate remeasurement of the components of the detection loss estimator using the same or better measurement methods or inferences from surrounding control units. If this phase of response continues to indicate a material loss, phase of response simulating a production shutdown and comprehensive cleanout is initiated. A new loss estimator is found, and tested against the alarm thresholds. If the estimator value is below the threshold, the original detection alarm is considered resolved; if above the threshold, an unresolved alarm has occurred. A tally is kept of valid alarms, unresolved false alarms, and failure to alarm upon a true loss

  8. Perception of the pitch of unresolved harmonics by 3- and 7-month-old human infants.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lau, Bonnie K; Werner, Lynne A

    2014-08-01

    Three-month-olds discriminate resolved harmonic complexes on the basis of missing fundamental (MF) pitch. In view of reported difficulty in discriminating unresolved complexes at 7 months and striking changes in the organization of the auditory system during early infancy, infants' ability to discriminate unresolved complexes is of some interest. This study investigated the ability of 3-month-olds, 7-month-olds, and adults to discriminate the pitch of unresolved harmonic complexes using an observer-based method. Stimuli were MF complexes bandpass filtered with a -12 dB/octave slope, combined in random phase, presented at 70 dB sound pressure level (SPL) for 650 ms with a 50 ms rise/fall with a pink noise at 65 dB SPL. The conditions were (1) "LOW" unresolved harmonics (2500-4500 Hz) based on MFs of 160 and 200 Hz and (2) "HIGH" unresolved harmonics (4000-6000 Hz) based on MFs of 190 and 200 Hz. To demonstrate MF discrimination, participants had to ignore spectral changes in complexes with the same fundamental and respond only when the fundamental changed. Nearly all infants tested categorized complexes by MF pitch suggesting discrimination of pitch extracted from unresolved harmonics by 3 months. Adults also categorized the complexes by MF pitch, although musically trained adults were more successful than musically untrained adults.

  9. Efficacy of Artemether in Unresolving Plasmodium Falciparum Malaria

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    The emergence of possible resistant Plasmodium falciparum malaria to artemisinin known for its immense benefit in malaria chemotherapy is worrisome. We report a case of unresolving Plasmodium falciparum malaria to Artesunate treatment in a 29- year old man in Enugu Nigeria. Plasmodium falciparum count of Giemsa ...

  10. The American Indian Holocaust: Healing Historical Unresolved Grief.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Brave Heart, Maria Yellow Horse; DeBruyn, Lemyra M.

    1998-01-01

    Argues for the existence of historical unresolved grief among American Indians. Outlines the historical legacy of war, genocide, and boarding schools resulting in intergenerational trauma and a host of associated social problems. Suggests healing strategies that integrate modern and traditional approaches to healing at the individual, family, and…

  11. Unresolved resonance range cross section, probability tables and self shielding factor

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Sublet, J.Ch.; Blomquist, R.N.; Goluoglu, S.; Mac Farlane, R.E.

    2009-07-01

    The performance and methodology of 4 processing codes have been compared in the unresolved resonance range of a selected set of isotopes. Those isotopes have been chosen to encompass most cases encountered in the unresolved energy range contained in major libraries like Endf/B-7 or Jeff-3.1.1. The code results comparison is accompanied by data format and formalism examinations and processing code fine-interpretation study. After some improvements, the results showed generally good agreement, although not perfect with infinite dilute cross-sections. However, much larger differences occur when shelf-shielded effective cross-sections are compared. The infinitely dilute cross-section are often plot checked but it is the probability table derived and shelf-shielded cross sections that are used and interpreted in criticality and transport calculations. This suggests that the current evaluation data format and formalism, in the unresolved resonance range should be tightened up, ambiguities removed. In addition production of the shelf shielded cross-sections should be converged to a much greater accuracy. (author)

  12. Characterisation of unresolved complex mixtures of hydrocarbons

    OpenAIRE

    Gough, Mark Adrian

    1989-01-01

    Metadata merged with duplicate record (http://hdl.handle.net/10026.1/666) on 20.12.2016 by CS (TIS). This is a digitised version of a thesis that was deposited in the University Library. If you are the author please contact PEARL Admin () to discuss options. The hydrocarbons of Recent Polluted.., sediments, in-reservoir and laboratory biodegraded crude oils, and certain petroleum products (e. g. lubricating oils) often display "humps" or Unresolved Complex...

  13. X-exome sequencing of 405 unresolved families identifies seven novel intellectual disability genes

    OpenAIRE

    Hu, H.; Haas, S.A.; Chelly, J.; Van Esch, H.; Raynaud, M.; de Brouwer, A.P.M.; Weinert, S.; Froyen, G.; Frints, S.G.M.; Laumonnier, F.; Zemojtel, T.; Love, M.I.; Richard, H.; Emde, A.K.; Bienek, M.

    2016-01-01

    X-linked intellectual disability (XLID) is a clinically and genetically heterogeneous disorder. During the past two decades in excess of 100 X-chromosome ID genes have been identified. Yet, a large number of families mapping to the X-chromosome remained unresolved suggesting that more XLID genes or loci are yet to be identified. Here, we have investigated 405 unresolved families with XLID. We employed massively parallel sequencing of all X-chromosome exons in the index males. The majority of ...

  14. Spatially unresolved SED fitting can underestimate galaxy masses: a solution to the missing mass problem

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sorba, Robert; Sawicki, Marcin

    2018-05-01

    We perform spatially resolved, pixel-by-pixel Spectral Energy Distribution (SED) fitting on galaxies up to z ˜ 2.5 in the Hubble eXtreme Deep Field (XDF). Comparing stellar mass estimates from spatially resolved and spatially unresolved photometry we find that unresolved masses can be systematically underestimated by factors of up to 5. The ratio of the unresolved to resolved mass measurement depends on the galaxy's specific star formation rate (sSFR): at low sSFRs the bias is small, but above sSFR ˜ 10-9.5 yr-1 the discrepancy increases rapidly such that galaxies with sSFRs ˜ 10-8 yr-1 have unresolved mass estimates of only one-half to one-fifth of the resolved value. This result indicates that stellar masses estimated from spatially unresolved data sets need to be systematically corrected, in some cases by large amounts, and we provide an analytic prescription for applying this correction. We show that correcting stellar mass measurements for this bias changes the normalization and slope of the star-forming main sequence and reduces its intrinsic width; most dramatically, correcting for the mass bias increases the stellar mass density of the Universe at high redshift and can resolve the long-standing discrepancy between the directly measured cosmic SFR density at z ≳ 1 and that inferred from stellar mass densities (`the missing mass problem').

  15. Neutron cross sections in the unresolved resonance region

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Janeva, N.; Lukyanov, A.; Koyumdjieva, N.; Volev, K.

    2005-01-01

    In this work a development of the characteristic function model, created to reveal the resonance cross section structure in the unresolved resonance region is presented. The main advantage of this model is the calculation of resonance averaged self-shielding factors analytically. To determine average values of the cross sections and their functionals the function of joint statistical distribution of the R-matrix real and imaginary parts should be used. The characteristic function of such distribution is determined and the resonance ladder for the unresolved region is optimized to calculate the group averaged functionals in the same way as it is in the resolved resonance region. The main advantage of this model is the calculation of resonance averaged self-shielding factors analytically. The neutron width energy dependence leads to some deformation in the shape of resonances. This deformation is most apparent near the inelastic scattering threshold. For the case when the inelastic channel momentum is zero we present the formula for level shape bellow and over the inelastic threshold and the calculated resonance deformation in dependence of the position of the resonance in respect to the threshold. (authors)

  16. Analyses of more than 60,000 exomes questions the role of numerous genes previously associated with dilated cardiomyopathy

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Nouhravesh, Nina; Ahlberg, Gustav; Ghouse, Jonas

    2016-01-01

    BACKGROUND: Hundreds of genetic variants have been described as disease causing in dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM). Some of these associations are now being questioned. We aimed to identify the prevalence of previously DCM associated variants in the Exome Aggregation Consortium (ExAC), in order...... to identify potentially false-positive DCM variants. METHODS: Variants listed as DCM disease-causing variants in the Human Gene Mutation Database were extracted from ExAC. Pathogenicity predictions for these variants were mined from dbNSFP v 2.9 database. RESULTS: Of the 473 DCM variants listed in HGMD, 148...... (31%) were found in ExAC. The expected number of individuals with DCM in ExAC is 25 based on the prevalence in the general population. Yet, 35 variants were found in more than 25 individuals. In 13 genes, we identified all variants previously associated with DCM; four genes contained variants above...

  17. Progress Towards an LES Wall Model Including Unresolved Roughness

    Science.gov (United States)

    Craft, Kyle; Redman, Andrew; Aikens, Kurt

    2015-11-01

    Wall models used in large eddy simulations (LES) are often based on theories for hydraulically smooth walls. While this is reasonable for many applications, there are also many where the impact of surface roughness is important. A previously developed wall model has been used primarily for jet engine aeroacoustics. However, jet simulations have not accurately captured thick initial shear layers found in some experimental data. This may partly be due to nozzle wall roughness used in the experiments to promote turbulent boundary layers. As a result, the wall model is extended to include the effects of unresolved wall roughness through appropriate alterations to the log-law. The methodology is tested for incompressible flat plate boundary layers with different surface roughness. Correct trends are noted for the impact of surface roughness on the velocity profile. However, velocity deficit profiles and the Reynolds stresses do not collapse as well as expected. Possible reasons for the discrepancies as well as future work will be presented. This work used the Extreme Science and Engineering Discovery Environment (XSEDE), which is supported by National Science Foundation grant number ACI-1053575. Computational resources on TACC Stampede were provided under XSEDE allocation ENG150001.

  18. Brain Death in Pediatric Patients in Japan: Diagnosis and Unresolved Issues.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Araki, Takashi; Yokota, Hiroyuki; Fuse, Akira

    2016-01-01

    Brain death (BD) is a physiological state defined as complete and irreversible loss of brain function. Organ transplantation from a patient with BD is controversial in Japan because there are two classifications of BD: legal BD in which the organs can be donated and general BD in which the organs cannot be donated. The significance of BD in the terminal phase remains in the realm of scientific debate. As indicated by the increasing number of organ transplants from brain-dead donors, certain clinical diagnosis for determining BD in adults is becoming established. However, regardless of whether or not organ transplantation is involved, there are many unresolved issues regarding BD in children. Here, we will discuss the historical background of BD determination in children, pediatric emergencies and BD, and unresolved issues related to pediatric BD.

  19. Representation of the neutron cross sections in the unresolved resonance region

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    de Saussure, G.; Perez, R.B.

    1975-01-01

    Some limitations of the statistical approach to the representation of cross sections in the unresolved region are discussed and it is suggested that the actual Doppler-broadened cross sections should be used instead. 5 figures

  20. Effects of cochlear compression and frequency selectivity on pitch discrimination of complex tones with unresolved harmonics

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Bianchi, Federica; Fereczkowski, Michal; Zaar, Johannes

    2015-01-01

    Physiological studies have shown that noise-induced sensorineural hearing loss (SNHL) enhances the amplitude of envelope coding in auditory-nerve fibers. As pitch coding of unresolved complex tones is assumed to rely on temporal envelope coding mechanisms, this study investigated...... for the RP condition. Overall, these findings suggest that both reduced cochlear compression and auditory filter broadening alter the envelope representation of unresolved complex tones, leading to changes in pitch-discrimination performance....... pitchdiscrimination performance in listeners with SNHL. Pitch-discrimination thresholds were obtained in 14 normal-hearing (NH) and 10 hearingimpaired (HI) listeners for sine-phase (SP) and random-phase (RP) unresolved complex tones. The HI listeners performed, on average, similarly as the NH listeners in the SP...

  1. Guaranteed Unresolved Point Source Emission and the Gamma-ray Background

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Pavlidou, Vasiliki; Siegal-Gaskins, Jennifer M.; Brown, Carolyn; Fields, Brian D.; Olinto, Angela V.

    2007-01-01

    The large majority of EGRET point sources remain without an identified low-energy counterpart, and a large fraction of these sources are most likely extragalactic. Whatever the nature of the extragalactic EGRET unidentified sources, faint unresolved objects of the same class must have a contribution to the diffuse extragalactic gamma-ray background (EGRB). Understanding this component of the EGRB, along with other guaranteed contributions from known sources (blazars and normal galaxies), is essential if we are to use this emission to constrain exotic high-energy physics. Here, we follow an empirical approach to estimate whether the contribution of unresolved unidentified sources to the EGRB is likely to be important. Additionally, we discuss how upcoming GLAST observations of EGRET unidentified sources, their fainter counterparts, and the Galactic and extragalactic diffuse backgrounds, will shed light on the nature of the EGRET unidentified sources even without any positional association of such sources with low-energy counterparts

  2. Unresolved gamma rays from high-spin states

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Stephens, F.S.

    1985-08-01

    The γ-rays which are emitted from the highest spin states in nuclei cannot be resolved using present techniques. Nevertheless, methods are being developed to study nuclear structures in this spin range. For example, coincidence data has been used in the study of superdeformations and moments of inertia. While the general properties of these correlation plots are in accord with present expectations, there are several puzzling features of the data which require more study. One unresolved aspect concerns γ-ray energy spreads in a given decay pathway. In addition, higher-order correlation methods are in various stages of inception. 15 refs., 16 figs

  3. A decade of e-cigarettes: Limited research & unresolved safety concerns.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kaisar, Mohammad Abul; Prasad, Shikha; Liles, Tylor; Cucullo, Luca

    2016-07-15

    It is well known that tobacco consumption is a leading cause of preventable deaths worldwide and has been linked to major diseases ranging from cancer to chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, atherosclerosis, stroke and a host of neurological/neurodegenerative disorders. In the past decade a number of alternative vaping products have hit the market, rapidly gaining consumers especially among the younger population. Electronic nicotine delivery systems or e-cigarettes have become the sought-after product due to the belief that they are much safer than traditional cigarettes. However, inadequate research and lack of regulatory guidelines for both the manufacturing process and the content of the vaping solution of the e-cigarette has become a major concern. Highly debated and unresolved questions such as whether e-cigarettes may help smokers quit and whether e-cigarettes will promote the use of nicotine among non-smokers add to the confusion of the safety of e-cigarettes. In this review article, we summarize the current understanding (and lack thereof) of the potential health impacts of e-cigarettes. We will also highlight the most recent studies (in vivo/in vitro) which seem to conflict with the broad safety claims put forward by the manufacturers. Finally, we provide potential solutions to overcome the research gap of the short and long-term health impact of e-cigarettes. Published by Elsevier Ireland Ltd.

  4. A decade of e-cigarettes: Limited research & unresolved safety concerns

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kaisar, Mohammad Abul; Prasad, Shikha; Liles, Tylor; Cucullo, Luca

    2016-01-01

    It is well known that tobacco consumption is a leading cause of preventable deaths worldwide and has been linked to major diseases ranging from cancer to chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, atherosclerosis, stroke and a host of neurological/neurodegenerative disorders. In the past decade a number of alternative vaping products have hit the market, rapidly gaining consumers especially among the younger population. Electronic nicotine delivery systems or e-cigarettes have become the sought-after product due to the belief that they are much safer than traditional cigarettes. However, inadequate research and lack of regulatory guidelines for both the manufacturing process and the content of the vaping solution of the e-cigarette has become a major concern. Highly debated and unresolved questions such as whether e-cigarettes may help smokers quit and whether e-cigarettes will promote the use of nicotine among non-smokers add to the confusion of the safety of e-cigarettes. In this review article, we summarize the current understanding (and lack thereof) of the potential health impacts of e-cigarettes. We will also highlight the most recent studies (in vivo/in vitro) which seem to conflict with the broad safety claims put forward by the manufacturers. Finally, we provide potential solutions to overcome the research gap of the short and long-term health impact of e-cigarettes.

  5. A Decade of e-Cigarettes: Limited Research & Unresolved Safety Concerns

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kaisar, Mohammad Abul; Prasad, Shikha; Liles, Tylor; Cucullo, Luca

    2016-01-01

    It is well known that tobacco consumption is a leading cause of preventable deaths worldwide and has been linked to major diseases ranging from cancer to chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, atherosclerosis, stroke and a host of neurological/neurodegenerative disorders. In the past decade a number of alternative vaping products have hit the market, rapidly gaining consumers especially among the younger population. Electronic nicotine delivery systems or e-cigarettes have become the sought-after product due to the belief that they are much safer than traditional cigarettes. However, inadequate research and lack of regulatory guidelines for both the manufacturing process and the content of the vaping solution of the e-cigarette has become a major concern. Highly debated and unresolved questions such as whether e-cigarettes may help smokers quit and whether e-cigarettes will promote the use of nicotine among non-smokers add to the confusion of the safety of e-cigarettes. In this review article, we summarize the current understanding (and lack thereof) of the potential health impacts of e-cigarettes. We will also highlight the most recent studies (in vivo/in vitro) which seem to conflict with the broad safety claims put forward by the manufacturers. Finally, we provide potential solutions to overcome the research gap of the short and long-term health impact of e-cigarettes. PMID:27477296

  6. UNR. A code for processing unresolved resonance data for MCNP

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hogenbirk, A.

    1994-09-01

    In neutron transport problems the correct treatment of self-shielding is important for those nuclei present in large concentrations. Monte Carlo calculations using continuous-energy cross section data, such as calculations with the code MCNP, offer the advantage that neutron transport is calculated in a very accurate way. Self-shielding in the resolved resonance region is taken into account exactly in MCNP. However, self-shielding in the unresolved resonance region can not be taken into account by MCNP, although the effect of it may be important in many applications. In this report a description is given of the computer code UNR. With this code problem-dependent cross section libraries can be produced for MCNP. In these libraries self-shielded cross section data in the unresolved resonance range are given, which are produced by NJOY-module UNRESR. It is noted, that the treatment for resonance self-shielding presented in this report is approximate. However, the current version of MCNP does not allow the use of probability tables, which would be a general solution. (orig.)

  7. Preterm birth, an unresolved issue.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Belizán, Jose M; Hofmeyr, Justus; Buekens, Pierre; Salaria, Natasha

    2013-11-15

    Premature birth is the world's leading cause of neonatal mortality with worldwide estimates indicating 11.1% of all live births were preterm in 2010. Preterm birth rates are increasing in most countries with continual differences in survival rates amongst rich and poor countries. Preterm birth is currently an important unresolved global issue with research efforts focusing on uterine quiescence and activation, the 'omics' approaches and implementation science in order to reduce the incidence and increase survival rates of preterm babies. The journal Reproductive Health has published a supplement entitled Born Too Soon which addresses factors in the preconception and pregnancy period which may increase the risk of preterm birth and also outlines potential interventions which may reduce preterm birth rates and improve survival of preterm babies by as much as 84% annually. This is critical in order to achieve the Millennium Development Goal (MDG 4) for child survival by 2015 and beyond.

  8. Sexual Harassment: A problem unresolved!

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    N Vanishree

    2013-01-01

    Full Text Available Sexual harassment is a highly prevalent form of gender-based discrimination and sexual exploitation in the workplace and academic environment. In the dental field, there are a few studies regarding sexual harassment among the patients, professors and claims of their students. There is a silence of consent surrounding sexual harassment. It is clearly an issue about which the practicing dentists need to be informed in order to provide knowledgeable assessment and treatment for all patients. Dentists also have a role in advocacy, expert consultation or testimony, research and prevention through education and training. It is a fact that sexual harassment is very commonly encountered by almost everyone especially women. It is the most unresolved and under recognized problem of today especially when professionals are concerned. Preventing sexual harassment requires a considerable investment of time and personnel. This paper reviews the topic of sexual harassment as a problem from its legal aspects and recommendations for further steps to resolve this issue in dentistry.

  9. Evaluation of systems interactions in nuclear power plants: Technical findings related to Unresolved Safety Issue A-17

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Thatcher, D.

    1989-05-01

    This report presents a summary of the activities related to Unresolved Safety Issue (USI)A-17, ''Systems Interactions in Nuclear Power Plants,'' and also includes the NRC staff's conclusions based on those activities. The staff's technical findings provide the framework for the final resolution of this unresolved safety issue. The final resolution will be published later as NUREG-1229. 52 refs., 4 tabs

  10. X-exome sequencing of 405 unresolved families identifies seven novel intellectual disability genes.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hu, H; Haas, S A; Chelly, J; Van Esch, H; Raynaud, M; de Brouwer, A P M; Weinert, S; Froyen, G; Frints, S G M; Laumonnier, F; Zemojtel, T; Love, M I; Richard, H; Emde, A-K; Bienek, M; Jensen, C; Hambrock, M; Fischer, U; Langnick, C; Feldkamp, M; Wissink-Lindhout, W; Lebrun, N; Castelnau, L; Rucci, J; Montjean, R; Dorseuil, O; Billuart, P; Stuhlmann, T; Shaw, M; Corbett, M A; Gardner, A; Willis-Owen, S; Tan, C; Friend, K L; Belet, S; van Roozendaal, K E P; Jimenez-Pocquet, M; Moizard, M-P; Ronce, N; Sun, R; O'Keeffe, S; Chenna, R; van Bömmel, A; Göke, J; Hackett, A; Field, M; Christie, L; Boyle, J; Haan, E; Nelson, J; Turner, G; Baynam, G; Gillessen-Kaesbach, G; Müller, U; Steinberger, D; Budny, B; Badura-Stronka, M; Latos-Bieleńska, A; Ousager, L B; Wieacker, P; Rodríguez Criado, G; Bondeson, M-L; Annerén, G; Dufke, A; Cohen, M; Van Maldergem, L; Vincent-Delorme, C; Echenne, B; Simon-Bouy, B; Kleefstra, T; Willemsen, M; Fryns, J-P; Devriendt, K; Ullmann, R; Vingron, M; Wrogemann, K; Wienker, T F; Tzschach, A; van Bokhoven, H; Gecz, J; Jentsch, T J; Chen, W; Ropers, H-H; Kalscheuer, V M

    2016-01-01

    X-linked intellectual disability (XLID) is a clinically and genetically heterogeneous disorder. During the past two decades in excess of 100 X-chromosome ID genes have been identified. Yet, a large number of families mapping to the X-chromosome remained unresolved suggesting that more XLID genes or loci are yet to be identified. Here, we have investigated 405 unresolved families with XLID. We employed massively parallel sequencing of all X-chromosome exons in the index males. The majority of these males were previously tested negative for copy number variations and for mutations in a subset of known XLID genes by Sanger sequencing. In total, 745 X-chromosomal genes were screened. After stringent filtering, a total of 1297 non-recurrent exonic variants remained for prioritization. Co-segregation analysis of potential clinically relevant changes revealed that 80 families (20%) carried pathogenic variants in established XLID genes. In 19 families, we detected likely causative protein truncating and missense variants in 7 novel and validated XLID genes (CLCN4, CNKSR2, FRMPD4, KLHL15, LAS1L, RLIM and USP27X) and potentially deleterious variants in 2 novel candidate XLID genes (CDK16 and TAF1). We show that the CLCN4 and CNKSR2 variants impair protein functions as indicated by electrophysiological studies and altered differentiation of cultured primary neurons from Clcn4(-/-) mice or after mRNA knock-down. The newly identified and candidate XLID proteins belong to pathways and networks with established roles in cognitive function and intellectual disability in particular. We suggest that systematic sequencing of all X-chromosomal genes in a cohort of patients with genetic evidence for X-chromosome locus involvement may resolve up to 58% of Fragile X-negative cases.

  11. Identification of unresolved complex mixtures (UCMs) of hydrocarbons in commercial fish oil supplements.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Reid, Anna-Jean M; Budge, Suzanne M

    2015-01-01

    Heightened awareness of the health benefits of fish oil consumption has led to a great increase in the number of fish oil supplements available to the consumer. Therefore manufacturers are continually looking for ways to distinguish their products from those of competitors. Minimally refined or virgin fish oils provide a unique feature; however, petroleum hydrocarbon contamination from oil spills is a reality in the world's oceans. The question arises whether oil produced from fish species caught in these polluted areas is free of petroleum hydrocarbons, with particular interest in unresolved complex mixtures (UCMs). This study investigates the presence of UCMs in commercially available fish oil supplements advertised as being virgin, as well as refined. Weathered petroleum hydrocarbons in the form of a UCM were found at 523 µg g(-1) in a virgin Alaskan salmon oil supplement. Supplements that were refined were free of this contamination. Fish used in the production of fish oil supplements appear to have accumulated petrogenic hydrocarbons in their tissues which were not removed by minimal oil refining. Further study is required to determine if there are any health implications associated with long-term consumption of these contaminated supplements. © 2014 Society of Chemical Industry.

  12. Hypogonadism and Male Obesity: Focus on Unresolved Questions.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Grossmann, Mathis

    2018-04-23

    Obesity, increasing in prevalence globally, is the clinical condition most strongly associated with lowered testosterone concentrations in men, and presents as one of the strongest predictors of receiving testosterone treatment. While low circulating total testosterone concentrations in modest obesity primarily reflect reduced concentrations of sex hormone binding globulin, more marked obesity can lead to genuine hypothalamic-pituitary-testicular axis (HPT) suppression. HPT axis suppression is likely mediated via pro-inflammatory cytokine and dysregulated leptin signalling and aggravated by associated comorbidities. Whether estradiol-mediated negative hypothalamic-pituitary feedback plays a pathogenic role requires further study. Although the obesity-hypogonadism relationship is bi-directional, the effects of obesity on testosterone concentrations are more substantial than the effects of testosterone on adiposity. In markedly obese men submitted to bariatric surgery, substantial weight loss is very effective in reactivating the HPT axis. In contrast, lifestyle measures are less effective in reducing weight and generally only associated with modest increases in circulating testosterone. In randomised controlled clinical trials (RCTs), testosterone treatment does not reduce body weight, but modestly reduces fat mass and increases muscle mass. Short-term studies have shown that testosterone treatment in carefully selected obese men may have modest benefits on symptoms of androgen deficiency and body composition even additive to diet alone. However, longer-term, larger RCTs designed for patient-important outcomes and potential risks are required. Until such trials are available, testosterone treatment cannot be routinely recommended for men with obesity-associated non-classical hypogonadism. Lifestyle measures or where indicated bariatric surgery to achieve weight loss, and optimisation of comorbidities remain first line. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.

  13. The Oxford Questions on the foundations of quantum physics.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Briggs, G A D; Butterfield, J N; Zeilinger, A

    2013-09-08

    The twentieth century saw two fundamental revolutions in physics-relativity and quantum. Daily use of these theories can numb the sense of wonder at their immense empirical success. Does their instrumental effectiveness stand on the rock of secure concepts or the sand of unresolved fundamentals? Does measuring a quantum system probe, or even create, reality or merely change belief? Must relativity and quantum theory just coexist or might we find a new theory which unifies the two? To bring such questions into sharper focus, we convened a conference on Quantum Physics and the Nature of Reality. Some issues remain as controversial as ever, but some are being nudged by theory's secret weapon of experiment.

  14. The Oxford Questions on the foundations of quantum physics

    Science.gov (United States)

    Briggs, G. A. D.; Butterfield, J. N.; Zeilinger, A.

    2013-01-01

    The twentieth century saw two fundamental revolutions in physics—relativity and quantum. Daily use of these theories can numb the sense of wonder at their immense empirical success. Does their instrumental effectiveness stand on the rock of secure concepts or the sand of unresolved fundamentals? Does measuring a quantum system probe, or even create, reality or merely change belief? Must relativity and quantum theory just coexist or might we find a new theory which unifies the two? To bring such questions into sharper focus, we convened a conference on Quantum Physics and the Nature of Reality. Some issues remain as controversial as ever, but some are being nudged by theory's secret weapon of experiment. PMID:24062626

  15. Quantum dots in nanomedicine: recent trends, advances and unresolved issues

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Volkov, Yuri

    2015-01-01

    The review addresses the current state of progress in the use of ultra-small nanoparticles from the category of quantum dots (QDs), which presently embraces a widening range of nanomaterials of different nature, including “classical” semiconductor groups III-V and II-VI nanocrystals, along with more recently emerged carbon, silicon, gold and other types of nanoparticles falling into this class of nanomaterials due to their similar physical characteristics such as small size and associated quantum confinement effects. A diverse range of QDs applications in nanomedicine has been extensively summarised previously in numerous publications. Therefore, this review is not intended to provide an all-embracing survey of the well documented QDs uses, but is rather focused on the most recent emerging developments, concepts and outstanding unresolved problematic and sometimes controversial issues. Over 125 publications are overviewed and discussed here in the context of major nanomedicine domains, i.e. medical imaging, diagnostics, therapeutic applications and combination of them in multifunctional theranostic systems. - Highlights: • New types of nanomaterials have been recently added to the category of QDs with a potential in nanomedicine. • Within the main nanomedicine domains, best progress has been achieved with QDs for diagnostic tools. • Further studies are required for the theranostic QDs-based leads to reach clinical translation.

  16. Quantum dots in nanomedicine: recent trends, advances and unresolved issues

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Volkov, Yuri, E-mail: yvolkov@tcd.ie

    2015-12-18

    The review addresses the current state of progress in the use of ultra-small nanoparticles from the category of quantum dots (QDs), which presently embraces a widening range of nanomaterials of different nature, including “classical” semiconductor groups III-V and II-VI nanocrystals, along with more recently emerged carbon, silicon, gold and other types of nanoparticles falling into this class of nanomaterials due to their similar physical characteristics such as small size and associated quantum confinement effects. A diverse range of QDs applications in nanomedicine has been extensively summarised previously in numerous publications. Therefore, this review is not intended to provide an all-embracing survey of the well documented QDs uses, but is rather focused on the most recent emerging developments, concepts and outstanding unresolved problematic and sometimes controversial issues. Over 125 publications are overviewed and discussed here in the context of major nanomedicine domains, i.e. medical imaging, diagnostics, therapeutic applications and combination of them in multifunctional theranostic systems. - Highlights: • New types of nanomaterials have been recently added to the category of QDs with a potential in nanomedicine. • Within the main nanomedicine domains, best progress has been achieved with QDs for diagnostic tools. • Further studies are required for the theranostic QDs-based leads to reach clinical translation.

  17. URR-PACK: Calculating Self-Shielding in the Unresolved Resonance Energy Range

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Cullen, Dermott E.; Trkov, Andrej

    2016-07-01

    This report describes HOW to calculate self-shielding in the unresolved resonance region (URR), in terms of the computer codes we provide to allow a user to do these calculations himself. Here we only describe HOW to calculate; a longer companion report describes in detail WHY it is necessary to include URR self-shielding.

  18. TUZ, Resonance Integrals in Unresolved Region, Various Temperature, From Porter-Thomas Distribution

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kuncir, G.F.

    1969-01-01

    1 - Nature of physical problem solved: TUZ computes resonance integrals for a wide variety of temperatures, compositions, and geometries for the unresolved resonances. 2 - Method of solution: The resonances are considered to be defined by an average over the Porter-Thomas distribution of neutron widths

  19. Distribution of unresolvable anisotropic microstructures revealed in visibility-contrast images using x-ray Talbot interferometry

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Yashiro, Wataru; Harasse, Sebastien; Kawabata, Katsuyuki; Kuwabara, Hiroaki; Yamazaki, Takashi; Momose, Atsushi

    2011-01-01

    X-ray Talbot interferometry has been widely used as a technique for x-ray phase imaging and tomography. We propose a method using this interferometry for mapping distribution of parameters characterizing anisotropic microstructures, which are typically of the order of μm in size and cannot be resolved by the imaging system, in a sample. The method uses reduction in fringe visibility, which is caused by such unresolvable microstructures, in moire images obtained using an interferometer. We applied the method to a chloroprene rubber sponge sample, which exhibited uniaxial anisotropy of reduced visibility. We measured the dependencies of reduced visibility on both the Talbot order and the orientation of the sample and obtained maps of three parameters and their anisotropies that characterize the unresolvable anisotropic microstructures in the sample. The maps indicated that the anisotropy of the sample's visibility contrast mainly originated from the anisotropy of the microstructure elements' average size. Our method directly provides structural information on unresolvable microstructures in real space, which is only accessible through the ultra-small-angle x-ray scattering measurements in reciprocal space, and is expected to be broadly applied to material, biological, and medical sciences.

  20. Simulated cosmic microwave background maps at 0.5 deg resolution: Unresolved features

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kogut, A.; Hinshaw, G.; Bennett, C. L.

    1995-01-01

    High-contrast peaks in the cosmic microwave background (CMB) anisotropy can appear as unresolved sources to observers. We fit simluated CMB maps generated with a cold dark matter model to a set of unresolved features at instrumental resolution 0.5 deg-1.5 deg to derive the integral number density per steradian n (greater than absolute value of T) of features brighter than threshold temperature absolute value of T and compare the results to recent experiments. A typical medium-scale experiment observing 0.001 sr at 0.5 deg resolution would expect to observe one feature brighter than 85 micro-K after convolution with the beam profile, with less than 5% probability to observe a source brighter than 150 micro-K. Increasing the power-law index of primordial density perturbations n from 1 to 1.5 raises these temperature limits absolute value of T by a factor of 2. The MSAM features are in agreement with standard cold dark matter models and are not necessarily evidence for processes beyond the standard model.

  1. X-exome sequencing of 405 unresolved families identifies seven novel intellectual disability genes

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Hu, H; Haas, S.A.; Chelly, J.; Esch, H. Van; Raynaud, M.; Brouwer, A.P. de; Weinert, S.; Froyen, G.; Frints, S.G.; Laumonnier, F.; Zemojtel, T.; Love, M.I.; Richard, H.; Emde, A.K.; Bienek, M.; Jensen, C.; Hambrock, M.; Fischer, U.; Langnick, C.; Feldkamp, M.; Wissink-Lindhout, W.; Lebrun, N.; Castelnau, L.; Rucci, J.; Montjean, R.; Dorseuil, O.; Billuart, P.; Stuhlmann, T.; Shaw, M.; Corbett, M.A.; Gardner, A.; Willis-Owen, S.; Tan, C.; Friend, K.L.; Belet, S.; Roozendaal, K.E. van; Jimenez-Pocquet, M.; Moizard, M.P.; Ronce, N.; Sun, R.; O'Keeffe, S.; Chenna, R.; Bommel, A. van; Goke, J.; Hackett, A.; Field, M.; Christie, L.; Boyle, J.; Haan, E.; Nelson, J.; Turner, G.; Baynam, G.; Gillessen-Kaesbach, G.; Muller, U.; Steinberger, D.; Budny, B.; Badura-Stronka, M.; Latos-Bielenska, A.; Ousager, L.B.; Wieacker, P.; Rodriguez Criado, G.; Bondeson, M.L.; Anneren, G.; Dufke, A.; Cohen, M.; Maldergem, L. Van; Vincent-Delorme, C.; Echenne, B.; Simon-Bouy, B.; Kleefstra, T.; Willemsen, M.H.; Fryns, J.P.; Devriendt, K.; Ullmann, R.; Vingron, M.; Wrogemann, K.; Wienker, T.F.; Tzschach, A.; Bokhoven, H. van; Gecz, J.; Jentsch, T.J.; Chen, W.; Ropers, H.H.; Kalscheuer, V.M.

    2016-01-01

    X-linked intellectual disability (XLID) is a clinically and genetically heterogeneous disorder. During the past two decades in excess of 100 X-chromosome ID genes have been identified. Yet, a large number of families mapping to the X-chromosome remained unresolved suggesting that more XLID genes or

  2. X-exome sequencing of 405 unresolved families identifies seven novel intellectual disability genes

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Hu, H; Haas, S A; Chelly, J

    2016-01-01

    X-linked intellectual disability (XLID) is a clinically and genetically heterogeneous disorder. During the past two decades in excess of 100 X-chromosome ID genes have been identified. Yet, a large number of families mapping to the X-chromosome remained unresolved suggesting that more XLID genes...

  3. Parameterizing unresolved obstacles with source terms in wave modeling: A real-world application

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mentaschi, Lorenzo; Kakoulaki, Georgia; Vousdoukas, Michalis; Voukouvalas, Evangelos; Feyen, Luc; Besio, Giovanni

    2018-06-01

    Parameterizing the dissipative effects of small, unresolved coastal features, is fundamental to improve the skills of wave models. The established technique to deal with this problem consists in reducing the amount of energy advected within the propagation scheme, and is currently available only for regular grids. To find a more general approach, Mentaschi et al., 2015b formulated a technique based on source terms, and validated it on synthetic case studies. This technique separates the parameterization of the unresolved features from the energy advection, and can therefore be applied to any numerical scheme and to any type of mesh. Here we developed an open-source library for the estimation of the transparency coefficients needed by this approach, from bathymetric data and for any type of mesh. The spectral wave model WAVEWATCH III was used to show that in a real-world domain, such as the Caribbean Sea, the proposed approach has skills comparable and sometimes better than the established propagation-based technique.

  4. DEPOT MAINTENANCE: Key Financial Issues for Consolidations at Pearl Harbor and Elsewhere Are Still Unresolved

    National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

    2001-01-01

    .... In September 1999, we reported that the preliminary results of the ongoing Pearl Harbor pilot were mixed and recommended that the Departments of Defense and the Navy address unresolved issues related...

  5. A CATALOG OF NEAR-IR SOURCES FOUND TO BE UNRESOLVED WITH MILLIARCSECOND RESOLUTION

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Richichi, A. [National Astronomical Research Institute of Thailand, 191 Siriphanich Bldg., Huay Kaew Rd., Suthep, Muang, Chiang Mai 50200 (Thailand); Fors, O. [Departament Astronomia i Meteorologia and Institut de Ciencies del Cosmos (ICC), Universitat de Barcelona (UB/IEEC), Marti i Franques 1, E-08028 Barcelona (Spain); Cusano, F. [INAF-Osservatorio Astronomico di Bologna, Via Ranzani 1, I-40127 Bologna (Italy); Moerchen, M., E-mail: andrea@narit.or.th [European Southern Observatory, Casilla 19001, Santiago 19 (Chile)

    2012-12-15

    Calibration is one of the long-standing problems in optical interferometric measurements, particularly with long baselines which demand stars with angular sizes on the milliarcsecond scale and no detectable companions. While systems of calibrators have been generally established for the near-infrared in the bright source regime (K {approx}< 3 mag), modern large interferometers are sensitive to significantly fainter magnitudes. We aim to provide a list of sources found to be unresolved from direct observations with high angular resolution and dynamic range, which can be used to choose interferometric calibrators. To this purpose, we have used a large number of lunar occultations recorded with the ISAAC instrument at the Very Large Telescope to select sources found to be unresolved and without close companions. An algorithm has been used to determine the limiting angular resolution achieved for each source, taking into account a noise model built from occulted and unocculted portions of the light curves. We have obtained upper limits on the angular sizes of 556 sources, with magnitudes ranging from K{sub s} Almost-Equal-To 4 to 10, with a median of 7.2 mag. The upper limits on possible undetected companions (within Almost-Equal-To 0.''5) range from K{sub s} Almost-Equal-To 8 to 13, with a median of 11.5 mag. One-third of the sources have angular sizes {<=}1 mas, and two-thirds have sizes {<=}2 mas. This list of unresolved sources matches well the capabilities of current large interferometric facilities. We also provide available cross-identifications, magnitudes, spectral types, and other auxiliary information. A fraction of the sources are found to be potentially variable. The list covers parts of the Galactic Bulge and in particular the vicinity of the Galactic Center, where extinction is very significant and traditional lists of calibrators are often insufficient.

  6. Impact of MCNP unresolved resonance probability-table treatment on uranium and plutonium benchmarks

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Mosteller, R.D.; Little, R.C.

    1998-01-01

    Versions of MCNP up through and including 4B have not accurately modeled neutron self-shielding effects in the unresolved resonance energy region. Recently, a probability-table treatment has been incorporated into a developmental version of MCNP. This paper presents MCNP results for a variety of uranium and plutonium critical benchmarks, calculated with and without the probability-table treatment

  7. Absorption and emission profiles of unresolved arrays near local thermodynamic equilibrium

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Busquet, M.; Klapisch, M. E-mail: klapisch@this.nrl.navy.mil; Bar-Shalom, A

    2003-11-01

    The absorption and emission arrays in the unresolved transition array (UTA) and super transition array (STA) models are usually assumed to have the same Gaussian spectral shape. It is shown, starting from a Boltzmann population distribution, that the assumption of profile identity for both absorption and emission is inconsistent with Kirchhoff's law. A correcting formula is established. It is extended to the cases where one or two effective population temperatures are involved. Examples are shown where the effect is noticeable.

  8. Absorption and emission profiles of unresolved arrays near local thermodynamic equilibrium

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Busquet, M.; Klapisch, M.; Bar-Shalom, A.

    2003-01-01

    The absorption and emission arrays in the unresolved transition array (UTA) and super transition array (STA) models are usually assumed to have the same Gaussian spectral shape. It is shown, starting from a Boltzmann population distribution, that the assumption of profile identity for both absorption and emission is inconsistent with Kirchhoff's law. A correcting formula is established. It is extended to the cases where one or two effective population temperatures are involved. Examples are shown where the effect is noticeable

  9. Teacher's Questions in Reading Classes

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Zuliati Rohmah

    2002-01-01

    Full Text Available Abstract: The present paper discusses an English teacher's questions in Reading classes at MAN Malang III. Types of questions, functions of teacher's questions, question levels and the strategies applied by the teacher were put as the research problems. Non-participant observa­tion was applied to collect the data with the researcher as the main in­strument aided by field-notes and a tape recorder. It was found that the distribution of the questions did not allow the students to talk longer and to think more analytically. Meanwhile, the strategies applied by the teacher helped the students to respond to the questions previously unanswered. The teacher is suggested to produce more open and refer­ential question as well as inference and evaluation questions as to give more chances for the students to think aloud more.

  10. Testing of cross-section functionals in the unresolved resonance region

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Koshcheev, V.N.; Krivtsov, A.S.; Sinitsa, V.V.; Ukraintsev, V.F.

    1994-01-01

    The results of a comparison of the GRUCON, MMK and NJOY data processing codes in the treatment of evaluated neutron data in the unresolved resonance region are presented. The sets of average resonance parameters of 238 U and 239 Pu isotopes, which have been published by Munos-Cobos et al., and Ribon et al., were used in this exercise. Average cross-sections, self-shielding factors and Doppler broadening self-shielding factors are compared with the original results presented by the above-mentioned authors. Conclusions regarding the reliability of the neutron data processing codes are made. (author). 6 refs, 7 tabs

  11. Unresolved Subclinical Hypothyroidism is Independently Associated with Progression of Chronic Kidney Disease

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kim, Eun Oh; Lee, Ihn Suk; Choi, Yoo A; Lee, Sang Ju; Chang, Yoon Kyung; Yoon, Hye Eun; Jang, Yi Sun; Lee, Jong Min; Kim, Hye Soo; Yang, Chul Woo; Kim, Suk Young; Hwang, Hyeon Seok

    2014-01-01

    Background and Aim: Patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD) often have subclinical hypothyroidism. However, few reports have investigated changes in the status of subclinical hypothyroidism in CKD patients and its clinical significance in CKD progression. Methods: We included 168 patients with nondialysis-dependent CKD stages 2-4. The normalization of subclinical hypothyroidism during follow-up was assessed, and the association between transitions in subclinical hypothyroid status and the rate of decline of the estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) was investigated. Results: At baseline, 127 patients were euthyroid and 41 (24.4%) patients were diagnosed with subclinical hypothyroidism. Of these 41 patients, 21 (51.2%) spontaneously resolved to euthyroid during follow-up. The rate of eGFR decline of patients with resolved subclinical hypothyroidism was similar to that of euthyroid patients. The patients with unresolved subclinical hypothyroidism showed a steeper renal function decline than patients with euthyroidism or resolved subclinical hypothyroidism (all p hypothyroidism than in those who were euthyroid (p = 0.006). In multivariate linear regression for rate of eGFR decrease, unresolved subclinical hypothyroidism (β = -5.77, p = 0.001), baseline renal function (β = -0.12, p hypothyroidism did not resolve to euthyroidism, and this lack of resolution was independently associated with rapid renal function decline. PMID:24396286

  12. Brainstem auditory responses to resolved and unresolved harmonics of a synthetic vowel in quiet and noise.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Laroche, Marilyn; Dajani, Hilmi R; Prévost, François; Marcoux, André M

    2013-01-01

    This study investigated speech auditory brainstem responses (speech ABR) with variants of a synthetic vowel in quiet and in background noise. Its objectives were to study the noise robustness of the brainstem response at the fundamental frequency F0 and at the first formant F1, evaluate how the resolved/unresolved harmonics regions in speech contribute to the response at F0, and investigate the origin of the response at F0 to resolved and unresolved harmonics in speech. In total, 18 normal-hearing subjects (11 women, aged 18-33 years) participated in this study. Speech ABRs were recorded using variants of a 300 msec formant-synthesized /a/ vowel in quiet and in white noise. The first experiment employed three variants containing the first three formants F1 to F3, F1 only, and F2 and F3 only with relative formant levels following those reported in the literature. The second experiment employed three variants containing F1 only, F2 only, and F3 only, with the formants equalized to the same level and the signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) maintained at -5 dB. Overall response latency was estimated, and the amplitude and local SNR of the envelope following response at F0 and of the frequency following response at F1 were compared for the different stimulus variants in quiet and in noise. The response at F0 was more robust to noise than that at F1. There were no statistically significant differences in the response at F0 caused by the three stimulus variants in both experiments in quiet. However, the response at F0 with the variant dominated by resolved harmonics was more robust to noise than the response at F0 with the stimulus variants dominated by unresolved harmonics. The latencies of the responses in all cases were very similar in quiet, but the responses at F0 due to resolved and unresolved harmonics combined nonlinearly when both were present in the stimulus. Speech ABR has been suggested as a marker of central auditory processing. The results of this study support

  13. Unresolved pain in children: a relational ethics perspective.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Olmstead, Deborah L; Scott, Shannon D; Austin, Wendy J

    2010-11-01

    It is considered the right of children to have their pain managed effectively. Yet, despite extensive research findings, policy guidelines and practice standard recommendations for the optimal management of paediatric pain, clinical practices remain inadequate. Empirical evidence definitively shows that unrelieved pain in children has only harmful consequences, with no benefits. Contributing factors identified in this undermanaged pain include the significant role of nurses. Nursing attitudes and beliefs about children's pain experiences, the relationships nurses share with children who are suffering, and knowledge deficits in pain management practices are all shown to impact unresolved pain in children. In this article, a relational ethics perspective is used to explore the need for nurses to engage in authentic relationships with children who are experiencing pain, and to use evidence-based practices to manage that pain in order for this indefensible suffering of children to end.

  14. Accounting for model error due to unresolved scales within ensemble Kalman filtering

    OpenAIRE

    Mitchell, Lewis; Carrassi, Alberto

    2014-01-01

    We propose a method to account for model error due to unresolved scales in the context of the ensemble transform Kalman filter (ETKF). The approach extends to this class of algorithms the deterministic model error formulation recently explored for variational schemes and extended Kalman filter. The model error statistic required in the analysis update is estimated using historical reanalysis increments and a suitable model error evolution law. Two different versions of the method are describe...

  15. Asking a Great Question: A Librarian Teaches Questioning Skills to First-Year Medical Students.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Adams, Nancy E

    2015-01-01

    In a single one-hour session, first-year medical students were taught a framework for differentiating between lower-order questions that lead to knowledge of facts and higher-order questions that lead to integration of concepts and deeper learning, thereby preparing them for problem-based learning (PBL). Students generated lists of questions in response to an assertion prompt and categorized them according to Bloom's Taxonomy. These data were analyzed in addition to data from the course exam, which asked them to formulate a higher-level question in response to a prompt. Categorizing questions according to Bloom's Taxonomy was a more difficult task for students than was formulating higher-order questions. Students reported that the skills that they learned were used in subsequent PBL sessions to formulate higher-order learning objectives that integrated new and previously-learned concepts.

  16. Matching of singly- and doubly-unresolved limits of tree-level QCD squared matrix elements

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Somogyi, Gabor [University of Debrecen and Institute of Nuclear Research of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences, H-4001 Debrecen, PO Box 51 (Hungary); Trocsanyi, Zoltan [University of Debrecen and Institute of Nuclear Research of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences, H-4001 Debrecen, PO Box 51 (Hungary); Duca, Vittorio Del [Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare, Sez. di Torino, via P. Giuria, 1 - 10125 Torino (Italy)

    2005-06-01

    We describe how to disentangle the singly- and doubly-unresolved (soft and/or collinear) limits of tree-level QCD squared matrix elements. Using the factorization formulae presented in this paper, we outline a viable general subtraction scheme for computing next-to-next-to-leading order corrections for electron-positron annihilation into jets.

  17. Extrinsic and intrinsic motivation at 30: Unresolved scientific issues.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Reiss, Steven

    2005-01-01

    The undermining effect of extrinsic reward on intrinsic motivation remains unproven. The key unresolved issues are construct invalidity (all four definitions are unproved and two are illogical); measurement unreliability (the free-choice measure requires unreliable, subjective judgments to infer intrinsic motivation); inadequate experimental controls (negative affect and novelty, not cognitive evaluation, may explain "undermining" effects); and biased metareviews (studies with possible floor effects excluded, but those with possible ceiling effects included). Perhaps the greatest error with the undermining theory, however, is that it does not adequately recognize the multifaceted nature of intrinsic motivation (Reiss, 2004a). Advice to limit the use of applied behavior analysis based on "hidden" undermining effects is ideologically inspired and is unsupported by credible scientific evidence.

  18. Identification of unresolved safety issues relating to nuclear power plants. Report to Congress

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    1979-01-01

    The report describes the review undertaken over the last year that resulted in identifying 17 issues as Unresolved Safety Issues. In addition, the report provides specific discussions of why certain issues were not included. The report also provides a brief background discussion describing Section 210 of the Energy Reorganization Act and the NRC program for the resolution of generic issues described in NUREG-0410

  19. Integration of collinear-type doubly unresolved counterterms in NNLO jet cross sections

    Science.gov (United States)

    Del Duca, Vittorio; Somogyi, Gábor; Trócsányi, Zoltán

    2013-06-01

    In the context of a subtraction method for jet cross sections at NNLO accuracy in the strong coupling, we perform the integration over the two-particle factorised phase space of the collinear-type contributions to the doubly unresolved counterterms. We present the final result as a convolution in colour space of the Born cross section and of an insertion operator, which is written in terms of master integrals that we expand in the dimensional regularisation parameter.

  20. Integration of collinear-type doubly unresolved counterterms in NNLO jet cross sections

    CERN Document Server

    Del Duca, Vittorio; Trocsanyi, Zoltan

    2013-01-01

    In the context of a subtraction method for jet cross sections at NNLO accuracy in the strong coupling, we perform the integration over the two-particle factorised phase space of the collinear-type contributions to the doubly unresolved counterterms. We present the final result as a convolution in colour space of the Born cross section and of an insertion operator, which is written in terms of master integrals that we expand in the dimensional regularisation parameter.

  1. Chalk Catchment Transit Time: Unresolved Issues

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Darling, W. G.; Gooddy, D. C. [British Geological Survey, Crowmarsh Gifford, Wallingford, Oxfordshire (United Kingdom); Barker, J. A. [School of Civil Engineering and the Environment, University of Southampton, Southampton (United Kingdom); Robinson, M. [Centre for Ecology and Hydrology, Crowmarsh Gifford, Wallingford, Oxfordshire (United Kingdom)

    2013-07-15

    The mean transit time (MTT) of a catchment is the average residence time of water from rainfall to river outflow at the foot of the catchment. As such, MTT has important water quality as well as resource implications. Many catchments worldwide have been measured for MTT using environmental isotopes, yet the Chalk, an important aquifer in NW Europe, has received little attention in this regard. The catchment of the River Lambourn in southern England has been intermittently studied since the 1960s using isotopic methods. A tritium peak measured in the river during the 1970s indicates an apparent MTT of {approx}15 years, but the thick unsaturated zone (average {approx}50 m) of the catchment suggests that the MTT should be much greater because of the average downward movement through the Chalk of {approx}1 m/a consistently indicated by tritium and other tracers. Recent work in the catchment using SF{sub 6} as a residence time indicator has given groundwater ages in the narrow range 11-18 yrs, apparently supporting the river tritium data but in conflict with the unsaturated zone data even allowing for a moderate proportion of rapid bypass flow. The MTT of the catchment remains unresolved for the time being. (author)

  2. A subtraction scheme for computing QCD jet cross sections at NNLO. Integrating the iterated singly-unresolved subtraction terms

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Bolzoni, Paolo [Hamburg Univ. (Germany). II. Inst. fuer Theoretische Physik; Somogyi, Gabor [Deutsches Elektronen-Synchrotron (DESY), Zeuthen (Germany); Trocsanyi, Zoltan [Debrecen Univ. (Hungary); Hungarian Academy of Sciences, Debrecen (Hungary). Inst. of Nuclear Research

    2010-11-15

    We perform the integration of all iterated singly-unresolved subtraction terms over the two-particle factorized phase space. We also sum over the unresolved parton flavours. The final result can be written as a convolution (in colour space) of the Born cross section and an insertion operator. We spell out the insertion operator in terms of 24 basic integrals that are defined explicitly. We compute the coefficients of the Laurent-expansion of these integrals in two different ways, with the method of Mellin-Barnes representations and sector decomposition. Finally, we present the Laurentexpansion of the full insertion operator for the specific examples of electron-positron annihilation into two and three jets. (orig.)

  3. A subtraction scheme for computing QCD jet cross sections at NNLO: integrating the iterated singly-unresolved subtraction terms

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bolzoni, Paolo; Somogyi, Gábor; Trócsányi, Zoltán

    2011-01-01

    We perform the integration of all iterated singly-unresolved subtraction terms, as defined in ref. [1], over the two-particle factorized phase space. We also sum over the unresolved parton flavours. The final result can be written as a convolution (in colour space) of the Born cross section and an insertion operator. We spell out the insertion operator in terms of 24 basic integrals that are defined explicitly. We compute the coefficients of the Laurent expansion of these integrals in two different ways, with the method of Mellin-Barnes representations and sector decomposition. Finally, we present the Laurent-expansion of the full insertion operator for the specific examples of electron-positron annihilation into two and three jets.

  4. Containment Emergency Sump Performance. Technical findings related to Unresolved Safety Issue A-43. Revision 1

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    1985-10-01

    This report summarizes key technical findings related to Unresolved Safety Issue (USI) A-43, Containment Emergency Sump Performance. Both BWRs and PWRs are considered in this report. Emergency core cooling systems require a clean, reliable water source to maintain long-term recirculation following a loss-of-coolant accident (LOCA). PWRs rely on the containment emergency sump to provide such a water supply to residual heat removal pumps and containment spray pumps. BWRs rely on pump suction intakes in the suppression pool or wet well to provide water to residual heat removal and core spray systems. Thus, the technical findings in this report provide information on post-LOCA recirculation. These findings have been derived from extensive experimental studies, generic plant studies, and assessments of sumps used for long-term cooling. Results of hydraulic tests have shown that the potential for air ingestion is less severe than previously hypothesized. The effects of debris blockage on NPSH margin must be dealt with on a plant-specific basis. These findings have been used to develop revisions to Regulatory Guide 1.82 and Standard Review Plan Section 6.2.2 (NUREG-0800)

  5. Radical SAM, A Novel Protein Superfamily Linking Unresolved Steps in Familiar Biosynthetic Pathways with Radical Mechanisms: Functional Characterization Using New Analysis and Information Visualization Methods

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Sofia, Heidi J.; Chen, Guang; Hetzler, Elizabeth G.; Reyes Spindola, Jorge F.; Miller, Nancy E.

    2001-03-01

    A large protein superfamily with over 500 members has been discovered and analyzed using powerful new bioinformatics and information visualization methods. Evidence exists that these proteins generate a 5?-deoxyadenosyl radical by reductive cleavage of S-adenosylmethionine (SAM) through an unusual Fe-S center. Radical SAM superfamily proteins function in DNA precursor, vitamin, cofactor, antibiotic, and herbicide biosynthesis in a collection of basic and familiar pathways. One of the members is interferon-inducible and is considered a candidate drug target for osteoporosis. The identification of this superfamily suggests that radical-based catalysis is important in a number of previously well-studied but unresolved biochemical pathways.

  6. Auxiliary-cavity-assisted ground-state cooling of an optically levitated nanosphere in the unresolved-sideband regime

    Science.gov (United States)

    Feng, Jin-Shan; Tan, Lei; Gu, Huai-Qiang; Liu, Wu-Ming

    2017-12-01

    We theoretically analyze the ground-state cooling of an optically levitated nanosphere in the unresolved-sideband regime by introducing a coupled high-quality-factor cavity. On account of the quantum interference stemming from the presence of the coupled cavity, the spectral density of the optical force exerting on the nanosphere gets changed and then the symmetry between the heating and the cooling processes is broken. Through adjusting the detuning of a strong-dissipative cavity mode, one obtains an enhanced net cooling rate for the nanosphere. It is illustrated that the ground-state cooling can be realized in the unresolved sideband regime even if the effective optomechanical coupling is weaker than the frequency of the nanosphere, which can be understood by the picture that the effective interplay of the nanosphere and the auxiliary cavity mode brings the system back to an effective resolved regime. Besides, the coupled cavity refines the dynamical stability of the system.

  7. The effect of the 238U neutron strength function uncertainty on resonance structure calculations in unresolved regions

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Koshcheev, V.N.; Manturov, G.N.; Sinitsa, V.V.

    1991-01-01

    The effects of the neutron strength function uncertainties on the calculated values of the self-shielding factors and energy dependence of the total and capture 238 U cross-sections in the unresolved resonance region are investigated. (author). 26 refs, 5 figs

  8. Intermittent fasting and cardiovascular disease: current evidence and unresolved questions.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tinsley, Grant M; Horne, Benjamin D

    2018-01-01

    Intermittent fasting has produced a variety of beneficial health effects in animal models, although high-quality research in humans has been limited. This special report examines current evidences for intermittent fasting in humans, discusses issues that require further examination, and recommends new research that can improve the knowledge base in this emerging research area. While potentially useful for health improvement, intermittent fasting requires further study prior to widespread implementation for health purposes. Randomized, longer-term studies are needed to determine whether using intermittent fasting as a lifestyle rather than a diet is feasible and beneficial for the health of some members of the human population.

  9. The Role of Attention in Item-Item Binding in Visual Working Memory

    Science.gov (United States)

    Peterson, Dwight J.; Naveh-Benjamin, Moshe

    2017-01-01

    An important yet unresolved question regarding visual working memory (VWM) relates to whether or not binding processes within VWM require additional attentional resources compared with processing solely the individual components comprising these bindings. Previous findings indicate that binding of surface features (e.g., colored shapes) within VWM…

  10. Report on the Workshop Resolved and Unresolved Stellar PopUlaTIoNs (RASPUTIN)

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bono, G.; Valenti, E.

    2014-12-01

    The workshop aimed at sharing and discussing observations and diagnostics, together with models and simulations, of the resolved and unresolved stellar populations in galaxies from the Milky Way to the distant Universe. Special attention was paid to recent results concerning galaxy formation and evolution, fostering the exchange of ideas and techniques in dealing with nearby stellar populations. There will be no published proceedings, but presentations are available for download from the workshop web page (www.eso.org/sci/meetings/2014/rasputin2014).

  11. Impact of scaffolding and question structure on the gender gap

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dawkins, Hillary; Hedgeland, Holly; Jordan, Sally

    2017-12-01

    We address previous hypotheses about possible factors influencing the gender gap in attainment in physics. Specifically, previous studies claim that scaffolding may preferentially benefit female students, and we present some alternative conclusions surrounding this hypothesis. By taking both student attainment level and the degree of question scaffolding into account, we identify questions that exhibit real bias in favor of male students. We find that both multidimensional context and use of diagrams are common elements of such questions.

  12. Impact of scaffolding and question structure on the gender gap

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Hillary Dawkins

    2017-09-01

    Full Text Available We address previous hypotheses about possible factors influencing the gender gap in attainment in physics. Specifically, previous studies claim that scaffolding may preferentially benefit female students, and we present some alternative conclusions surrounding this hypothesis. By taking both student attainment level and the degree of question scaffolding into account, we identify questions that exhibit real bias in favor of male students. We find that both multidimensional context and use of diagrams are common elements of such questions.

  13. Astrophysical interpretation of the anisotropies in the unresolved gamma-ray background

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ando, Shin'ichiro; Fornasa, Mattia; Fornengo, Nicolao; Regis, Marco; Zechlin, Hannes-S.

    2017-06-01

    Recently, a new measurement of the auto- and cross-correlation angular power spectrum (APS) of the isotropic gamma-ray background was performed, based on 81 months of data of the Fermi Large-Area Telescope (LAT). Here, we fit, for the first time, the new APS data with a model describing the emission of unresolved blazars. These sources are expected to dominate the anisotropy signal. The model we employ in our analysis reproduces well the blazars resolved by Fermi LAT. When considering the APS obtained by masking the sources listed in the 3FGL catalog, we find that unresolved blazars underproduce the measured APS below ˜1 GeV . Contrary to past results, this suggests the presence of a new contribution to the low-energy APS, with a significance of, at least, 5 σ . The excess can be ascribed to a new class of faint gamma-ray emitters. If we consider the APS obtained by masking the sources in the 2FGL catalog, there is no underproduction of the APS below 1 GeV, but the new source class is still preferred over the blazars-only scenario (with a significance larger than 10 σ ). The properties of the new source class and the level of anisotropies induced in the isotropic gamma-ray background are the same, independent of the APS data used. In particular, the new gamma-ray emitters must have a soft energy spectrum, with a spectral index ranging, approximately, from 2.7 to 3.2. This complicates their interpretation in terms of known sources, since, normally, star-forming and radio galaxies are observed with a harder spectrum. The new source class identified here is also expected to contribute significantly to the intensity of the isotropic gamma-ray background.

  14. Central unresolved issues in thermal energy storage for building heating and cooling

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Swet, C.J.; Baylin, F.

    1980-07-01

    This document explores the frontier of the rapidly expanding field of thermal energy storage, investigates unresolved issues, outlines research aimed at finding solutions, and suggests avenues meriting future research. Issues related to applications include value-based ranking of storage concepts, temperature constraints, consistency of assumptions, nomenclature and taxonomy, and screening criteria for materials. Issues related to technologies include assessing seasonal storage concepts, diurnal coolness storage, selection of hot-side storage concepts for cooling-only systems, phase-change storage in building materials, freeze protection for solar water heating systems, and justification of phase-change storage for active solar space heating.

  15. A high-significance measurement of correlation between unresolved IRAS sources and optically-selected galaxy clusters

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Hincks, Adam D.; Hajian, Amir [Canadian Institute for Theoretical Astrophysics, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON M5S 3H8 (Canada); Addison, Graeme E., E-mail: hincks@cita.utoronto.ca, E-mail: ahajian@cita.utoronto.ca, E-mail: gaddison@phas.ubc.ca [Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC V6T 1Z4 (Canada)

    2013-05-01

    We cross-correlate the 100 μm Improved Reprocessing of the IRAS Survey (IRIS) map and galaxy clusters at 0.1 < z < 0.3 in the maxBCG catalogue taken from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey, measuring an angular cross-power spectrum over multipole moments 150 < l < 3000 at a total significance of over 40σ. The cross-spectrum, which arises from the spatial correlation between unresolved dusty galaxies that make up the cosmic infrared background (CIB) in the IRIS map and the galaxy clusters, is well-fit by a single power law with an index of −1.28±0.12, similar to the clustering of unresolved galaxies from cross-correlating far-infrared and submillimetre maps at longer wavelengths. Using a recent, phenomenological model for the spectral and clustering properties of the IRIS galaxies, we constrain the large-scale bias of the maxBCG clusters to be 2.6±1.4, consistent with existing analyses of the real-space cluster correlation function. The success of our method suggests that future CIB-optical cross-correlations using Planck and Herschel data will significantly improve our understanding of the clustering and redshift distribution of the faint CIB sources.

  16. Questioning the Questions

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tienken, Christopher H.; Goldberg, Stephanie; DiRocco, Dominic

    2010-01-01

    Historical accounts of questioning used in the education process trace back to Socrates. One of the best examples of his use of questioning is found in Plato's "The Republic." Socrates used a series of strategic questions to help his student Glaucon come to understand the concept of justice. Socrates purposefully posed a series of…

  17. Identifying Subtypes among Children with Developmental Coordination Disorder and Mathematical Learning Disabilities, Using Model-Based Clustering

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pieters, Stefanie; Roeyers, Herbert; Rosseel, Yves; Van Waelvelde, Hilde; Desoete, Annemie

    2015-01-01

    A relationship between motor and mathematical skills has been shown by previous research. However, the question of whether subtypes can be differentiated within developmental coordination disorder (DCD) and/or mathematical learning disability (MLD) remains unresolved. In a sample of children with and without DCD and/or MLD, a data-driven…

  18. A SUB-GRID VOLUME-OF-FLUIDS (VOF) MODEL FOR MIXING IN RESOLVED SCALE AND IN UNRESOLVED SCALE COMPUTATIONS

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Vold, Erik L.; Scannapieco, Tony J.

    2007-01-01

    A sub-grid mix model based on a volume-of-fluids (VOF) representation is described for computational simulations of the transient mixing between reactive fluids, in which the atomically mixed components enter into the reactivity. The multi-fluid model allows each fluid species to have independent values for density, energy, pressure and temperature, as well as independent velocities and volume fractions. Fluid volume fractions are further divided into mix components to represent their 'mixedness' for more accurate prediction of reactivity. Time dependent conversion from unmixed volume fractions (denoted cf) to atomically mixed (af) fluids by diffusive processes is represented in resolved scale simulations with the volume fractions (cf, af mix). In unresolved scale simulations, the transition to atomically mixed materials begins with a conversion from unmixed material to a sub-grid volume fraction (pf). This fraction represents the unresolved small scales in the fluids, heterogeneously mixed by turbulent or multi-phase mixing processes, and this fraction then proceeds in a second step to the atomically mixed fraction by diffusion (cf, pf, af mix). Species velocities are evaluated with a species drift flux, ρ i u di = ρ i (u i -u), used to describe the fluid mixing sources in several closure options. A simple example of mixing fluids during 'interfacial deceleration mixing with a small amount of diffusion illustrates the generation of atomically mixed fluids in two cases, for resolved scale simulations and for unresolved scale simulations. Application to reactive mixing, including Inertial Confinement Fusion (ICF), is planned for future work.

  19. Unresolved resonance self shielding calculation: causes and importance of discrepancies

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ribon, P.; Tellier, H.

    1986-01-01

    To compute the self shielding coefficient, it is necessary to know the point-wise cross-sections. In the unresolved resonance region, the parameters of each level are not known; only the average parameters. Therefore the authors simulate the point-wise cross-section by random sampling of the energy levels and resonance parameters with respect to the Wigner law and the x 2 distributions, and by computing the cross-section in the same way as in the resolved regions. The result of this statistical calculation obviously depends on the initial parameters but also on the method of sampling, on the formalism which is used to compute the cross-section or on the weighting neutron flux. In this paper, the authors survey the main phenomena which can induce discrepancies in self shielding computations. Results are given for typical dilutions which occur in nuclear reactors

  20. Contribution to the study of the unresolved resonance range of the neutrons cross sections

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Noguere, Gilles

    2014-01-01

    This document presents the statistical description of neutron cross sections in the unresolved resonance range. The modeling of the total cross section and of the 'shape - elastic' cross section is based on the 'average R-Matrix' formalism. The partial cross sections describing the radiative capture, elastic scattering, inelastic scattering and fission process are calculated using the Hauser-Feshbach formalism with width fluctuation corrections. In the unresolved resonance range, these models depend on the average resonance parameters (neutron strength function Sc, mean level spacing D c , average partial reaction widths Γ c , channel radius a c , effective radius R' and distant level parameter R-bar c ∞ ). The codes (NJOY, CALENDF...) dedicated to the processing of nuclear data libraries (JEFF, ENDF/B, JENDL, CENDL, BROND... ) use the average parameters to take into account the self-shielding phenomenon for the simulation of the neutron transport in Monte-Carlo (MCNP, TRIPOLI... ) and deterministic (APOLLO, ERANOS...) codes. The evaluation work consists in establishing a consistent set of average parameters as a function of the total angular momentum J of the system and of the orbital moment of the incident neutron l. The work presented in this paper aims to describe the links between the S-Matrix and the 'average R-Matrix' formalism for the calculation of Sc, R-bar c ∞ , ac and R'. (author) [fr

  1. Unresolved tensions in consumer engagement in CER: a US research perspective.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Workman, Thomas; Maurer, Maureen; Carman, Kristin

    2013-03-01

    Efforts to engage patients and consumers in comparative effectiveness research (CER) in the USA are still in the early stages, and the outcomes of these partnerships have yet to be fully understood or realized. Our work assisting federal agencies and national organizations who engage patients and consumers in CER reveal three unresolved tensions around the representation of the patient experience in the research process, the culture of research and capacity to partner with patients and consumers, and the conflict between the methodological approaches to CER and the outcomes of interest to patients and caregivers. Several approaches to address these tensions have emerged, yet resolving these tensions will require addressing many system-level challenges and building an evidence base for consumer engagement in CER.

  2. Validation of the XLACS code related to contribution of resolved and unresolved resonances and background cross sections

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Anaf, J.; Chalhoub, E.S.

    1990-01-01

    The procedures for calculating contributions of resolved and unresolved resonances and background cross sections, in XLACS code, were revised. Constant weighting function and zero Kelvin temperature were considered. Discrepancies found were corrected and now the validated XLACS code generates results that are correct and in accordance with its originally established procedures. (author)

  3. Unresolved resonance self shielding calculation: causes and importance of discrepancies

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ribon, P.; Tellier, H.

    1986-09-01

    To compute the self shielding coefficient, it is necessary to know the point-wise cross-sections. In the unresolved resonance region, we do not know the parameters of each level but only the average parameters. Therefore we simulate the point-wise cross-section by random sampling of the energy levels and resonance parameters with respect to the Wigner law and the X 2 distributions, and by computing the cross-section in the same way as in the resolved regions. The result of this statistical calculation obviously depends on the initial parameters but also on the method of sampling, on the formalism which is used to compute the cross-section or on the weighting neutron flux. In this paper, we will survey the main phenomena which can induce discrepancies in self shielding computations. Results are given for typical dilutions which occur in nuclear reactors. 8 refs

  4. Optical model calculation for the unresolved/resolved resonance region of Fe-56

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Kawano, Toshihiko [Kyushu Univ., Fukuoka (Japan); Froehner, F.H.

    1997-03-01

    We have studied optical model fits to total neutron cross sections of structural materials using the accurate data base for {sup 56}Fe existing in the resolved and unresolved resonance region. Averages over resolved resonances were calculated with Lorentzian weighting in Reich-Moore (reduced R matrix) approximation. Starting from the best available optical potentials we found that adjustment of the real and imaginary well depths does not work satisfactorily with the conventional weak linear energy dependence of the well depths. If, however, the linear dependences are modified towards low energies, the average total cross sections can be fitted quite well, from the resolved resonance region up to 20 MeV and higher. (author)

  5. VQABQ: Visual Question Answering by Basic Questions

    KAUST Repository

    Huang, Jia-Hong

    2017-03-19

    Taking an image and question as the input of our method, it can output the text-based answer of the query question about the given image, so called Visual Question Answering (VQA). There are two main modules in our algorithm. Given a natural language question about an image, the first module takes the question as input and then outputs the basic questions of the main given question. The second module takes the main question, image and these basic questions as input and then outputs the text-based answer of the main question. We formulate the basic questions generation problem as a LASSO optimization problem, and also propose a criterion about how to exploit these basic questions to help answer main question. Our method is evaluated on the challenging VQA dataset and yields state-of-the-art accuracy, 60.34% in open-ended task.

  6. VQABQ: Visual Question Answering by Basic Questions

    KAUST Repository

    Huang, Jia-Hong; Alfadly, Modar; Ghanem, Bernard

    2017-01-01

    Taking an image and question as the input of our method, it can output the text-based answer of the query question about the given image, so called Visual Question Answering (VQA). There are two main modules in our algorithm. Given a natural language question about an image, the first module takes the question as input and then outputs the basic questions of the main given question. The second module takes the main question, image and these basic questions as input and then outputs the text-based answer of the main question. We formulate the basic questions generation problem as a LASSO optimization problem, and also propose a criterion about how to exploit these basic questions to help answer main question. Our method is evaluated on the challenging VQA dataset and yields state-of-the-art accuracy, 60.34% in open-ended task.

  7. Biology Question Generation from a Semantic Network

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhang, Lishan

    Science instructors need questions for use in exams, homework assignments, class discussions, reviews, and other instructional activities. Textbooks never have enough questions, so instructors must find them from other sources or generate their own questions. In order to supply instructors with biology questions, a semantic network approach was developed for generating open response biology questions. The generated questions were compared to professional authorized questions. To boost students' learning experience, adaptive selection was built on the generated questions. Bayesian Knowledge Tracing was used as embedded assessment of the student's current competence so that a suitable question could be selected based on the student's previous performance. A between-subjects experiment with 42 participants was performed, where half of the participants studied with adaptive selected questions and the rest studied with mal-adaptive order of questions. Both groups significantly improved their test scores, and the participants in adaptive group registered larger learning gains than participants in the control group. To explore the possibility of generating rich instructional feedback for machine-generated questions, a question-paragraph mapping task was identified. Given a set of questions and a list of paragraphs for a textbook, the goal of the task was to map the related paragraphs to each question. An algorithm was developed whose performance was comparable to human annotators. A multiple-choice question with high quality distractors (incorrect answers) can be pedagogically valuable as well as being much easier to grade than open-response questions. Thus, an algorithm was developed to generate good distractors for multiple-choice questions. The machine-generated multiple-choice questions were compared to human-generated questions in terms of three measures: question difficulty, question discrimination and distractor usefulness. By recruiting 200 participants from

  8. New Theoretical Estimates of the Contribution of Unresolved Star-Forming Galaxies to the Extragalactic Gamma-Ray Background (EGB) as Measured by EGRET and the Fermi-LAT

    Science.gov (United States)

    Venters, Tonia M.

    2011-01-01

    We present new theoretical estimates of the contribution of unresolved star-forming galaxies to the extragalactic gamma-ray background (EGB) as measured by EGRET and the Fermi-LAT. We employ several methods for determining the star-forming galaxy contribution the the EGB, including a method positing a correlation between the gamma-ray luminosity of a galaxy and its rate of star formation as calculated from the total infrared luminosity, and a method that makes use of a model of the evolution of the galaxy gas mass with cosmic time. We find that depending on the model, unresolved star-forming galaxies could contribute significantly to the EGB as measured by the Fermi-LAT at energies between approx. 300 MeV and approx. few GeV. However, the overall spectrum of unresolved star-forming galaxies can explain neither the EGRET EGB spectrum at energies between 50 and 200 MeV nor the Fermi-LAT EGB spectrum at energies above approx. few GeV.

  9. Oxidative stress and life histories: unresolved issues and current needs.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Speakman, John R; Blount, Jonathan D; Bronikowski, Anne M; Buffenstein, Rochelle; Isaksson, Caroline; Kirkwood, Tom B L; Monaghan, Pat; Ozanne, Susan E; Beaulieu, Michaël; Briga, Michael; Carr, Sarah K; Christensen, Louise L; Cochemé, Helena M; Cram, Dominic L; Dantzer, Ben; Harper, Jim M; Jurk, Diana; King, Annette; Noguera, Jose C; Salin, Karine; Sild, Elin; Simons, Mirre J P; Smith, Shona; Stier, Antoine; Tobler, Michael; Vitikainen, Emma; Peaker, Malcolm; Selman, Colin

    2015-12-01

    Life-history theory concerns the trade-offs that mold the patterns of investment by animals between reproduction, growth, and survival. It is widely recognized that physiology plays a role in the mediation of life-history trade-offs, but the details remain obscure. As life-history theory concerns aspects of investment in the soma that influence survival, understanding the physiological basis of life histories is related, but not identical, to understanding the process of aging. One idea from the field of aging that has gained considerable traction in the area of life histories is that life-history trade-offs may be mediated by free radical production and oxidative stress. We outline here developments in this field and summarize a number of important unresolved issues that may guide future research efforts. The issues are as follows. First, different tissues and macromolecular targets of oxidative stress respond differently during reproduction. The functional significance of these changes, however, remains uncertain. Consequently there is a need for studies that link oxidative stress measurements to functional outcomes, such as survival. Second, measurements of oxidative stress are often highly invasive or terminal. Terminal studies of oxidative stress in wild animals, where detailed life-history information is available, cannot generally be performed without compromising the aims of the studies that generated the life-history data. There is a need therefore for novel non-invasive measurements of multi-tissue oxidative stress. Third, laboratory studies provide unrivaled opportunities for experimental manipulation but may fail to expose the physiology underpinning life-history effects, because of the benign laboratory environment. Fourth, the idea that oxidative stress might underlie life-history trade-offs does not make specific enough predictions that are amenable to testing. Moreover, there is a paucity of good alternative theoretical models on which contrasting

  10. Are CSF Biomarkers Useful as Prognostic Indicators in Diagnostically Unresolved Cognitively Impaired Patients in a Normal Clinical Setting

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Nielsen, Malene Schjønning; Simonsen, Anja Hviid; Siersma, Volkert

    2016-01-01

    in diagnostically unresolved patients. METHODS: Data on 348 patients were retrospectively evaluated. All participants had a standardized diagnostic workup and follow-up in a memory clinic. RESULTS: Aβ42 levels and Aβ42/p-tau ratios were reduced and levels of t-tau and p-tau as well as the t-tau × p-tau/Aβ42 ratio...

  11. New population-based exome data are questioning the pathogenicity of previously cardiomyopathy-associated genetic variants

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Andreasen, Charlotte Hartig; Nielsen, Jonas B; Refsgaard, Lena

    2013-01-01

    Cardiomyopathies are a heterogeneous group of diseases with various etiologies. We focused on three genetically determined cardiomyopathies: hypertrophic (HCM), dilated (DCM), and arrhythmogenic right ventricular cardiomyopathy (ARVC). Eighty-four genes have so far been associated with these card......Cardiomyopathies are a heterogeneous group of diseases with various etiologies. We focused on three genetically determined cardiomyopathies: hypertrophic (HCM), dilated (DCM), and arrhythmogenic right ventricular cardiomyopathy (ARVC). Eighty-four genes have so far been associated...... with these cardiomyopathies, but the disease-causing effect of reported variants is often dubious. In order to identify possible false-positive variants, we investigated the prevalence of previously reported cardiomyopathy-associated variants in recently published exome data. We searched for reported missense and nonsense...... variants in the NHLBI-Go Exome Sequencing Project (ESP) containing exome data from 6500 individuals. In ESP, we identified 94 variants out of 687 (14%) variants previously associated with HCM, 58 out of 337 (17%) variants associated with DCM, and 38 variants out of 209 (18%) associated with ARVC...

  12. On uncertainties and fluctuations of averaged neutron cross sections in unresolved resonance energy region for 235U, 238U, 239Pu

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Van'kov, A.A.; Blokhin, A.I.; Manokhin, V.N.; Kravchenko, I.V.

    1985-01-01

    This paper analyses the reasons for the differences which exist between group-averaged evaluated cross-section data from different evaluated data files for U235, U238 and Pu239 in the unresolved resonance energy region. (author)

  13. Using an ontology to automatically generate questions for the determination of situations

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Teitsma, Marten; Sandberg, Jacobijn; Maris, Martinus; Wielinga, Bob; Hameurlain, Abdelkader; Liddle, Stephen W.; Schewe, Klaus-Dieter; Zhou, Xiaofang

    2011-01-01

    We investigate whether the automatic generation of questions from an ontology leads to a trustworthy determination of a situation. With our Situation Awareness Question Generator (SAQG) we automatically generate questions from an ontology. The experiment shows that people with no previous experience

  14. Questioning Questions: Elementary Teachers' Adaptations of Investigation Questions Across the Inquiry Continuum

    Science.gov (United States)

    Biggers, Mandy

    2018-02-01

    Questioning is a central practice in science classrooms. However, not every question translates into a "good" science investigation. Questions that drive science investigations can be provided by many sources including the teacher, the curriculum, or the student. The variations in the source of investigation questions were explored in this study. A dataset of 120 elementary science classroom videos and associated lesson plans from 40 elementary teachers (K-5) across 21 elementary school campuses were scored on an instrument measuring the amount of teacher-direction or student-direction of the lessons' investigation questions. Results indicated that the investigation questions were overwhelmingly teacher directed in nature, with no opportunities for students to develop their own questions for investigation. This study has implications for researchers and practitioners alike, calling attention to the teacher-directed nature of investigation questions in existing science curriculum materials, and the need for teacher training in instructional strategies to adapt their existing curriculum materials across the continuum of teacher-directed and student-directed investigation questions. Teachers need strategies for adapting the teacher-directed questions provided in their existing curriculum materials in order to allow students the opportunity to engage in this essential scientific practice.

  15. NMDA Receptors in Glial Cells: Pending Questions.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dzamba, David; Honsa, Pavel; Anderova, Miroslava

    2013-05-01

    Glutamate receptors of the N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) type are involved in many cognitive processes, including behavior, learning and synaptic plasticity. For a long time NMDA receptors were thought to be the privileged domain of neurons; however, discoveries of the last 25 years have demonstrated their active role in glial cells as well. Despite the large number of studies in the field, there are many unresolved questions connected with NMDA receptors in glia that are still a matter of debate. The main objective of this review is to shed light on these controversies by summarizing results from all relevant works concerning astrocytes, oligodendrocytes and polydendrocytes (also known as NG2 glial cells) in experimental animals, further extended by studies performed on human glia. The results are divided according to the study approach to enable a better comparison of how findings obtained at the mRNA level correspond with protein expression or functionality. Furthermore, special attention is focused on the NMDA receptor subunits present in the particular glial cell types, which give them special characteristics different from those of neurons - for example, the absence of Mg(2+) block and decreased Ca(2+) permeability. Since glial cells are implicated in important physiological and pathophysiological roles in the central nervous system (CNS), the last part of this review provides an overview of glial NMDA receptors with respect to ischemic brain injury.

  16. Gas kinematics in FIRE simulated galaxies compared to spatially unresolved H I observations

    Science.gov (United States)

    El-Badry, Kareem; Bradford, Jeremy; Quataert, Eliot; Geha, Marla; Boylan-Kolchin, Michael; Weisz, Daniel R.; Wetzel, Andrew; Hopkins, Philip F.; Chan, T. K.; Fitts, Alex; Kereš, Dušan; Faucher-Giguère, Claude-André

    2018-06-01

    The shape of a galaxy's spatially unresolved, globally integrated 21-cm emission line depends on its internal gas kinematics: galaxies with rotationally supported gas discs produce double-horned profiles with steep wings, while galaxies with dispersion-supported gas produce Gaussian-like profiles with sloped wings. Using mock observations of simulated galaxies from the FIRE project, we show that one can therefore constrain a galaxy's gas kinematics from its unresolved 21-cm line profile. In particular, we find that the kurtosis of the 21-cm line increases with decreasing V/σ and that this trend is robust across a wide range of masses, signal-to-noise ratios, and inclinations. We then quantify the shapes of 21-cm line profiles from a morphologically unbiased sample of ˜2000 low-redshift, H I-detected galaxies with Mstar = 107-11 M⊙ and compare to the simulated galaxies. At Mstar ≳ 1010 M⊙, both the observed and simulated galaxies produce double-horned profiles with low kurtosis and steep wings, consistent with rotationally supported discs. Both the observed and simulated line profiles become more Gaussian like (higher kurtosis and less-steep wings) at lower masses, indicating increased dispersion support. However, the simulated galaxies transition from rotational to dispersion support more strongly: at Mstar = 108-10 M⊙, most of the simulations produce more Gaussian-like profiles than typical observed galaxies with similar mass, indicating that gas in the low-mass simulated galaxies is, on average, overly dispersion supported. Most of the lower-mass-simulated galaxies also have somewhat lower gas fractions than the median of the observed population. The simulations nevertheless reproduce the observed line-width baryonic Tully-Fisher relation, which is insensitive to rotational versus dispersion support.

  17. The role of erythropoietin stimulating agents in anemic patients with heart failure: solved and unresolved questions

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Palazzuoli A

    2014-08-01

    Full Text Available Alberto Palazzuoli, Gaetano Ruocco, Marco Pellegrini, Carmelo De Gori, Gabriele Del Castillo, Nicola Giordano, Ranuccio NutiDepartment of Internal Medicine and Metabolic Diseases, Cardiology Section, Le Scotte Hospital, University of Siena, Siena, ItalyAbstract: Anemia is a common finding in congestive heart failure (CHF and is associated with an increased mortality and morbidity. Several conditions can cause depression of erythroid progenitor cells: reduction of iron absorption and reuptake, decreased bone marrow activity, reduced endogenous erythropoietin production, and chronic inflammatory state. Anemia’s etiology in CHF is complex and partially understood; it involves several systems including impaired hemodynamic condition, reduced kidney and bone perfusion, increased inflammatory activity, and neurohormonal overdrive. The use of erythropoiesis stimulating agents (ESAs such as erythropoietin and its derivatives is recently debated; the last interventional trial seems to demonstrate a neutral or negative effect in the active arm with darbepoetin treatment. The current data is opposite to many single blind studies and previous meta-analysis showing an improvement in quality of life, New York Heart Association class, and exercise tolerance using ESA therapy. These contrasting data raise several concerns regarding the target of hemoglobin levels needing intervention, the exact anemia classification and categorization, and the standardization of hematocrit cutoffs. Some cardiac and systemic conditions (ie, hypertension, atrial fibrillation, prothrombotic status may predispose to adverse events, and ESA administration should be avoided. To prevent the negative effects, high-dosage and chronic administration should be avoided. Clarification of these items could probably identify patients that may benefit from additional iron or ESA treatment. In this review, we discuss the interventional trials made in anemic heart failure patients, the

  18. A subtraction scheme for computing QCD jet cross sections at NNLO: integrating the doubly unresolved subtraction terms

    CERN Document Server

    Somogyi, Gabor

    2013-01-01

    We finish the definition of a subtraction scheme for computing NNLO corrections to QCD jet cross sections. In particular, we perform the integration of the soft-type contributions to the doubly unresolved counterterms via the method of Mellin-Barnes representations. With these final ingredients in place, the definition of the scheme is complete and the computation of the regularised doubly virtual contribution to the NNLO cross section becomes feasible.

  19. Evaluation of water-hammer experience in nuclear power plants. Technical findings relevant to Unresolved Safety Issue A-1

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Serkiz, A.W.

    1983-05-01

    This report summarizes key technical findings relevant to the Unresolved Safety Issue A-1, Water Hammer. These findings were derived from studies of reported water hammer occurrences and underlying causes and provide key insights into means to minimize or eliminate further water hammer occurrences. It should also be noted that this report does not represent a substitute for current rules and regulations

  20. Evaluation of water hammer occurrence in nuclear power plants: technical findings relevant to unresolved safety issue A-1

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    1984-03-01

    This report, which includes responses to public comments, summarizes key technical findings relevant to the Unresolved Safety Issue A-1, Water Hammer. These findings were derived from studies of reported water hammer occurrences and underlying causes and provide key insights into means to minimize or eliminate further water hammer occurrences. This report does not represent a substitute for current rules and regulations

  1. Simulation analysis of photometric data for attitude estimation of unresolved space objects

    Science.gov (United States)

    Du, Xiaoping; Gou, Ruixin; Liu, Hao; Hu, Heng; Wang, Yang

    2017-10-01

    The attitude information acquisition of unresolved space objects, such as micro-nano satellites and GEO objects under the way of ground-based optical observations, is a challenge to space surveillance. In this paper, a useful method is proposed to estimate the SO attitude state according to the simulation analysis of photometric data in different attitude states. The object shape model was established and the parameters of the BRDF model were determined, then the space object photometric model was established. Furthermore, the photometric data of space objects in different states are analyzed by simulation and the regular characteristics of the photometric curves are summarized. The simulation results show that the photometric characteristics are useful for attitude inversion in a unique way. Thus, a new idea is provided for space object identification in this paper.

  2. Chromospheric counterparts of solar transition region unresolved fine structure loops

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pereira, Tiago M. D.; Rouppe van der Voort, Luc; Hansteen, Viggo H.; De Pontieu, Bart

    2018-04-01

    Low-lying loops have been discovered at the solar limb in transition region temperatures by the Interface Region Imaging Spectrograph (IRIS). They do not appear to reach coronal temperatures, and it has been suggested that they are the long-predicted unresolved fine structures (UFS). These loops are dynamic and believed to be visible during both heating and cooling phases. Making use of coordinated observations between IRIS and the Swedish 1-m Solar Telescope, we study how these loops impact the solar chromosphere. We show for the first time that there is indeed a chromospheric signal of these loops, seen mostly in the form of strong Doppler shifts and a conspicuous lack of chromospheric heating. In addition, we find that several instances have a inverse Y-shaped jet just above the loop, suggesting that magnetic reconnection is driving these events. Our observations add several puzzling details to the current knowledge of these newly discovered structures; this new information must be considered in theoretical models. Two movies associated to Fig. 1 are available at http://https://www.aanda.org

  3. A subtraction scheme for computing QCD jet cross sections at NNLO: integrating the doubly unresolved subtraction terms

    Science.gov (United States)

    Somogyi, Gábor

    2013-04-01

    We finish the definition of a subtraction scheme for computing NNLO corrections to QCD jet cross sections. In particular, we perform the integration of the soft-type contributions to the doubly unresolved counterterms via the method of Mellin-Barnes representations. With these final ingredients in place, the definition of the scheme is complete and the computation of fully differential rates for electron-positron annihilation into two and three jets at NNLO accuracy becomes feasible.

  4. A subtraction scheme for computing QCD jet cross sections at NNLO: integrating the doubly unresolved subtraction terms

    OpenAIRE

    Somogyi, Gabor

    2013-01-01

    We finish the definition of a subtraction scheme for computing NNLO corrections to QCD jet cross sections. In particular, we perform the integration of the soft-type contributions to the doubly unresolved counterterms via the method of Mellin-Barnes representations. With these final ingredients in place, the definition of the scheme is complete and the computation of fully differential rates for electron-positron annihilation into two and three jets at NNLO accuracy becomes feasible.

  5. Effect of Paper Color and Question Order on Exam Performance

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tal, Ilanit R.; Akers, Katherine G.; Hodge, Gordon K.

    2008-01-01

    To deter cheating, teachers commonly use exams printed on differently colored paper or with varied question orders. Previous studies, however, reported that paper color and question order affect exam performance and suggested that teachers should adjust students' scores accordingly and discontinue the use of alternate exam forms. We conducted 2…

  6. Contribution of resolved and unresolved harmonic regions to brainstem speech-evoked responses in quiet and in background noise

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    M. Laroche

    2011-03-01

    Full Text Available Speech auditory brainstem responses (speech ABR reflect activity that is phase-locked to the harmonics of the fundamental frequency (F0 up to at least the first formant (F1. Recent evidence suggests that responses at F0 in the presence of noise are more robust than responses at F1, and are also dissociated in some learning-impaired children. Peripheral auditory processing can be broadly divided into resolved and unresolved harmonic regions. This study investigates the contribution of these two regions to the speech ABR, and their susceptibility to noise. We recorded, in quiet and in background white noise, evoked responses in twelve normal hearing adults in response to three variants of a synthetic vowel: i Allformants, which contains all first three formants, ii F1Only, which is dominated by resolved harmonics, and iii F2&F3Only, which is dominated by unresolved harmonics. There were no statistically significant differences in the response at F0 due to the three variants of the stimulus in quiet, nor did the noise affect this response with the Allformants and F1Only variants. On the other hand, the response at F0 with the F2&F3Only variant was significantly weaker in noise than with the two other variants (p<0.001. With the response at F1, there was no difference with the Allformants and F1Only variants in quiet, but was expectedly weaker with the F2&F3Only variant (p<0.01. The addition of noise significantly weakened the response at F1 with the F1Only variant (p<0.05, but this weakening only tended towards significance with the Allformants variant (p=0.07. The results of this study indicate that resolved and unresolved harmonics are processed in different but interacting pathways that converge in the upper brainstem. The results also support earlier work on the differential susceptibility of responses at F0 and F1 to added noise.

  7. Awkward Questions: Language Issues in the 2011 Census in England

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sebba, Mark

    2018-01-01

    The 2011 Census in England broke new ground, as a question about language had never previously been asked. After stakeholder consultations and a series of trials, the census authority decided on two questions based on earlier censuses in the USA: one about the respondent's "main language" and another about proficiency in English. This…

  8. Unresolved Safety Issue A-46 - seismic qualification of equipment in operating plants

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Anderson, N.

    1985-01-01

    Seismic Qualification of Equipment in Operating Plants was designated as an Unresolved Safety Issue (USI) in December, 1980. The USI A-46 program was developed in early 1981 to investigate the adequacy of mechanical and electrical equipment in operating plants to withstand a safe shutdown earthquake. The approach taken was to develop viable, cost effective alternatives to current seismic qualification licensing requirements which could be applied to operating nuclear power plants. The tasks investigated include: (1) identification of seismic sensitive systems and equipment; (2) assessment of adequacy of existing seismic qualification methods; (3) development and assessment of in-situ test procedures to assist in qualification of equipment; (4) seismic qualification of equipment using seismic experience data; and (5) development of methods to generate generic floor response spectra. Progress to date and plans for completion of resolution are reported

  9. Conducting systematic reviews of intervention questions I: Writing the review protocol, formulating the question and searching the literature.

    Science.gov (United States)

    O'Connor, A M; Anderson, K M; Goodell, C K; Sargeant, J M

    2014-06-01

    This article is the fourth of six articles addressing systematic reviews in animal agriculture and veterinary medicine. Previous articles in the series have introduced systematic reviews, discussed study designs and hierarchies of evidence, and provided details on conducting randomized controlled trials, a common design for use in systematic reviews. This article describes development of a review protocol and the first two steps in a systematic review: formulating a review question, and searching the literature for relevant research. The emphasis is on systematic reviews of questions related to interventions. The review protocol is developed prior to conducting the review and specifies the plan for the conduct of the review, identifies the roles and responsibilities of the review team and provides structured definitions related to the review question. For intervention questions, the review question should be defined by the PICO components: population, intervention, comparison and outcome(s). The literature search is designed to identify all potentially relevant original research that may address the question. Search terms related to some or all of the PICO components are entered into literature databases, and searches for unpublished literature also are conducted. All steps of the literature search are documented to provide transparent reporting of the process. © 2014 Blackwell Verlag GmbH.

  10. Questioning Questions: Elementary Teachers' Adaptations of Investigation Questions across the Inquiry Continuum

    Science.gov (United States)

    Biggers, Mandy

    2018-01-01

    Questioning is a central practice in science classrooms. However, not every question translates into a "good" science investigation. Questions that drive science investigations can be provided by many sources including the teacher, the curriculum, or the student. The variations in the source of investigation questions were explored in…

  11. Nuclear engineering questions: power, reprocessing, waste, decontamination, fusion

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Walton, R.D. Jr.

    1979-01-01

    This volume contains papers presented at the chemical engineering symposium on nuclear questions. Specific questions addressed by the speakers included: nuclear power - why and how; commercial reprocessing - permanent death or resurrection; long-term management of commercial high-level wastes; long-term management of defense high-level waste; decontamination and decommissioning of nuclear facilities, engineering aspects of laser fusion I; and engineering aspects of laser fusion II. Individual papers have been input to the Energy Data Base previously

  12. Rhetorical questions or rhetorical uses of questions?

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Špago Džemal

    2016-12-01

    Full Text Available This paper aims to explore whether some rhetorical questions contain certain linguistic elements or forms which would differentiate them from answer-eliciting and action-eliciting questions, and thereby hint at their rhetorical nature even outside the context. Namely, despite the fact that the same questions can be rhetorical in one context, and answer-eliciting in another, some of them are more likely to be associated with rhetorical or non-rhetorical use. The analysis is based on extensive data (over 1200 examples of rhetorical questions taken from 30 plays by two British and two American writers, and the results are expected to give an insight into whether we can talk about rhetorical questions or just a rhetorical use of questions.

  13. A case of woman abuse: gender ideologies, power paradoxes, and unresolved conflict.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rosen, K H; Bird, K

    1996-09-01

    This paper describes some of the complex individual and relationship processes that occurred in an intimate relationship where love and violence coexisted. It presents a longitudinal, qualitative study of a premarital relationship in which the man had been repeatedly violent towards his female partner. It describes how gender role ideologies, the distribution of power between partners, and unresolved conflict are related to each other and to the emergence of violence and maintenance of couple bonds. A grounded theory approach was used to collect and analyze data for this single case and qualitative study in which both partners were interviewed several times each over the course of 1.5 years. Overall, it was found that intimate relationships that become contexts for expressions of love and violence are indeed complex, and the flexibility to consider the complexities that are involved provide a context for developing creative solutions.

  14. Importance of questionnaire context for a physical activity question

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Jørgensen, M. E.; Sørensen, Mette Rosenlund; Ekholm, O.

    2013-01-01

    ; however, this has never been shown for physical activity questions. The aim was to study the influence of different formulations and question order on self-report physical activity in a population-based health interview survey. Four samples of each 1000 adults were drawn at random from the National Person......Adequate information about physical activity habits is essential for surveillance, implementing, and evaluating public health initiatives in this area. Previous studies have shown that question order and differences in wording result in systematic differences in people's responses to questionnaires...... Register. A new question about physical activity was included with minor differences in formulations in samples 1–3. Furthermore, the question in sample 2 was included in sample 4 but was placed in the end of the questionnaire. The mean time spent on moderate physical activity varied between the four...

  15. Comment 4 - policy for sustainable development: Some unresolved issues

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ruttan, V.W.

    1992-01-01

    We are now in the midst of the third wave of social concern since World War II about the implications of natural resource availability and environmental change for the sustainability of improvements in human well-being. The first wave of concern in the late 1940s and early 1950s focused primarily on the quantitative relationship between resource availability and economic growth. The response to this first wave of concern was technical change in raw material production. The second wave of concern, in the late 1960s and early 1970s, focused on the rising demand for assimilation by the environment of residuals derived from growth in commodity production and consumption - primarily at the local and regional level. Since the mid 1980s, these two early concerns have been supplemented by a third. This more recent concern centers around the implications for environmental quality, food production, and human health of a series of environmental changes such as global warming, ozone depletion, acid rain, and others that are occurring on a transnational scale. Before actions to resolve these more recent challenges to sustainable economic growth are taken, a number of unresolved issues must be confronted to allow a commitment to this resolution to be translated into an internally coherent reform agenda. In this note, he discuss three of these issues

  16. Results of arthroscopic treatment in unresolved Osgood-Schlatter disease in athletes.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Circi, Esra; Beyzadeoglu, Tahsin

    2017-02-01

    In this study we aimed to determine outcomes following arthroscopic ossicle excision in athletes with unresolved Osgood-Schlatter disease (OSD). Arthroscopy was performed on 11 patients (11 knees) with OSD between September 2008 and November 2014. Surgical treatment inclusion criteria were determined as: failure of conservative treatment; isolated pain over the tibial tubercle and distal patellar tendon; pain limiting sporting performance at a competitive level. All patients had a documented history of OSD; the mean duration of persistent pain over the tibial tubercle was 15.5 months. The mean age was 23 years. The mean follow-up period was 66.1 months. The mean latency in returning to sports related training activities after the surgery was 6.7 weeks. The mean Kujala patello-femoral score improved from 82.9 points pre-operatively, to 98.5 points at the final follow-up (p operative period, increasing to a score of 96.9 points at final follow-up (p operative period, increasing to 8.5 post-operatively (p advantage of faster recovery and avoiding damage to the patellar tendon.

  17. Can we share questions? Performance of questions from different question banks in a single medical school.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Freeman, Adrian; Nicholls, Anthony; Ricketts, Chris; Coombes, Lee

    2010-01-01

    To use progress testing, a large bank of questions is required, particularly when planning to deliver tests over a long period of time. The questions need not only to be of good quality but also balanced in subject coverage across the curriculum to allow appropriate sampling. Hence as well as creating its own questions, an institution could share questions. Both methods allow ownership and structuring of the test appropriate to the educational requirements of the institution. Peninsula Medical School (PMS) has developed a mechanism to validate questions written in house. That mechanism can be adapted to utilise questions from an International question bank International Digital Electronic Access Library (IDEAL) and another UK-based question bank Universities Medical Assessment Partnership (UMAP). These questions have been used in our progress tests and analysed for relative performance. Data are presented to show that questions from differing sources can have comparable performance in a progress testing format. There are difficulties in transferring questions from one institution to another. These include problems of curricula and cultural differences. Whilst many of these difficulties exist, our experience suggests that it only requires a relatively small amount of work to adapt questions from external question banks for effective use. The longitudinal aspect of progress testing (albeit summatively) may allow more flexibility in question usage than single high stakes exams.

  18. Long-term follow-up of echolalia and question answering.

    OpenAIRE

    Foxx, R M; Faw, G D

    1990-01-01

    A long-term follow-up of echolalia and correct question answering was conducted for 6 subjects from three previously published studies. The follow-up periods ranged from 26 to 57 months. In a training site follow-up, subjects were exposed to baseline/posttraining conditions in which the original trainer and/or a novel person(s) presented trained and untrained questions. Four subjects displayed echolalia below baseline levels, and another did so in some assessments. Overall, echolalia was lowe...

  19. IIIB or not IIIB: a previously unanswered question.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Thibodeau, Jennifer T; Mishkin, Joseph D; Patel, Parag C; Mammen, Pradeep P A; Markham, David W; Drazner, Mark H

    2012-05-01

    The term New York Heart Association (NYHA) class IIIB has been used increasingly in clinical medicine, including as an inclusion criteria for many clinical trials assessing left ventricular assist devices (LVADs). Indeed, NYHA class IIIB is incorporated in the Food and Drug Administration's approved indication for the Heartmate II. However, on review of the medical literature, we found that there is no consensus definition of NYHA class IIIB. Until the ambiguity is resolved, we suggest that this designation not be used in clinical practice or by investigators leading clinical trials assessing therapies which convey substantial risk to patients and therefore require clarity in describing the enrolled patient population. With ongoing improvements in LVADs, this therapy will increasingly be considered in patients less sick than those who require inotropic support, providing urgency to establish a consensus system of classifying such patients who nevertheless fall within the spectrum of advanced heart failure. Herein we propose a modification of the standard NYHA classification system which can be used to fill this void. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  20. When is a research question not a research question?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mayo, Nancy E; Asano, Miho; Barbic, Skye Pamela

    2013-06-01

    Research is undertaken to answer important questions yet often the question is poorly expressed and lacks information on the population, the exposure or intervention, the comparison, and the outcome. An optimal research question sets out what the investigator wants to know, not what the investigator might do, nor what the results of the study might ultimately contribute. The purpose of this paper is to estimate the extent to which rehabilitation scientists optimally define their research questions. A cross-sectional survey of the rehabilitation research articles published during 2008. Two raters independently rated each question according to pre-specified criteria; a third rater adjudicated all discrepant ratings. The proportion of the 258 articles with a question formulated as methods or expected contribution and not as what knowledge was being sought was 65%; 30% of questions required reworking. The designs which most often had poorly formulated research questions were randomized trials, cross-sectional and measurement studies. Formulating the research question is not purely a semantic concern. When the question is poorly formulated, the design, analysis, sample size calculations, and presentation of results may not be optimal. The gap between research and clinical practice could be bridged by a clear, complete, and informative research question.

  1. Questions and Questioning Techniques: A View of Indonesian Students’ Preferences

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Debora Tri Ragawanti

    2009-01-01

    Full Text Available This study investigated students’ preference on teacher’s questions and questionings techniques and more importantly on how they could facilitate or impede their learning. The results on teacher’s questioning techniques showed that random nomination was more preferred than pre-arranged format nomination. In addition, techniques of nominating volunteering students and of giving wait-time were disliked by most student-respondents. As for types of question, the yes/no question was favored by most of the respondents. Different from the yes/no question, the number of respondents leaning forward to the analysis question, questions about fact of life, and questions to state opinion did not show a significant difference from the number of those leaning against the same questions.

  2. Multiple Personalities: Childhood Unresolved Conflicts and Trauma In Clark’s All Around The Town

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Fatma Hetami

    2011-06-01

    Full Text Available This paper is aimed at describing how multiple personalities as the unresolved childhood conflict and trauma are revealed in Clark’s All Around the Town. The novel is analyzed by using psychological approach. It is based on the assumption that any work of literature always deals with human life in terms of his personality structure and psychological condition. The results indicate that as a character, Laurie Kenyon is around and developing. It can be seen from her various traits. In one, she is smart and sweet. But on the other hand, she is anxious and gets afraid easily. As an individual, Laurie’s Id is weak. Her Super-ego, which appears as forms of traumatic experience and unresolved childhood conflict, are embedded strongly in Laurie’s personality. Therefore, she tries to create her ego in the form of multiple personalities to help her out of her problems. Abstrak: Tulisan ini merupakan hasil penelitian yang bertujuan untuk mendeskripsikan bagaimana kepribadian ganda sebagai akibat trauma dan konflik masa kecil yang tidak teratasi muncul pada novel All Around the Town Karya Marry Higgins Clark. Novel ini dianalisis dengan menggunakan pendekatan psikologi sastra. Hal tersebut didasarkan pada asumsi bahwa semua karya sastra selalu berhubungan dengan kehidupan manusia khususnya kepribadian dan kondisi psikologis. Hasil analisis menunjukkan bahwa sebagai tokoh, Laurie Kenyon memiliki karakter bulat dan dinamis. Hal ini bisa dilihat dari sifat-sifat yang dimilikinya serta bagaimana kepribadian Laurie berubah dari awal sampai akhir cerita. Di satu sisi Laurie merupakan gadis yang cerdas dan manis. Namun di lain sisi, ia juga pencemas dan penakut. Sebagai individu, Laurie memiliki id yang lemah. Super ego berupa pengalaman trauma dan konflik yang tidak teratasi semasa kecil terlalu kuat tertanam dalam diri Laurie, sehingga ia berusaha menciptak an ego dalam bentuk kepribadian ganda untuk membantunya lepas dari masalah yang dihadapinya. Kata

  3. Emotion theory and research: highlights, unanswered questions, and emerging issues.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Izard, Carroll E

    2009-01-01

    Emotion feeling is a phase of neurobiological activity, the key component of emotions and emotion-cognition interactions. Emotion schemas, the most frequently occurring emotion experiences, are dynamic emotion-cognition interactions that may consist of momentary/situational responding or enduring traits of personality that emerge over developmental time. Emotions play a critical role in the evolution of consciousness and the operations of all mental processes. Types of emotion relate differentially to types or levels of consciousness. Unbridled imagination and the ability for sympathetic regulation of empathy may represent both potential gains and losses from the evolution and ontogeny of emotion processes and consciousness. Unresolved issues include psychology's neglect of levels of consciousness that are distinct from access or reflective consciousness and use of the term "unconscious mind" as a dumpster for all mental processes that are considered unreportable. The relation of memes and the mirror neuron system to empathy, sympathy, and cultural influences on the development of socioemotional skills are unresolved issues destined to attract future research.

  4. Unmasking the hidden NGTS-3Ab: a hot Jupiter in an unresolved binary system

    Science.gov (United States)

    Günther, Maximilian N.; Queloz, Didier; Gillen, Edward; Delrez, Laetitia; Bouchy, François; McCormac, James; Smalley, Barry; Almleaky, Yaseen; Armstrong, David J.; Bayliss, Daniel; Burdanov, Artem; Burleigh, Matthew; Cabrera, Juan; Casewell, Sarah L.; Cooke, Benjamin F.; Csizmadia, Szilárd; Ducrot, Elsa; Eigmüller, Philipp; Erikson, Anders; Gänsicke, Boris T.; Gibson, Neale P.; Gillon, Michaël; Goad, Michael R.; Jehin, Emmanuël; Jenkins, James S.; Louden, Tom; Moyano, Maximiliano; Murray, Catriona; Pollacco, Don; Poppenhaeger, Katja; Rauer, Heike; Raynard, Liam; Smith, Alexis M. S.; Sohy, Sandrine; Thompson, Samantha J.; Udry, Stéphane; Watson, Christopher A.; West, Richard G.; Wheatley, Peter J.

    2018-05-01

    We present the discovery of NGTS-3Ab, a hot Jupiter found transiting the primary star of an unresolved binary system. We develop a joint analysis of multi-colour photometry, centroids, radial velocity (RV) cross-correlation function (CCF) profiles and their bisector inverse slopes (BIS) to disentangle this three-body system. Data from the Next Generation Transit Survey (NGTS), SPECULOOS and HARPS are analysed and modelled with our new BLENDFITTER software. We find that the binary consists of NGTS-3A (G6V-dwarf) and NGTS-3B (K1V-dwarf) at 5") and are prone to contamination by blended objects. With TESS on the horizon, it is pivotal for the candidate vetting to incorporate all available follow-up information from multi-colour photometry and RV CCF profiles.

  5. Regulatory analysis for resolution of USI [Unresolved Safety Issue] A-47

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Szukiewicz, A.J.

    1989-07-01

    This report presents a summary of the regulatory analysis conducted by the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission staff to evaluate the value/impact of alternatives for the resolution of Unresolved Safety Issue A-47, ''Safety Implications of Control Systems.'' The NRC staff's resolution presented herein is based on these analyses and on the technical findings and conclusions presented in NUREG-1217, the companion document to this report. The staff has concluded that certain actions should be taken to improve safety in light-water reactor plants. The staff recommended that certain plants improve their control systems to preclude reactor vessel/steam generator overfill events and to prevent steam generator dryout, modify their technical specifications to verify operability of such systems, and modify selected emergency procedures to ensure safe shutdown of the plant following a small-break loss-of-coolant accident. This report was issued as a draft for public comment on May 27, 1988. As a result of the public comments received, this report was revised. The NRC staff's responses to and resolution of the public comments are included as Appendix C to the final report, NUREG-1217

  6. Evaluation of Pediatric Questions on the Orthopaedic In-Training Examination-An Update.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Murphy, Robert F; Nunez, Leah; Barfield, William R; Mooney, James F

    2017-09-01

    Pediatric orthopaedics is tested frequently on the Orthopaedic In-Training Examination (OITE). The most recent data on the pediatrics section of the OITE were generated from content 10 years old. The purpose of this study is to assess the pediatric orthopaedic questions on the 2011 to 2014 OITE, and to compare question categories and cognitive taxonomy with previous data. Four years (2011 to 2014) of OITE questions, answers, and references were reviewed. The number of pediatric questions per year was recorded, as well as presence of a clinical photo or imaging modality. Each question was categorized and assigned a cognitive taxonomy level. Categories included: knowledge; knowledge-treatment modalities; diagnosis; diagnosis/recognition of associated conditions; diagnosis/further studies; and diagnosis/treatment. Cognitive taxonomy levels included: simple recall, interpretation of data, and advanced problem-solving. The 3 most commonly covered topics were upper extremity trauma (17.4%), scoliosis (10.1%), and developmental dysplasia of the hip (5.7%). Compared with previous data, the percentage of pediatric questions was constant (13% vs. 14%). Categorically, the more recent OITE examinations contained significantly fewer questions testing simple knowledge (19% vs. 39%, P=0.0047), and significantly more questions testing knowledge of treatment modalities (17% vs. 9%, P=0.016) and diagnosis with associated conditions (19% vs. 9%, P=0.0034). Regarding cognitive taxonomy, there was a significant increase in the average number of questions that required advanced problem-solving (57% vs. 46%, P=0.048). Significantly more questions utilized clinical photographs and imaging studies (62% vs. 48%, P=0.012). The most common reference materials provided to support correct responses included Lovell and Winter's Pediatric Orthopaedics (25.7%) and the Journal of Pediatric Orthopaedics (23.4%). Although the percentage of pediatric questions on the OITE has remained essentially

  7. Question popularity analysis and prediction in community question answering services.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Liu, Ting; Zhang, Wei-Nan; Cao, Liujuan; Zhang, Yu

    2014-01-01

    With the blooming of online social media applications, Community Question Answering (CQA) services have become one of the most important online resources for information and knowledge seekers. A large number of high quality question and answer pairs have been accumulated, which allow users to not only share their knowledge with others, but also interact with each other. Accordingly, volumes of efforts have been taken to explore the questions and answers retrieval in CQA services so as to help users to finding the similar questions or the right answers. However, to our knowledge, less attention has been paid so far to question popularity in CQA. Question popularity can reflect the attention and interest of users. Hence, predicting question popularity can better capture the users' interest so as to improve the users' experience. Meanwhile, it can also promote the development of the community. In this paper, we investigate the problem of predicting question popularity in CQA. We first explore the factors that have impact on question popularity by employing statistical analysis. We then propose a supervised machine learning approach to model these factors for question popularity prediction. The experimental results show that our proposed approach can effectively distinguish the popular questions from unpopular ones in the Yahoo! Answers question and answer repository.

  8. Competence-Based Education and Training– about Frequently Asked Questions

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Mulder, M.

    2012-01-01

    This article follows the author's previous piece on practical guidelines for the development of comprehensive competence-based education and training (Mulder, 2012). It is about the questions that have been and are still frequently asked in presentations, workshops and classes about the introduction

  9. Chronic toxicity of unresolved complex mixtures (UCM) of hydrocarbons in marine sediments

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Scarlett, A.; Galloway, T.S. [Plymouth Univ., Drake Circus (United Kingdom). School of Biological Sciences; Rowland, S.J. [Plymouth Univ., Drake Circus (United Kingdom). School of Earth, Ocean and Environmental Sciences

    2007-08-15

    Background, Aim and Scope: Unresolved complex mixtures (UCM) of hydrocarbons, containing many thousands of compounds which cannot be resolved by conventional gas chromatography (GC), are common contaminants of sediments but little is known of their potential to affect sediment-dwelling organisms. Evidence exists for reduced health status in mussels, arising from aqueous exposure to aromatic UCM components acting through a narcotic mode of action. However, UCM contaminants in sediments may not be sufficiently bioavailable to elicit toxic effects. The aim of our study was therefore to measure the sublethal effects of chronic exposure to model UCM-dominated oils at environmentally realistic concentrations and compare this to effects produced by a UCM containing weathered crude oil. A further aim was to determine which, if any, fractions of the oils were responsible for any observed toxicity. Materials and Methods: Whole oils were spiked into estuarine sediment to give nominal concentrations of 500 {mu}g g-1 dry weight. Juveniles of the estuarine amphipod Corophium volutator were exposed to the contaminated sediment for 35 days and their survival, growth rate and reproductive success quantified. Using an effect-directed fractionation approach, the oils were fractionated into aliphatic and two aromatic fractions by open column chromatography and their toxicity assessed by further chronic exposures using juvenile C. volutator. Results: The growth rates of amphipods were reduced following exposure to the oils although this was only statistically significant for the weathered oil; reproductive success was reduced by all oil exposures. Sediment spiked with UCM fractions also caused reduced growth and reproduction but no particular fraction was found to be responsible for the observed toxicity. Survivorship was not affected by any oil or fraction. Discussion: The study showed that chronic exposure to sediments contaminated by UCM-dominated oils could have population level

  10. Importance of questionnaire context for a physical activity question.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jørgensen, M E; Sørensen, M R; Ekholm, O; Rasmussen, N K

    2013-10-01

    Adequate information about physical activity habits is essential for surveillance, implementing, and evaluating public health initiatives in this area. Previous studies have shown that question order and differences in wording result in systematic differences in people's responses to questionnaires; however, this has never been shown for physical activity questions. The aim was to study the influence of different formulations and question order on self-report physical activity in a population-based health interview survey. Four samples of each 1000 adults were drawn at random from the National Person Register. A new question about physical activity was included with minor differences in formulations in samples 1-3. Furthermore, the question in sample 2 was included in sample 4 but was placed in the end of the questionnaire. The mean time spent on moderate physical activity varied between the four samples from 57 to 100 min/day. Question order was associated with the reported number of minutes spent on moderate-intensity physical activity and with prevalence of meeting the recommendation, whereas physical inactivity was associated with the differences in formulation of the question. Questionnaire context influences the way people respond to questions about physical activity significantly and should be tested systematically in validation studies of physical activity questionnaires. © 2012 John Wiley & Sons A/S. Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

  11. Robustness Analysis of Visual Question Answering Models by Basic Questions

    KAUST Repository

    Huang, Jia-Hong

    2017-11-01

    Visual Question Answering (VQA) models should have both high robustness and accuracy. Unfortunately, most of the current VQA research only focuses on accuracy because there is a lack of proper methods to measure the robustness of VQA models. There are two main modules in our algorithm. Given a natural language question about an image, the first module takes the question as input and then outputs the ranked basic questions, with similarity scores, of the main given question. The second module takes the main question, image and these basic questions as input and then outputs the text-based answer of the main question about the given image. We claim that a robust VQA model is one, whose performance is not changed much when related basic questions as also made available to it as input. We formulate the basic questions generation problem as a LASSO optimization, and also propose a large scale Basic Question Dataset (BQD) and Rscore (novel robustness measure), for analyzing the robustness of VQA models. We hope our BQD will be used as a benchmark for to evaluate the robustness of VQA models, so as to help the community build more robust and accurate VQA models.

  12. Robustness Analysis of Visual Question Answering Models by Basic Questions

    KAUST Repository

    Huang, Jia-Hong

    2017-01-01

    Visual Question Answering (VQA) models should have both high robustness and accuracy. Unfortunately, most of the current VQA research only focuses on accuracy because there is a lack of proper methods to measure the robustness of VQA models. There are two main modules in our algorithm. Given a natural language question about an image, the first module takes the question as input and then outputs the ranked basic questions, with similarity scores, of the main given question. The second module takes the main question, image and these basic questions as input and then outputs the text-based answer of the main question about the given image. We claim that a robust VQA model is one, whose performance is not changed much when related basic questions as also made available to it as input. We formulate the basic questions generation problem as a LASSO optimization, and also propose a large scale Basic Question Dataset (BQD) and Rscore (novel robustness measure), for analyzing the robustness of VQA models. We hope our BQD will be used as a benchmark for to evaluate the robustness of VQA models, so as to help the community build more robust and accurate VQA models.

  13. Two-Year-Old Children Differentiate Test Questions from Genuine Questions

    Science.gov (United States)

    Grosse, Gerlind; Tomasello, Michael

    2012-01-01

    Children are frequently confronted with so-called "test questions". While genuine questions are requests for missing information, test questions ask for information obviously already known to the questioner. In this study we explored whether two-year-old children respond differentially to one and the same question used as either a genuine question…

  14. Nuclear questions; Le nucleaire en questions

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Berg, Eugene

    2012-02-15

    Civilian and military nuclear questions fill a multitude of publications these days, especially after the Japanese tsunami and the Fukushima disaster. The author analyses some of them and highlights the links between civil and military nuclear industries, the realities of the nuclear cycle and related industrial questions before concluding on the controversial issue of weapons and their proliferation potential

  15. Introduction to theory and analysis of resolved (and unresolved) neutron resonances via SAMMY

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Larson, N.M.

    1998-07-01

    Neutron cross-section data are important for two distinct purposes: first, they provide insight into the nature of matter, thus assisting in the understanding of fundamental physics; second, they are needed for practical applications (e.g., for calculating when and how a reactor will become critical, or how much shielding is needed for storage of nuclear materials, and for medical applications). Neutron cross section data in the resolved-resonance region are generally obtained by time-of-flight experiments, which must be carefully analyzed if they are to be properly understood and utilized. In this paper, important features of the analysis process are discussed, with emphasis on the particular technique used in the analysis code SAMMY. Other features of the code are also described; these include such topics as calculation of group cross sections (including covariance matrices), generation and fitting of integral quantities, and extensions into the unresolved-resonance region and higher-energy regions.

  16. Unresolved spectral structures emitted from heavy atom plasmas produced by short pulse laser

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Fraenkel, M.; Zigler, A.

    1999-01-01

    Spectra of rare earth elements emitted from ultra short pulse laser produced plasma were recorded using simultaneously high and low resolution, spectrometers. A study of the broad band emission of the Δn = 1 transitions in highly ionized Ba and Sm plasma showed that this band is completely unresolved. The spectra were analyzed using the LTE based on super-transition array (STA) model. The theory reconstructs the entire Ba spectrum using a single temperature and density, whereas for Sm the discrepancies between the theory and experiment are not reconcilable. The agreement in the Ba case is attributed to the fact that BaF 2 target is transparent to the laser's prepulse effects, producing a homogeneous dense plasma, whereas for Sm the dilute plasma created by the prepulse is far from LTE. The obtained results posses a significant implication to the applicability of the STA model, in particular for calculations of opacities and conversion of laser light to X-rays. (orig.)

  17. Unresolved spectral structures emitted from heavy atom plasmas produced by short pulse laser

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Fraenkel, M.; Zigler, A. [Hebrew Univ., Jerusalem (Israel). Racah Inst. of Physics; Bar-Shalom, A.; Oreg, J. [Israel Atomic Energy Commission, Beersheba (Israel). Nuclear Research Center-Negev; Faenov, A.Ya.; Pikuz, T.A. [Multicharged Ions Spectra Data Center of VNIIFTRI, Russian Committee of Standards Moscow region (Russian Federation)

    1999-09-01

    Spectra of rare earth elements emitted from ultra short pulse laser produced plasma were recorded using simultaneously high and low resolution, spectrometers. A study of the broad band emission of the {delta}n = 1 transitions in highly ionized Ba and Sm plasma showed that this band is completely unresolved. The spectra were analyzed using the LTE based on super-transition array (STA) model. The theory reconstructs the entire Ba spectrum using a single temperature and density, whereas for Sm the discrepancies between the theory and experiment are not reconcilable. The agreement in the Ba case is attributed to the fact that BaF{sub 2} target is transparent to the laser's prepulse effects, producing a homogeneous dense plasma, whereas for Sm the dilute plasma created by the prepulse is far from LTE. The obtained results posses a significant implication to the applicability of the STA model, in particular for calculations of opacities and conversion of laser light to X-rays. (orig.)

  18. Can multiple-choice questions simulate free-response questions?

    OpenAIRE

    Lin, Shih-Yin; Singh, Chandralekha

    2016-01-01

    We discuss a study to evaluate the extent to which free-response questions could be approximated by multiple-choice equivalents. Two carefully designed research-based multiple-choice questions were transformed into a free-response format and administered on the final exam in a calculus-based introductory physics course. The original multiple-choice questions were administered in another similar introductory physics course on final exam. Findings suggest that carefully designed multiple-choice...

  19. Analysis of 60 706 Exomes Questions the Role of De Novo Variants Previously Implicated in Cardiac Disease

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Paludan-Müller, Christian; Ahlberg, Gustav; Ghouse, Jonas

    2017-01-01

    BACKGROUND: De novo variants in the exome occur at a rate of 1 per individual per generation, and because of the low reproductive fitness for de novo variants causing severe disease, the likelihood of finding these as standing variations in the general population is low. Therefore, this study...... sought to evaluate the pathogenicity of de novo variants previously associated with cardiac disease based on a large population-representative exome database. METHODS AND RESULTS: We performed a literature search for previous publications on de novo variants associated with severe arrhythmias...... trio studies (>1000 subjects). Of the monogenic variants, 11% (23/211) were present in ExAC, whereas 26% (802/3050) variants believed to increase susceptibility of disease were identified in ExAC. Monogenic de novo variants in ExAC had a total allele count of 109 and with ≈844 expected cases in Ex...

  20. Does Educator Training or Experience Affect the Quality of Multiple-Choice Questions?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Webb, Emily M; Phuong, Jonathan S; Naeger, David M

    2015-10-01

    Physicians receive little training on proper multiple-choice question (MCQ) writing methods. Well-constructed MCQs follow rules, which ensure that a question tests what it is intended to test. Questions that break these are described as "flawed." We examined whether the prevalence of flawed questions differed significantly between those with or without prior training in question writing and between those with different levels of educator experience. We assessed 200 unedited MCQs from a question bank for our senior medical student radiology elective: an equal number of questions (50) were written by faculty with previous training in MCQ writing, other faculty, residents, and medical students. Questions were scored independently by two readers for the presence of 11 distinct flaws described in the literature. Questions written by faculty with MCQ writing training had significantly fewer errors: mean 0.4 errors per question compared to a mean of 1.5-1.7 errors per question for the other groups (P Educator experience alone had no effect on the frequency of flaws; faculty without dedicated training, residents, and students performed similarly. Copyright © 2015 AUR. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  1. Four Questions

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hark-Weber, Amara G., Ed.

    2013-01-01

    The author is pleased to introduce a new section in "TAJ," Four Questions. The structure is simple: four questions are asked to teaching artists working in various media and locations. The questions are always the same, but because each teaching artist's approach is unique, their answers will provide an insight into particular methodologies that…

  2. What's in a Domain: Understanding How Students Approach Questioning in History and Science

    Science.gov (United States)

    Portnoy, Lindsay Blau; Rabinowitz, Mitchell

    2014-01-01

    How students ask questions as they learn has implications for understanding, retention, and problem solving. The current research investigates the influence of domain, age, and previous experience with content on the ways students approach questioning across history and science texts. In 3 experiments, 3rd-, 8th-, and 10th-grade students in large…

  3. The Role Of Gender In Asking Questions At Cool Stars 18 And 19

    Science.gov (United States)

    Schmidt, Sarah J.; Douglas, Stephanie; Gosnell, Natalie M.; Muirhead, Philip S.; Booth, Rachel S.; Davenport, James R. A.; Mace, Gregory N.

    2016-12-01

    We examine the gender balance of the 18th and 19th meetings of the Cambridge Workshop on Cool Stellar Systems and the Sun (CS18 and CS19). The percent of female attendees at both meetings (31% at CS18 and 37% at CS19) was higher than the percent of women in the American Astronomical Society (25%) and the International Astronomical Union (18%). The representation of women in Cool Stars as SOC members, invited speakers, and contributed speakers was similar to or exceeded the percent of women attending the meetings. We requested that conference attendees assist in a project to collect data on the gender of astronomers asking questions after talks. Using this data, we found that men were over-represented (and women were under-represented) in the question sessions after each talk. Men asked 79% of the questions at CS18 and 75% of the questions at CS19, but were 69% and 63% of the attendees respectively. Contrary to findings from previous conferences, we did not find that the gender balance of questions was strongly affected by the session chair gender, the speaker gender, or the length of the question period. We also found that female and male speakers were asked a comparable number of questions after each talk. The contrast of these results from previous incarnations of the gender questions survey indicate that more data would be useful in understanding the factors that contribute to the gender balance of question askers. We include a preliminary set of recommendations based on this and other work on related topics, but also advocate for additional research on the demographics of conference participants. Additional data on the intersection of gender with race, seniority, sexual orientation, ability and other marginalized identities is necessary to fully address the role of gender in asking questions at conferences.

  4. Competence-Based Education and Training--About Frequently Asked Questions

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mulder, Martin

    2012-01-01

    This article follows the author's previous piece on practical guidelines for the development of comprehensive competence-based education and training (Mulder, 2012). It is about the questions that have been and are still frequently asked in presentations, workshops and classes about the introduction of competence-based education. Here, the author…

  5. Phrasal Paraphrase Based Question Reformulation for Archived Question Retrieval.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Yu Zhang

    Full Text Available Lexical gap in cQA search, resulted by the variability of languages, has been recognized as an important and widespread phenomenon. To address the problem, this paper presents a question reformulation scheme to enhance the question retrieval model by fully exploring the intelligence of paraphrase in phrase-level. It compensates for the existing paraphrasing research in a suitable granularity, which either falls into fine-grained lexical-level or coarse-grained sentence-level. Given a question in natural language, our scheme first detects the involved key-phrases by jointly integrating the corpus-dependent knowledge and question-aware cues. Next, it automatically extracts the paraphrases for each identified key-phrase utilizing multiple online translation engines, and then selects the most relevant reformulations from a large group of question rewrites, which is formed by full permutation and combination of the generated paraphrases. Extensive evaluations on a real world data set demonstrate that our model is able to characterize the complex questions and achieves promising performance as compared to the state-of-the-art methods.

  6. Calculation of self-shielding factors for cross-sections in the unresolved resonance region using the GRUCON applied program package

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Sinitsa, V.V.

    1984-11-01

    The author gives a scheme for the calculation of the self-shielding factors in the unresolved resonance region using the GRUCON applied program package. This package is especially created to be used in the conversion of evaluated neutron cross-section data, as available in existing data libraries, into multigroup microscopic constants. A detailed description of the formulae and algorithms used in the programs is given. Some typical examples of calculation are considered and the results are compared with those of other authors. The calculation accuracy is better than 2%

  7. It's worth the wait: optimizing questioning methods for effective intraoperative teaching.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Barrett, Meredith; Magas, Christopher P; Gruppen, Larry D; Dedhia, Priya H; Sandhu, Gurjit

    2017-07-01

    The use of questioning to engage learners is critical to furthering resident education intraoperatively. Previous studies have demonstrated that higher level questioning and optimal wait times (>3 s) result in learner responses reflective of higher cognition and retention. Given the importance of intraoperative learning, we investigated question delivery in the operating room. A total of 12 laparoscopic cholecystectomies were observed and recorded. All questions were transcribed and classified using Bloom's Taxonomy, a framework associated with hierarchical levels of learning outcomes. Wait time between question end and response was recorded. Six faculty attendings and seven house officers at our institution were observed. A total of 133 questions were recorded with an average number of questions per case of 11.2. The majority of questions 112 out of 133 (84%) were classified as Bloom's levels 1-3, with only 6% of questions of the highest level. The wait time before the resident answered the question averaged 1.75 s, with attendings interceding after 2.50 s. Question complexity and wait time did not vary based on resident postgraduate year level suggesting limited tailoring of question to learner. Intraoperative questioning is not aligned with higher level thinking. The majority of questions were Bloom's level 3 or below, limiting the complexity of answer formulation. Most responses were given within 2 s, hindering opportunity to pursue higher-order thinking. This suggests including higher level questions and tailoring questions to learner level may improve retention and maximize gains. In addition, with attendings answering 20% of their own questions, increasing their wait time offers another area for teaching development. © 2017 Royal Australasian College of Surgeons.

  8. Reoperative sentinel lymph node biopsy after previous mastectomy.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Karam, Amer; Stempel, Michelle; Cody, Hiram S; Port, Elisa R

    2008-10-01

    Sentinel lymph node (SLN) biopsy is the standard of care for axillary staging in breast cancer, but many clinical scenarios questioning the validity of SLN biopsy remain. Here we describe our experience with reoperative-SLN (re-SLN) biopsy after previous mastectomy. Review of the SLN database from September 1996 to December 2007 yielded 20 procedures done in the setting of previous mastectomy. SLN biopsy was performed using radioisotope with or without blue dye injection superior to the mastectomy incision, in the skin flap in all patients. In 17 of 20 patients (85%), re-SLN biopsy was performed for local or regional recurrence after mastectomy. Re-SLN biopsy was successful in 13 of 20 patients (65%) after previous mastectomy. Of the 13 patients, 2 had positive re-SLN, and completion axillary dissection was performed, with 1 having additional positive nodes. In the 11 patients with negative re-SLN, 2 patients underwent completion axillary dissection demonstrating additional negative nodes. One patient with a negative re-SLN experienced chest wall recurrence combined with axillary recurrence 11 months after re-SLN biopsy. All others remained free of local or axillary recurrence. Re-SLN biopsy was unsuccessful in 7 of 20 patients (35%). In three of seven patients, axillary dissection was performed, yielding positive nodes in two of the three. The remaining four of seven patients all had previous modified radical mastectomy, so underwent no additional axillary surgery. In this small series, re-SLN was successful after previous mastectomy, and this procedure may play some role when axillary staging is warranted after mastectomy.

  9. Long-Term Follow-Up of Echolalia and Question Answering.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Foxx, R. M.; Faw, Gerald D.

    1990-01-01

    A long-term followup (from 26 to 57 months) of echolalia and correct question-answering was conducted with six mentally retarded adult subjects identified from three previously published studies. Echolalia was lower than in baseline in 80.6 percent of the followups. Issues related to the study of maintenance are discussed. (Author/DB)

  10. Predicting intraindividual changes in learning strategies: The effects of previous achievement

    OpenAIRE

    Buško, Vesna; Mujagić, Amela

    2013-01-01

    Socio-cognitive models of self-regulated learning (e.g., Pintrich, 2000) emphasize contextualized nature oflearning process, and within-person variation in learning processes, along with between-person variability in selfregulation.Previous studies about contextual nature of learning strategies have mostly focused on the effects ofdifferent contextual factors on interindividual differences in learning strategies utilization. However, less attentionwas given to the question about contextual ef...

  11. Does Question Structure Affect Exam Performance in the Geosciences?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Day, E. A.; D'Arcy, M. K.; Craig, L.; Streule, M. J.; Passmore, E.; Irving, J. C. E.

    2015-12-01

    The jump to university level exams can be challenging for some students, often resulting in poor marks, which may be detrimental to their confidence and ultimately affect their overall degree class. Previous studies have found that question structure can have a strong impact on the performance of students in college level exams (see Gibson et al., 2015, for a discussion of its impact on physics undergraduates). Here, we investigate the effect of question structure on the exam results of geology and geophysics undergraduate students. Specifically, we analyse the performance of students in questions that have a 'scaffolded' framework and compare them to their performance in open-ended questions and coursework. We also investigate if observed differences in exam performance are correlated with the educational background and gender of students, amongst other factors. It is important for all students to be able to access their degree courses, no matter what their backgrounds may be. Broadening participation in the geosciences relies on removing systematic barriers to achievement. Therefore we recommend that exams are either structured with scaffolding in questions at lower levels, or students are explicitly prepared for this transition. We also recommend that longitudinal studies of exam performance are conducted within individual departments, and this work outlines one approach to analysing performance data.

  12. An analytic approach to probability tables for the unresolved resonance region

    Science.gov (United States)

    Brown, David; Kawano, Toshihiko

    2017-09-01

    The Unresolved Resonance Region (URR) connects the fast neutron region with the Resolved Resonance Region (RRR). The URR is problematic since resonances are not resolvable experimentally yet the fluctuations in the neutron cross sections play a discernible and technologically important role: the URR in a typical nucleus is in the 100 keV - 2 MeV window where the typical fission spectrum peaks. The URR also represents the transition between R-matrix theory used to described isolated resonances and Hauser-Feshbach theory which accurately describes the average cross sections. In practice, only average or systematic features of the resonances in the URR are known and are tabulated in evaluations in a nuclear data library such as ENDF/B-VII.1. Codes such as AMPX and NJOY can compute the probability distribution of the cross section in the URR under some assumptions using Monte Carlo realizations of sets of resonances. These probability distributions are stored in the so-called PURR tables. In our work, we begin to develop a scheme for computing the covariance of the cross section probability distribution analytically. Our approach offers the possibility of defining the limits of applicability of Hauser-Feshbach theory and suggests a way to calculate PURR tables directly from systematics for nuclei whose RRR is unknown, provided one makes appropriate assumptions about the shape of the cross section probability distribution.

  13. Threat, fear, and persuasion: review and critique of questions about functional form

    OpenAIRE

    Shen, Lijiang; Dillard, James Price

    2014-01-01

    Theories of threat appeals have been rightly concerned with the form of the relationship between fear and persuasion: Linear or curvilinear. They have not, however, clearly distinguished the question as a between- or within-persons phenomenon. In fact, the literature often treats these two perspectives as if they were interchangeable. We show that between- versus within-person questions about functional form are distinct from one another. Previous research, which is the product of between-pe...

  14. A precision medicine approach to a patient with unresolved pain following orthopedic surgery: a case report.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gazzaniga, David; Brenton, Ashley; Meshkin, Brian

    2017-02-24

    Precision medicine is a promising technology in patient care that combines genetic analysis with clinical data, such as health, behavioral, functional, environment, and lifestyle information. Here we present the case of a 54-year old woman who, following an accident, had uncontrolled chronic pain and was subsequently labeled a drug seeker. A 54-year-old white woman who was experiencing severe calf pain was referred for treatment. Her pain was insufficiently controlled immediately following knee arthroplasty with multiple opioid medications, as well as non-opioids. Precision medicine testing was ordered for her so that we could assess her pain sensitivity objectively to determine if the pill seeker designation was correct and to determine the best medications for her. Based on the Proove profiles, we determined that she had moderately low pain sensitivity, which means that clinically she may underreport pain and may have decreased medication needs. This result suggested that her continued reporting of unresolved pain was probably due to a condition unresolved by her right knee arthroplasty. In addition, she was found to be at low risk of opioid addiction, based on the Proove Opioid Risk Profile. Taken together, along with the high levels of pain she described, we determined that her pain was not properly controlled and that the designation of pill seeker was incorrect. The next step was to determine which medications and which doses would result in the most favorable outcomes for our patient. To determine this, we used the results of the Proove Opioid Response, Proove Drug Metabolism, and Proove Non-Opioid Profiles to guide her treatment. We reduced her pain medications to a single opioid, Vicodin (acetaminophen and hydrocodone), which also eliminated the adverse side effects she experienced. Precision medicine offers an important health care decision tool which can reduce emotional and physical costs to patients and may reduce the economic health care burden of

  15. Mean propagation kernels for transport in correlated stochastic media at unresolved scales, illustration with a problem in atmospheric radiation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Davis, A. B.

    2007-01-01

    A simple and effective framework is presented for modeling transport processes unfolding at computationally and/or observationally unresolved scales in scattering, absorbing and emitting media. The new approach acts directly on the spatial (i.e., propagation) part of the kernel in the integral formulation of the generic linear transport equation framed for stochastic media with a wide variety of spatial correlations, going far beyond the Markov-Poisson class used in the classic Pomraning-Levermore model. This statistical look at the extinction of un-collided particle beams takes us away from the standard exponential law of transmission. New transmission laws arise that are generally not exponential, often not even for asymptotically large jumps. This means that, from this perspective on random spatial variability, there is no 'effective medium' per se nor homogenization technique that can be used to describe the effects of unresolved fluctuations of the collision coefficient. However, one can still rewrite the transport equation, at least in its integral form, in a manner that looks like its counterpart for uniform media, but with a modified propagation kernel. Implementation in a Monte Carlo scheme is trivially simple and numerical results are presented that illustrate the bulk effect of the new parameterization for plane-parallel geometry. We survey time-domain diagnostics of solar radiative transfer in the Earth's cloudy atmosphere obtained recently from high-resolution ground-based spectroscopy, and it is shown that they are explained comprehensively by the new model. Finally, we discuss possible applications of this modeling framework in nuclear engineering. (authors)

  16. Temporal behavior of unresolved transition array emission in water window soft x-ray spectral region from multiply charged ions

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Dinh, Thanh-Hung, E-mail: dinh@cc.utsunomiya-u.ac.jp; Suzuki, Yuhei; Arai, Goki; Higashiguchi, Takeshi, E-mail: higashi@cc.utsunomiya-u.ac.jp [Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering, Faculty of Engineering and Center for Optical Research and Education (CORE), Utsunomiya University, Yoto 7-1-2, Utsunomiya, Tochigi 321-8585 (Japan); Li, Bowen [School of Nuclear Science and Technology, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou 730000 (China); Dunne, Padraig; O' Sullivan, Gerry [School of Physics, University College Dublin, Belfield, Dublin 4 (Ireland); Fujioka, Shinsuke [Institute of Laser Engineering, Osaka University, 2-6 Yamada-oka, Suita, Osaka 565-0871 (Japan); Hasegawa, Noboru; Kawachi, Tetsuya; Nishikino, Masaharu [Quantum Beam Science Center, Japan Atomic Energy Agency, 8-1-7 Umemidai, Kizugawa, Kyoto 619-0215 (Japan)

    2015-09-21

    We have characterized the spectral structure and the temporal history of the laser-produced high-Z multi-charged ion plasmas for the efficient water window soft x-ray sources. Strong unresolved transition array emission was observed due to 4d–4f and 4f–5g transitions from Au, Pb, and Bi plasmas in the 280–700 eV photon energy region. The temporal behavior of the emission was essentially similar of that of the laser pulse with a slight delay between different transitions. These results provide feedback for accurate modeling of the atomic processes with the radiative hydrodynamic simulations.

  17. Open questions in surface topography measurement: a roadmap

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Leach, Richard; Evans, Christopher; He, Liangyu; Davies, Angela; Duparré, Angela; Henning, Andrew; Jones, Christopher W; O’Connor, Daniel

    2015-01-01

    Control of surface topography has always been of vital importance for manufacturing and many other engineering and scientific disciplines. However, despite over one hundred years of quantitative surface topography measurement, there are still many open questions. At the top of the list of questions is ‘Are we getting the right answer?’ This begs the obvious question ‘How would we know?’ There are many other questions relating to applications, the appropriateness of a technique for a given scenario, or the relationship between a particular analysis and the function of the surface. In this first ‘open questions’ article we have gathered together some experts in surface topography measurement and asked them to address timely, unresolved questions about the subject. We hope that their responses will go some way to answer these questions, address areas where further research is required, and look at the future of the subject. The first section ‘Spatial content characterization for precision surfaces’ addresses the need to characterise the spatial content of precision surfaces. Whilst we have been manufacturing optics for centuries, there still isn’t a consensus on how to specify the surface for manufacture. The most common three methods for spatial characterisation are reviewed and compared, and the need for further work on quantifying measurement uncertainties is highlighted. The article is focussed on optical surfaces, but the ideas are more pervasive. Different communities refer to ‘figure, mid-spatial frequencies, and finish’ and ‘form, waviness, and roughness’, but the mathematics are identical. The second section ‘Light scattering methods’ is focussed on light scattering techniques; an important topic with in-line metrology becoming essential in many manufacturing scenarios. The potential of scattering methods has long been recognized; in the ‘smooth surface limit’ functionally significant relationships can be derived from first

  18. NRC program for the resolution of generic issues related to nuclear power plants. (Includes plans for the resolution of ''unresolved safety issues'' pursuant to Section 210 of the Energy Reorganization Act of 1974, as amended)

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    1977-12-01

    This report provides a description of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission's Program for the Resolution of Generic Issues Related to Nuclear Power Plants. The NRC program is of considerably broader scope than the ''Unresolved Safety Issues Plan'' required by Section 210. The NRC program does include plans for the resolution of ''Unresolved Safety Issues''; however, in addition, it includes generic tasks for the resolution of environmental issues, for the development of improvements in the reactor licensing process and for consideration of less conservative design criteria or operating limitations in areas where over conservatisms may be unnecessarily restrictive or costly

  19. Do Persian Native Speakers Prosodically Mark Wh-in-situ Questions?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shiamizadeh, Zohreh; Caspers, Johanneke; Schiller, Niels O

    2018-02-01

    It has been shown that prosody contributes to the contrast between declarativity and interrogativity, notably in interrogative utterances lacking lexico-syntactic features of interrogativity. Accordingly, it may be proposed that prosody plays a role in marking wh-in-situ questions in which the interrogativity feature (the wh-phrase) does not move to sentence-initial position, as, for example, in Persian. This paper examines whether prosody distinguishes Persian wh-in-situ questions from declaratives in the absence of the interrogativity feature in the sentence-initial position. To answer this question, a production experiment was designed in which wh-questions and declaratives were elicited from Persian native speakers. On the basis of the results of previous studies, we hypothesize that prosodic features mark wh-in-situ questions as opposed to declaratives at both the local (pre- and post-wh part) and global level (complete sentence). The results of the current study confirm our hypothesis that prosodic correlates mark the pre-wh part as well as the complete sentence in wh-in-situ questions. The results support theoretical concepts such as the frequency code, the universal dichotomous association between relaxation and declarativity on the one hand and tension and interrogativity on the other, the relation between prosody and pragmatics, and the relation between prosody and encoding and decoding of sentence type.

  20. Socratic Questioning-Guided Discovery

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    M. Hakan Türkçapar

    2012-04-01

    Full Text Available “Socratic Method” is a way of teaching philosophical thinking and knowledge by asking questions which was used by antique period greek philosopher Socrates. Socrates was teaching knowledge to his followers by asking questions and the conversation between them was named “Socratic Dialogues”. In this meaning, no novel knowledge is taught to the individual but only what is formerly known is reminded and rediscovered. The form of socratic questioning which is used during the process of cognitive behavioral therapy is known as Guided Discovery. In this method it is aimed to make the client notice the piece of knowledge which he could notice but is not aware with a series of questions. Socratic method or guided discovery consists of several steps which are: Identifying the problem by listening to the client and making reflections, finding alternatives by examining and evaluating, reidentification by using the newly found information and questioning the old distorted belief and reaching to a conclusion and applying it. Question types used during these procedures are, questions for gaining information, questions revealing the meanings, questions revealing the beliefs, questions about behaviours during the similar past experiences, analyse questions and analytic synthesis questions. In order to make the patient feel understood it is important to be empathetic and summarising the problem during the interview. In this text, steps of Socratic Questioning-Guided Discovery will be reviewed with sample dialogues after eachstep. [JCBPR 2012; 1(1.000: 15-20

  1. An analytic approach to probability tables for the unresolved resonance region

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Brown David

    2017-01-01

    Full Text Available The Unresolved Resonance Region (URR connects the fast neutron region with the Resolved Resonance Region (RRR. The URR is problematic since resonances are not resolvable experimentally yet the fluctuations in the neutron cross sections play a discernible and technologically important role: the URR in a typical nucleus is in the 100 keV – 2 MeV window where the typical fission spectrum peaks. The URR also represents the transition between R-matrix theory used to described isolated resonances and Hauser-Feshbach theory which accurately describes the average cross sections. In practice, only average or systematic features of the resonances in the URR are known and are tabulated in evaluations in a nuclear data library such as ENDF/B-VII.1. Codes such as AMPX and NJOY can compute the probability distribution of the cross section in the URR under some assumptions using Monte Carlo realizations of sets of resonances. These probability distributions are stored in the so-called PURR tables. In our work, we begin to develop a scheme for computing the covariance of the cross section probability distribution analytically. Our approach offers the possibility of defining the limits of applicability of Hauser-Feshbach theory and suggests a way to calculate PURR tables directly from systematics for nuclei whose RRR is unknown, provided one makes appropriate assumptions about the shape of the cross section probability distribution.

  2. Beginning EFL Teachers' Beliefs about Quality Questions and Their Questioning Practices

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pham, Ly Ngoc Khanh; Hamid, M. Obaidul

    2013-01-01

    Motivated by the scarcity of research that examines the impact of teacher beliefs on their actual practices in Vietnam, this study investigated the relationship between teachers' beliefs about quality questions and their questioning behaviours in terms of questioning purposes, content focus, students' cognitive level, wording and syntax. Thirteen…

  3. Unresolved legal questions in cross-border health care in Europe: liability and data protection.

    Science.gov (United States)

    van der Molen, I N; Commers, M J

    2013-11-01

    Directive 2011/24/EU was designed to clarify the rights of EU citizens in evaluating, accessing and obtaining reimbursement for cross-border care. Based on three regional case studies, the authors attempted to assess the added value of the Directive in helping clarify issues in to two key areas that have been identified as barriers to cross-border care: liability and data protection. Qualitative case study employing secondary data sources including research of jurisprudence, that set up a Legal framework as a base to investigate liability and data protection in the context of cross-border projects. By means of three case studies that have tackled liability and data protection hurdles in cross-border care implementation, this article attempts to provide insight into legal certainty and uncertainty regarding cross-border care in Europe. The case studies reveal that the Directive has not resolved core uncertainties related to liability and data protection issues within cross-border health care. Some issues related to the practice of cross-border health care in Europe have been further clarified by the Directive and some direction has been given to possible solutions for issues connected to liability and data protection. Directive 2011/24/EU is clearly a transposition of existing regulations on data protection and ECJ case law, plus a set of additional, mostly, voluntary rules that might enhance regional border cooperation. Therefore, as shown in the case studies, a practical and case by case approach is still necessary in designing and providing cross-border care. © 2013 The Royal Society for Public Health. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  4. Repetitive Questioning II

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    R. C. Hamdy MD

    2018-02-01

    Full Text Available Repetitive questioning is a major problem for caregivers, particularly taxing if they are unable to recognize and understand the reasons why their loved one keeps asking the same question over and over again. Caregivers may be tempted to believe that the patient does not even try to remember the answer given or is just getting obnoxious. This is incorrect. Repetitive questioning is due to the underlying disease: The patient’s short term memory is impaired and he is unable to register, encode, retain and retrieve the answer. If he is concerned about a particular topic, he will keep asking the same question over and over again. To the patient each time she asks the question, it is as if she asked it for the first time. Just answering repetitive questioning by providing repeatedly the same answer is not sufficient. Caregivers should try to identify the underlying cause for this repetitive questioning. In an earlier case study, the patient was concerned about her and her family’s safety and kept asking whether the doors are locked. In this present case study, the patient does not know how to handle the awkward situation he finds himself in. He just does not know what to do. He is not able to adjust to the new unexpected situation. So he repeatedly wants to reassure himself that he is not intruding by asking the same question over and over again. We discuss how the patient’s son-in-law could have avoided this situation and averted the catastrophic ending.

  5. Comparison between Two Assessment Methods; Modified Essay Questions and Multiple Choice Questions

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Assadi S.N.* MD

    2015-09-01

    Full Text Available Aims Using the best assessment methods is an important factor in educational development of health students. Modified essay questions and multiple choice questions are two prevalent methods of assessing the students. The aim of this study was to compare two methods of modified essay questions and multiple choice questions in occupational health engineering and work laws courses. Materials & Methods This semi-experimental study was performed during 2013 to 2014 on occupational health students of Mashhad University of Medical Sciences. The class of occupational health and work laws course in 2013 was considered as group A and the class of 2014 as group B. Each group had 50 students.The group A students were assessed by modified essay questions method and the group B by multiple choice questions method.Data were analyzed in SPSS 16 software by paired T test and odd’s ratio. Findings The mean grade of occupational health and work laws course was 18.68±0.91 in group A (modified essay questions and was 18.78±0.86 in group B (multiple choice questions which was not significantly different (t=-0.41; p=0.684. The mean grade of chemical chapter (p<0.001 in occupational health engineering and harmful work law (p<0.001 and other (p=0.015 chapters in work laws were significantly different between two groups. Conclusion Modified essay questions and multiple choice questions methods have nearly the same student assessing value for the occupational health engineering and work laws course.

  6. Formative student-authored question bank: perceptions, question quality and association with summative performance.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Walsh, Jason L; Harris, Benjamin H L; Denny, Paul; Smith, Phil

    2018-02-01

    There are few studies on the value of authoring questions as a study method, the quality of the questions produced by students and student perceptions of student-authored question banks. Here we evaluate PeerWise, a widely used and free online resource that allows students to author, answer and discuss multiple-choice questions. We introduced two undergraduate medical student cohorts to PeerWise (n=603). We looked at their patterns of PeerWise usage; identified associations between student engagement and summative exam performance; and used focus groups to assess student perceptions of the value of PeerWise for learning. We undertook item analysis to assess question difficulty and quality. Over two academic years, the two cohorts wrote 4671 questions, answered questions 606 658 times and posted 7735 comments. Question writing frequency correlated most strongly with summative performance (Spearman's rank: 0.24, p=<0.001). Student focus groups found that: (1) students valued curriculum specificity; and (2) students were concerned about student-authored question quality. Only two questions of the 300 'most-answered' questions analysed had an unacceptable discriminatory value (point-biserial correlation <0.2). Item analysis suggested acceptable question quality despite student concerns. Quantitative and qualitative methods indicated that PeerWise is a valuable study tool. © Article author(s) (or their employer(s) unless otherwise stated in the text of the article) 2018. All rights reserved. No commercial use is permitted unless otherwise expressly granted.

  7. Nuclear questions

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Berg, Eugene

    2012-01-01

    Civilian and military nuclear questions fill a multitude of publications these days, especially after the Japanese tsunami and the Fukushima disaster. The author analyses some of them and highlights the links between civil and military nuclear industries, the realities of the nuclear cycle and related industrial questions before concluding on the controversial issue of weapons and their proliferation potential

  8. Approaches to Exploring Category Information for Question Retrieval in Community Question-Answer Archives

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Cao, Xin; Cong, Gao; Cui, Bin

    2012-01-01

    , and it applies these approaches to existing question retrieval models, including a state-of-the-art question retrieval model. Experiments conducted on real CQA data demonstrate that the proposed techniques are effective and efficient and are capable of outperforming a variety of baseline methods significantly......Community Question Answering (CQA) is a popular type of service where users ask questions and where answers are obtained from other users or from historical question-answer pairs. CQA archives contain large volumes of questions organized into a hierarchy of categories. As an essential function...

  9. Questioning ORACLE: An Assessment of ORACLE's Analysis of Teachers' Questions and [A Comment on "Questioning ORACLE"].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Scarth, John; And Others

    1986-01-01

    Analysis of teachers' questions, part of the ORACLE (Observation Research and Classroom Learning Evaluation) project research, is examined in detail. Scarth and Hammersley argue that the rules ORACLE uses for identifying different types of questions involve levels of ambiguity and inference that threaten reliability and validity of the study's…

  10. Group members' questions shape participation in health counselling and health education.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Logren, Aija; Ruusuvuori, Johanna; Laitinen, Jaana

    2017-10-01

    This study examines how group members' questions shape member participation in health counselling and health education groups. The study applies conversation analytic principles as a method. The data consist of video-recorded health education lessons in secondary school and health counselling sessions for adults with a high risk of Type 2 diabetes. Group members' questions accomplish a temporary change in participatory roles. They are used to 1) request counselling, 2) do counselling or 3) challenge previous talk. They are usually treated as relevant and legitimate actions by the participants, but are occasionally interpreted as transitions outside the current action or topic. Group members' questions result in a shift from leader-driven to member-driven discussion. Thus they constitute a pivot point for detecting changes in participation in group interventions. Observing the occurrence of group members' questions helps group leaders to adjust their own actions accordingly and thus facilitate or guide group participation. Comparison of the type and frequency of members' questions is a way to detect different trajectories for delivering group interventions and can thus be used to develop methods for process evaluation of interventions. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  11. Curiosity Questions

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nelsen, Jane; DeLorenzo, Chip

    2010-01-01

    Have you ever found yourself lecturing a child, with the best of intentions, in an attempt to help him or her learn a lesson or process a situation in a manner that you feel will be productive? Curiosity questions, which the authors also call What and How questions, help children process an experience, event, or natural consequence so that they…

  12. Pisa Question and Reasoning Skill

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ersoy Esen

    2017-01-01

    Full Text Available The objective of the study is to determine the level of the reasoning skills of the secondary school students. This research has been conducted during the academic year of 2015-2016 with the participation of 51 students in total, from a province in the Black Sea region of Turkey by using random sampling method. Case study method has been used in this study, since it explains an existing situation. In this study, content analysis from the qualitative research methods was carried out. In order to ensure the validity of the scope, agreement percentage formula was used and expert opinions were sought.The problem named Holiday from the Chapter 1 of the normal units in Problem Solving Questions from PISA (Program for International Student Assessments [35] are used as the data collection tool for the study. The problem named Holiday consists of two questions. Applied problems were evaluated according to the mathematical reasoning stages of TIMSS (2003. The findings suggest that the students use proportional reasoning while solving the problems and use the geometric shapes to facilitate the solution of the problem. When they come across problems related to each other, it is observed that they create connections between the problems based on the results of the previous problem. In conclusion, the students perform crosscheck to ensure that their solutions to the problems are accurate.

  13. Acquisition of who-question comprehension in German children with hearing loss.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wimmer, Eva; Rothweiler, Monika; Penke, Martina

    2017-05-01

    For children with sensorineural hearing loss the ability to understand wh-questions might be particularly challenging because they often have only restricted access to spoken language input during optimal periods of language acquisition. In previous research it has been suggested that this restricted input during critical stages in language acquisition might lead to syntactic deficits that persist into adolescence. In this study we want to pursue this issue by investigating the comprehension of wh-questions in German children with bilateral sensorineural hearing loss. We report results of a who-question comprehension task in a group of 21 3- to 4-year-old German hard-of-hearing children compared to a group of age-matched children with normal hearing. The group data and individual performance patterns suggest that the syntactic comprehension difficulties observed in some, but not all, of the children with hearing loss reflect a delay in the acquisition of who-question comprehension rather than a persistent syntactic deficit. Follow-up data elicited from a subgroup of children confirm this supposition. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  14. THE EXPLICIT COMPREHENSION-STRATEGY INSTRUCTION: QUESTION-ANSWER RELATIONSHIP VS SELF-QUESTIONING

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Lalu Thohir

    2017-12-01

    Full Text Available This study was aimed at examining and comparing the effectiveness of the Question-Answer Relationship (QAR and Self-Questioning (SQ strategies in improving the reading ability of the undergraduate students. This study was a quasi-experimental study in which two out of three classes of the third semester students at English department of Mataram University were selected randomly to receive either QAR strategy or SQ strategy instructions for ten weekly meetings. The findings of pre- and posttest with multiple-choice questions revealed that both comprehension strategies were effective in improving the undergraduate students‘ reading ability. The findings from the posttest with multiple-choice questions indicated the students who received SQ strategy instruction scored significantly higher than those students who received QAR strategy instruction. On the other hand, the students who received QAR strategy instruction scored slightly higher than those students who received SQ strategy instruction in the posttest with open-ended questions.

  15. A Two-Tier Multiple Choice Questions to Diagnose Thermodynamic Misconception of Thai and Laos Students

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kamcharean, Chanwit; Wattanakasiwich, Pornrat

    The objective of this study was to diagnose misconceptions of Thai and Lao students in thermodynamics by using a two-tier multiple-choice test. Two-tier multiple choice questions consist of the first tier, a content-based question and the second tier, a reasoning-based question. Data of student understanding was collected by using 10 two-tier multiple-choice questions. Thai participants were the first-year students (N = 57) taking a fundamental physics course at Chiang Mai University in 2012. Lao participants were high school students in Grade 11 (N = 57) and Grade 12 (N = 83) at Muengnern high school in Xayaboury province, Lao PDR. As results, most students answered content-tier questions correctly but chose incorrect answers for reason-tier questions. When further investigating their incorrect reasons, we found similar misconceptions as reported in previous studies such as incorrectly relating pressure with temperature when presenting with multiple variables.

  16. Unresolved transition array based water window soft x-ray source by laser-produced high-Z plasma

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Higashiguchi, Takeshi; Dunne, Padraig; O'Sullivan, Gerry

    2013-01-01

    We demonstrate a table-top broadband emission water window source based on laser-produced high-Z plasmas. resonance emission from multiply charged ions merges to produce intense unresolved transition arrays (UTAs) in the 2 to 4 nm region, extending below the carbon K edge (4.37 nm). Arrays resulting from n=4-n=4 transitions are overlaid with n=4-n=5 emission and shift to shorter wavelength with increasing atomic number. An outline of a microscope design for single-shot live cell imaging is proposed based on a bismuth plasma UTA source, coupled to multilayer mirror optics. At power densities available from 'table-top' solid-state lasers, comparison of emission from a number of targets has shown that 3d-4f UTA in zirconium plasmas have highest overall brightness and in an imaging system based on reflective multilayer mirrors, may, depending on bandwidth, have superior performance than either line or broader-band sources. (author)

  17. Regulatory analysis for the resolution of Unresolved Safety Issue A-44, Station Blackout. Draft report

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Rubin, A.M.

    1986-01-01

    ''Station Blackout'' is the complete loss of alternating current (ac) electric power to the essential and nonessential buses in a nuclear power plant; it results when both offsite power and the onsite emergency ac power systems are unavailable. Because many safety systems required for reactor core decay heat removal and containment heat removal depend on ac power, the consequences of a station blackout could be severe. Because of the concern about the frequency of loss of offsite power, the number of failures of emergency diesel generators, and the potentially severe consequences of a loss of all ac power, ''Station Blackout'' was designated as Unresolved Safety Issue (USI) A-44. This report presents the regulatory analysis for USI A-44. It includes: (1) a summary of the issue, (2) the proposed technical resolution, (3) alternative resolutions considered by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) staff, (4) an assessment of the benefits and costs of the recommended resolution, (5) the decision rationale, and (6) the relationship between USI A-44 and other NRC programs and requirements

  18. Development of a Simple Tool for Identifying Alcohol Use Disorder in Female Korean Drinkers from Previous Questionnaires.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Seo, Yu Ri; Kim, Jong Sung; Kim, Sung Soo; Yoon, Seok Joon; Suh, Won Yoon; Youn, Kwangmi

    2016-01-01

    This study aimed to develop a simple tool for identifying alcohol use disorders in female Korean drinkers from previous questionnaires. This research was conducted on 400 women who consumed at least one alcoholic drink during the past month and visited the health promotion center at Chungnam National University Hospital between June 2013 to May 2014. Drinking habits and alcohol use disorders were assessed by structured interviews using the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 5th Edition diagnostic criteria. The subjects were also asked to answer the Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test (AUDIT), AUDIT-Consumption, CAGE (Cut down, Annoyed, Guilty, Eye-opener), TWEAK (Tolerance, Worried, Eye-opener, Amnesia, Kut down), TACE (Tolerance, Annoyed, Cut down, Eye-opener), and NET (Normal drinker, Eye-opener, Tolerance) questionnaires. The area under receiver operating characteristic (AUROC) of each question of the questionnaires on alcohol use disorders was assessed. After combining two questions with the largest AUROC, it was compared to other previous questionnaires. Among the 400 subjects, 58 (14.5%) were identified as having an alcohol use disorder. Two questions with the largest AUROC were question no. 7 in AUDIT, "How often during the last year have you had a feeling of guilt or remorse after drinking?" and question no. 5 in AUDIT, "How often during the past year have you failed to do what was normally expected from you because of drinking?" with an AUROC (95% confidence interval [CI]) of 0.886 (0.850-0.915) and 0.862 (0.824-0.894), respectively. The AUROC (95% CI) of the combination of the two questions was 0.958 (0.934-0.976) with no significant difference as compared to the existing AUDIT with the largest AUROC. The above results suggest that the simple tool consisting of questions no. 5 and no. 7 in AUDIT is useful in identifying alcohol use disorders in Korean female drinkers.

  19. The Effect of Question Format and Task Difficulty on Reasoning Strategies and Diagnostic Performance in Internal Medicine Residents

    Science.gov (United States)

    Heemskerk, Laura; Norman, Geoff; Chou, Sophia; Mintz, Marcy; Mandin, Henry; McLaughlin, Kevin

    2008-01-01

    Background: Previous studies have suggested an association between reasoning strategies and diagnostic success, but the influence on this relationship of variables such as question format and task difficulty, has not been studied. Our objective was to study the association between question format, task difficulty, reasoning strategies and…

  20. Could a Change in Diet Revitalize Children Who Suffer from Unresolved Fatigue?

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Tessa Gerjanne Steenbruggen

    2015-03-01

    Full Text Available Many children deal with fatigue for which no proper treatment can be given. A possible explanation for their fatigue is a micro deficiency of minerals and vitamins. In this non-randomized controlled trial, we clinically evaluated symptoms of fatigue in children for whom a nutrient-rich diet was advised. A group of 98 children (2–18 years old with unexplained symptoms of fatigue was examined. The dietary modifications consisted of green vegetables, beef, whole milk and full-fat butter. Children in the intervention group were asked to follow the diet for three months, whereas the control-group followed their normal diet. The primary outcome was symptoms of fatigue, as determined by a PedsQL Multidimensional Fatigue Scale, and secondary outcomes were compliance with the diet and BMI. Children, who followed the diet showed a significant decrease in the need to sleep (CI 0.83; 14.86, p = 0.03. They slept better through the night and took fewer naps. When analyzing components of the advised diet separately, a significant larger decrease in cognitive fatigue symptoms was seen for eating green vegetables according to the diet guidelines (CI 2.27; 30.63, p = 0.024. Furthermore, a lower need to sleep was seen when whole milk was consumed almost daily (CI 0.02; 14.62, p = 0.049. Our study showed that nutritional advice is an elegant, and effective method for decreasing some symptoms of medically unresolved fatigue in children.

  1. Asking Questions in Academia

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Hansen, Annette Skovsted

    2014-01-01

    Motivation for the activity In academia the most important skill is to ask academically relevant and sound questions. This is not easy and students need to practice asking questions orally and in writing before they write research papers.......Motivation for the activity In academia the most important skill is to ask academically relevant and sound questions. This is not easy and students need to practice asking questions orally and in writing before they write research papers....

  2. Improving large class performance and engagement through student-generated question banks.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hancock, Dale; Hare, Nicole; Denny, Paul; Denyer, Gareth

    2018-03-12

    Disciplines such as Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, which involve concepts not included in the high-school curriculum, are very challenging for many first year university students. These subjects are particularly difficult for students accustomed to surface learning strategies involving memorization and recall of facts, as a deeper understanding of the relationship between concepts is needed for successful transfer to related areas and subsequent study. In this article, we explore an activity in a very large first year Molecular Biology course, in which students create multiple-choice questions related to targeted learning outcomes, and then answer and evaluate one another's questions. This activity encompasses elements of both self- and peer-assessment and the generative tasks of creating questions and producing written feedback may contribute to a deeper understanding of the material. We make use of a free online platform to facilitate all aspects of the process and analyze the effect of student engagement with the task on overall course performance. When compared to previous semester's cohorts, we observe a pronounced improvement in class performance on exam questions targeting similar concepts to the student-generated questions. In addition, those students that engage to a greater extent with the activity perform significantly better on the targeted exam questions than those who are less active, yet all students perform similarly on a set of isolated control questions appearing on the same exam. © 2018 by The International Union of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, 2018. © 2018 The International Union of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology.

  3. Post-event information presented in a question form eliminates the misinformation effect.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lee, Yuh-shiow; Chen, Kuan-Nan

    2013-02-01

    This study investigated the influences of sentence surface forms on the misinformation effect. After viewing a film clip, participants received a post-event narrative describing the events in the film. Critical sentences in the post-event narrative, presented in either a statement or a question form, contained misinformation instead of questions with embedded false presuppositions; thus participants did not have to answer questions about the original event. During the final cued-recall test, participants were informed that any relevant information presented in the post-event narrative was not in the original event and that they should not report it. Consistent with previous findings, Experiment 1 demonstrated that post-event information presented as an affirmative statement produced the misinformation effect. More importantly, post-event information presented in a question form, regardless of whether it contained a misleading or studied item, increased the recall of correct information and reduced false recall. Experiment 2 replicated the main finding and ruled out an alternative explanation based on the salience of misleading items. Post-event information presented in a question form created a condition similar to that which produces the testing effect. © 2012 The British Psychological Society.

  4. Improving Student Question Classification

    Science.gov (United States)

    Heiner, Cecily; Zachary, Joseph L.

    2009-01-01

    Students in introductory programming classes often articulate their questions and information needs incompletely. Consequently, the automatic classification of student questions to provide automated tutorial responses is a challenging problem. This paper analyzes 411 questions from an introductory Java programming course by reducing the natural…

  5. Question Formation and Focus Construction in Owo: A Yoruba Dialect

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Boluwaji Oshodi

    2016-06-01

    Full Text Available Question formation and focusing are two transformational processes attested in Standard Yorùbá both of which have been extensively discussed in previous studies. However, very little is known about these concepts in Owo (Owò̩̩̀ a south-East Yoruba (Yorùbá dialect. This study examines the concept of questions and focusing in Owo ̩̩̀̀dialect with a comparison of the processes in Standard Yorùbá. The study revealed some differences as well as similarities in the two processes in Owo ̩̩̀̀and standard Yorùbá. Just like in Standard Yorùbá, question markers in Owo ̩̩̀̀normally occur in sentence initial and final positions. However, the question marker de ̩̀constantly appears sentence medially before and before verbs in certain constructions. Furthermore, while the focus marker in Yorùbá normally occurs immediately after the focused item with a stable form, the focus marker in Owo ̩̩̀̀usually occurs at the sentence final position as a reduplicated form of the last syllable of the final item. Also, a pronoun which indicates number and agreement usually occurs immediately after the focused item in Owò̩̩̀. Finally, just like in Yorùbá, there is a syntactic relationship between question and focusing in Owo ̩̩̀̀dialect.

  6. Guided Discovery with Socratic Questioning

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    M. Hakan Türkçapar

    2015-04-01

    Full Text Available “The Socratic method” is a way of teaching philosophical thinking and knowledge by asking questions. It was first used by in ancient times by the Greek philosopher Socrates who taught his followers by asking questions; these conversations between them are known as “Socratic dialogues”. In this methodology, no new knowledge is taught to the individual; rather, the individual is guided to remember and rediscover what was formerly known through this process. The main method used in cognitive therapy is guided discovery. There are various methods of guided discovery in cognitive therapy. The form of verbal exchange between the therapist and client which is used during the process of cognitive behavioral therapy is known as “socratic questioning”. In this method the goal is to make the client rediscover, with a series of questions, a piece of knowledge which he could otherwise know but is not presently conscious of. The Socratic Questioning consists of several steps, including: identifying the problem by listening to the client and making reflections, finding alternatives by examining and evaluating, reidentification by using the newly rediscovered information and questioning the old distorted belief, and reaching a new conclusion and applying it. Question types used during these procedures are: questions for collecting information, questions revealing meanings, questions revealing beliefs, questions about behaviours during similar past experiences, analytic questions and analytic synthesis questions. In order to make the patient feel understood, it is important to be empathetic and summarize the problem during the interview. In this text, steps of Socratic Questioning-Guided Discovery will be reviewed with sample dialogues provided for each step. [JCBPR 2015; 4(1.000: 47-53

  7. Epistemology: 5 Questions

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Epistemology: 5 Questions is a collection of short interviews based on 5 questions presented to some of the most influential and prominent scholars in epistemology. We hear their views on epistemology with particular emphasis on the intersection between mainstream and formal approaches to the field...

  8. Lack of Cetuximab induced skin toxicity in a previously irradiated field: case report and review of the literature

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-01-01

    Introduction Mutation, amplification or dysregulation of the EGFR family leads to uncontrolled division and predisposes to cancer. Inhibiting the EGFR represents a form of targeted cancer therapy. Case report We report the case of 79 year old gentlemen with a history of skin cancer involving the left ear who had radiation and surgical excision. He had presented with recurrent lymph node in the left upper neck. We treated him with radiation therapy concurrently with Cetuximab. He developed a skin rash over the face and neck area two weeks after starting Cetuximab, which however spared the previously irradiated area. Conclusion The etiology underlying the sparing of the previously irradiated skin maybe due to either decrease in the population of EGFR expressing cells or decrease in the EGFR expression. We raised the question that "Is it justifiable to use EGFR inhibitors for patients having recurrence in the previously irradiated field?" We may need further research to answer this question which may guide the physicians in choosing appropriate drug in this scenario. PMID:20478052

  9. Socrates was not a pimp: changing the paradigm of questioning in medical education.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kost, Amanda; Chen, Frederick M

    2015-01-01

    The slang term "pimping" is widely recognized by learners and educators in the clinical learning environment as the act of more senior members of the medical team publicly asking questions of more junior members. Although questioning as a pedagogical practice has many benefits, pimping, as described in the literature, evokes negative emotions in learners and leads to an environment that is not conducive to adult learning. Medical educators may employ pimping as a pedagogic technique because of beliefs that it is a Socratic teaching method. Although problems with pimping have previously been identified, no alternative techniques for questioning in the clinical environment were suggested. The authors posit that using the term "pimping" to describe questioning in medical education is harmful and unprofessional, and they propose clearly defining pimping as "questioning with the intent to shame or humiliate the learner to maintain the power hierarchy in medical education." Explicitly separating pimping from the larger practice of questioning allows the authors to make three recommendations for improving questioning practices. First, educators should examine the purpose of each question they pose to learners. Second, they should apply historic and modern interpretations of Socratic teaching methods that promote critical thinking skills. Finally, they should consider adult learning theories to make concrete changes to their questioning practices. These changes can result in questioning that is more learner centered, aids in the acquisition of knowledge and skills, performs helpful formative and summative assessments of the learner, and improves community in the clinical learning environment.

  10. Prevalence of body dysmorphic disorder on a psychiatric inpatient ward and the value of a screening question.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Veale, David; Akyüz, Elvan U; Hodsoll, John

    2015-12-15

    The aim of this study was to estimate the prevalence of body dysmorphic disorder (BDD) on an inpatient ward in the UK with a larger sample than previously studied and to investigate the value of a simple screening question during an assessment interview. Four hundred and thirty two consecutive admissions were screened for BDD on an adult psychiatric ward over a period of 13 months. Those who screened positive had a structured diagnostic interview for BDD. The prevalence of BDD was estimated to be 5.8% (C.I. 3.6-8.1%). Our screening question had a slightly low specificity (76.6%) for detecting BDD. The strength of this study was a larger sample size and narrower confidence interval than previous studies. The study adds to previous observations that BDD is poorly identified in psychiatric inpatients. BDD was identified predominantly in those presenting with depression, substance misuse or an anxiety disorder. The screening question could be improved by excluding those with weight or shape concerns. Missing the diagnosis is likely to lead to inappropriate treatment. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

  11. The Priority of the Question: Focus Questions for Sustained Reasoning in Science

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lustick, David

    2010-08-01

    Science education standards place a high priority on promoting the skills and dispositions associated with inquiry at all levels of learning. Yet, the questions teachers employ to foster sustained reasoning are most likely borrowed from a textbook, lab manual, or worksheet. Such generic questions generated for a mass audience, lack authenticity and contextual cues that allow learners to immediately appreciate a question’s relevance. Teacher queries intended to motivate, guide, and foster learning through inquiry are known as focus questions. This theoretical article draws upon science education research to present a typology and conceptual framework intended to support science teacher educators as they identify, develop, and evaluate focus questions with their students.

  12. What Is the Correct Answer about The Dress' Colors? Investigating the Relation between Optimism, Previous Experience, and Answerability.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Karlsson, Bodil S A; Allwood, Carl Martin

    2016-01-01

    The Dress photograph, first displayed on the internet in 2015, revealed stunning individual differences in color perception. The aim of this study was to investigate if lay-persons believed that the question about The Dress colors was answerable. Past research has found that optimism is related to judgments of how answerable knowledge questions with controversial answers are (Karlsson et al., 2016). Furthermore, familiarity with a question can create a feeling of knowing the answer (Reder and Ritter, 1992). Building on these findings, 186 participants saw the photo of The Dress and were asked about the correct answer to the question about The Dress' colors (" blue and black," "white and gold," "other, namely…," or "there is no correct answer" ). Choice of the alternative "there is no correct answer" was interpreted as believing the question was not answerable. This answer was chosen more often by optimists and by people who reported they had not seen The Dress before. We also found that among participants who had seen The Dress photo before, 19%, perceived The Dress as "white and gold" but believed that the correct answer was "blue and black ." This, in analogy to previous findings about non-believed memories (Scoboria and Pascal, 2016), shows that people sometimes do not believe the colors they have perceived are correct. Our results suggest that individual differences related to optimism and previous experience may contribute to if the judgment of the individual perception of a photograph is enough to serve as a decision basis for valid conclusions about colors. Further research about color judgments under ambiguous circumstances could benefit from separating individual perceptual experience from beliefs about the correct answer to the color question. Including the option "there is no correct answer " may also be beneficial.

  13. Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease After Laparoscopic Sleeve Gastrectomy with Concomitant Hiatal Hernia Repair: an Unresolved Question.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dakour Aridi, Hanaa; Asali, Mohammad; Fouani, Tarek; Alami, Ramzi S; Safadi, Bassem Y

    2017-11-01

    The effectiveness of the concomitant repair of hiatal hernia (HHR) during laparoscopic sleeve gastrectomy (LSG) in reducing gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) symptoms is still unclear. The aim of this study is to assess the effect of concomitant HHR on postoperative GERD symptoms in our patient population. A retrospective review of patients who underwent LSG with or without HHR between 2011and 2014 was performed. Pre- and postoperative GERD symptoms were assessed at different time intervals until a maximum of 2 years after the surgery. The study included 165 patients; 76 (46%) underwent LSG with concomitant HHR (group A) while the rest underwent only LSG (group B). Baseline GERD complaints were more prevalent in group A (61.8 vs 41.6%, p = 0.04), in which 44 patients (57.9%) had evidence of hiatal hernia on preoperative EGD. In the remaining 32 patients, it was diagnosed intraoperatively. GERD symptoms did not significantly differ between the two groups after years 1 and 2. GERD remission was observed in 21.3% of the 76 patients who underwent concomitant HHR (group A) and in 29.7% of those who did not (group B) while new-onset GERD symptoms were reported in 12 patients (41.4%) in group A and in 24 patients (46.2%) in group B. Routine HHR at the time of LSG does not show an improvement in GERD symptoms. More prospective studies are needed to clarify the role of the routine dissection, identification, and repair of concomitant hiatal hernia during LSG.

  14. Ebola epidemic of 2014-2015: unresolved ethical issues.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Garbuglia, Anna Rosa

    2016-01-01

    Some ethical aspects of the management of the Ebola epidemic in Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone which started in January 2014, have been questionable. First, as regards the prevention of the spread of the virus, the necessary epidemiological investigations on the origin of the infection were not carried out adequately and this did not help to curb the spread of the disease. A disparity has been observed between the western and African countries' access to the treatment of patients; this infringes on the principle of equality. This paper also focuses on how the Global Public Goods for Health principle was not fully respected in the management of the epidemic.

  15. PROPERTIES AND MODELING OF UNRESOLVED FINE STRUCTURE LOOPS OBSERVED IN THE SOLAR TRANSITION REGION BY IRIS

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Brooks, David H. [College of Science, George Mason University, 4400 University Drive, Fairfax, VA 22030 (United States); Reep, Jeffrey W.; Warren, Harry P. [Space Science Division, Naval Research Laboratory, Washington, DC 20375 (United States)

    2016-08-01

    Recent observations from the Interface Region Imaging Spectrograph ( IRIS ) have discovered a new class of numerous low-lying dynamic loop structures, and it has been argued that they are the long-postulated unresolved fine structures (UFSs) that dominate the emission of the solar transition region. In this letter, we combine IRIS measurements of the properties of a sample of 108 UFSs (intensities, lengths, widths, lifetimes) with one-dimensional non-equilibrium ionization simulations, using the HYDRAD hydrodynamic model to examine whether the UFSs are now truly spatially resolved in the sense of being individual structures rather than being composed of multiple magnetic threads. We find that a simulation of an impulsively heated single strand can reproduce most of the observed properties, suggesting that the UFSs may be resolved, and the distribution of UFS widths implies that they are structured on a spatial scale of 133 km on average. Spatial scales of a few hundred kilometers appear to be typical for a range of chromospheric and coronal structures, and we conjecture that this could be an important clue for understanding the coronal heating process.

  16. An active-learning assignment requiring pharmacy students to write medicinal chemistry examination questions.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kolluru, Srikanth

    2012-08-10

    To implement and assess the effectiveness of an assignment requiring doctor of pharmacy (PharmD) students to write examination questions for the medicinal chemistry sections of a pharmacotherapeutics course. Students were divided into groups of 5-6 and given detailed instructions and grading rubrics for writing multiple-choice examination questions on medicinal chemistry topics. The compiled student-written questions for each examination were provided to the entire class as a study aid. Approximately 5% of the student-written questions were used in course examinations. Student appreciation of and performance in the medicinal chemistry portion of the course was significantly better than that of the previous year's class. Also, students' responses on a qualitative survey instrument indicated that the assignment provided students' guidance on which concepts to focus on, helped them retain knowledge better, and fostered personal exploration of the content, which led to better performance on examinations. Adding an active-learning assignment in which students write examination questions for the medicinal chemistry portion of a pharmacotherapeutics course was an effective means of increasing students engagement in the class and knowledge of the course material.

  17. Living with risk: a management question

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ale, Ben J.M.

    2005-01-01

    Public authorities started to be really involved in risk management of hazardous materials some 30 years ago. Recent developments have led to fresh attention for this matter and many further developments are underway. The history of risk management and safety regulation is one of strongly variable interest, forgotten lessons and rude awakenings. The impetus exerted by accidents is short lived. Safety cases become documents to satisfy regulation rather than instruments to reduce risk. Deregulation, privatisation, and outsourcing pose new challenges to safety and risk management. Some of the unfortunate side effects have already become apparent. This invariably leads to the next disaster, which will have a striking resemblance to the previous one when abstracted from the immediate technological context. Lessons can be learned if we really want. The question remains: 'Do we?'

  18. Efficient question answering with question decomposition and multiple answer streams

    OpenAIRE

    Hartrumpf, Sven; Glöckner, Ingo; Leveling, Johannes

    2009-01-01

    The German question answering (QA) system IRSAW (formerly: InSicht) participated in QA@CLEF for the fth time. IRSAW was introduced in 2007 by integrating the deep answer producer InSicht, several shallow answer producers, and a logical validator. InSicht builds on a deep QA approach: it transforms documents to semantic representations using a parser, draws inferences on semantic representations with rules, and matches semantic representations derived from questions and documents. InS...

  19. CAT questions and answers

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    1993-02-01

    This document, prepared in February 1993, addresses the most common questions asked by APS Collaborative Access Teams (CATs). The answers represent the best judgment on the part of the APS at this time. In some cases, details are provided in separate documents to be supplied by the APS. Some of the answers are brief because details are not yet available. The questions are separated into five categories representing different aspects of CAT interactions with the APS: (1) Memorandum of Understanding (MOU), (2) CAT Beamline Review and Construction, (3) CAT Beamline Safety, (4) CAT Beamline Operations, and (5) Miscellaneous. The APS plans to generate similar documents as needed to both address new questions and clarify answers to present questions

  20. Toward Question-Asking Machines: The Logic of Questions and the Inquiry Calculus

    Science.gov (United States)

    Knuth,Kevin H.

    2005-01-01

    For over a century, the study of logic has focused on the algebra of logical statements. This work, first performed by George Boole, has led to the development of modern computers, and was shown by Richard T. Cox to be the foundation of Bayesian inference. Meanwhile the logic of questions has been much neglected. For our computing machines to be truly intelligent, they need to be able to ask relevant questions. In this paper I will show how the Boolean lattice of logical statements gives rise to the free distributive lattice of questions thus defining their algebra. Furthermore, there exists a quantity analogous to probability, called relevance, which quantifies the degree to which one question answers another. I will show that relevance is not only a natural generalization of information theory, but also forms its foundation.

  1. RESOLVING THE QUESTION OF DOUBT: GEOMETRICAL DEMONSTRATION IN THE MEDITATIONS

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Steven BURGESS

    2012-11-01

    Full Text Available The question of what Descartes did and did not doubt in the Meditations has received a significant amount of scholarly attention in recent years. The process of doubt in Meditation I gives one the impression of a rather extreme form of skepticism, while the responses Descartes offers in the Objections and Replies make it clear that there is in fact a whole background of presuppositions that are never doubted, including many that are never even entertained as possible candidates of doubt. This paper resolves the question of this undoubted background of rationality by taking seriously Descartes’ claim that he is carrying out demonstrations modeled after the great geometers. The rational order of geometrical demonstration demands that we first clear away previous demonstrations not proven with the certainty necessary for genuine science. This is accomplished by the method of doubt, which is only applied to the results of possible demonstrations. What cannot be doubted are the very concepts and principles employed in carrying out geometrical demonstration, which enable it to take place. It would be senseless to ask whether we can doubt the essential components of the structure through which questioning, doubting, and demonstration are made possible.

  2. Scale Sensitivity and Question Order in the Contingent Valuation Method

    OpenAIRE

    Andersson, Henrik; Svensson, Mikael

    2010-01-01

    This study examines the effect on respondents' willingness to pay to reduce mortality risk by the order of the questions in a stated preference study. Using answers from an experiment conducted on a Swedish sample where respondents' cognitive ability was measured and where they participated in a contingent valuation survey, it was found that scale sensitivity is strongest when respondents are asked about a smaller risk reduction first ('bottom-up' approach). This contradicts some previous evi...

  3. Asking the Right Questions

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Richter, Line

    Based on fieldwork in Mali this paper discusses the role of anthropology (and the anthropologist) in a large public health research project on children's health. In the uncertainty and disquiet that comes with the battle to combat and avoid diseases in a setting where poverty and abysmal diseases......, is the ability to move beyond even the best hidden assumptions and question our own questions, thereby enabling us to ask the right questions....

  4. Patient's anxiety and fear of anesthesia: effect of gender, age, education, and previous experience of anesthesia. A survey of 400 patients.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mavridou, Paraskevi; Dimitriou, Varvara; Manataki, Adamantia; Arnaoutoglou, Elena; Papadopoulos, Georgios

    2013-02-01

    Patients express high anxiety preoperatively, because of fears related to anesthesia and its implications. The purpose of this survey was to gain insight into these fears and to study whether they are affected by patients' sex, age, education, or previous experience of anesthesia. Questionnaires with fixed questions were distributed to consenting, consecutive surgical patients before the pre-anesthetic visit. The questionnaires included patients' demographics and questions related to their fears about anesthesia. Four-hundred questionnaires were collected and analyzed. Eighty-one percent of patients experience preoperative anxiety. The main sources of their anxiety were fear of postoperative pain (84 %), of not waking up after surgery (64.8 %), of being nauseous or vomiting (60.2 %), and of drains and needles (59.5 %). Patients are less concerned about being paralyzed because of anesthesia (33.5 %) or of revealing personal issues (18.8 %). Gender seems to affect patients fears, with women being more afraid (85.3 vs. 75.6 % of men, p = 0.014). The effects of patients' age, level of education, and previous experience of anesthesia are minor, except for individual questions. Sixty-three percent of our patients (mostly women 67.4 vs. 57.4 % of men, p = 0.039) talk about these fears with their relatives, although a vast majority of 95.5 % would prefer to talk with the anesthesiologist and be reassured by him. All patients, mostly women, express fears about anesthesia; this fear leads to preoperative anxiety. Slight differences are observed for some individual questions among patients of different sex, education level, and previous experience of anesthesia.

  5. Semantic annotation of consumer health questions.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kilicoglu, Halil; Ben Abacha, Asma; Mrabet, Yassine; Shooshan, Sonya E; Rodriguez, Laritza; Masterton, Kate; Demner-Fushman, Dina

    2018-02-06

    Consumers increasingly use online resources for their health information needs. While current search engines can address these needs to some extent, they generally do not take into account that most health information needs are complex and can only fully be expressed in natural language. Consumer health question answering (QA) systems aim to fill this gap. A major challenge in developing consumer health QA systems is extracting relevant semantic content from the natural language questions (question understanding). To develop effective question understanding tools, question corpora semantically annotated for relevant question elements are needed. In this paper, we present a two-part consumer health question corpus annotated with several semantic categories: named entities, question triggers/types, question frames, and question topic. The first part (CHQA-email) consists of relatively long email requests received by the U.S. National Library of Medicine (NLM) customer service, while the second part (CHQA-web) consists of shorter questions posed to MedlinePlus search engine as queries. Each question has been annotated by two annotators. The annotation methodology is largely the same between the two parts of the corpus; however, we also explain and justify the differences between them. Additionally, we provide information about corpus characteristics, inter-annotator agreement, and our attempts to measure annotation confidence in the absence of adjudication of annotations. The resulting corpus consists of 2614 questions (CHQA-email: 1740, CHQA-web: 874). Problems are the most frequent named entities, while treatment and general information questions are the most common question types. Inter-annotator agreement was generally modest: question types and topics yielded highest agreement, while the agreement for more complex frame annotations was lower. Agreement in CHQA-web was consistently higher than that in CHQA-email. Pairwise inter-annotator agreement proved most

  6. Net improvement of correct answers to therapy questions after pubmed searches: pre/post comparison.

    Science.gov (United States)

    McKibbon, Kathleen Ann; Lokker, Cynthia; Keepanasseril, Arun; Wilczynski, Nancy L; Haynes, R Brian

    2013-11-08

    Clinicians search PubMed for answers to clinical questions although it is time consuming and not always successful. To determine if PubMed used with its Clinical Queries feature to filter results based on study quality would improve search success (more correct answers to clinical questions related to therapy). We invited 528 primary care physicians to participate, 143 (27.1%) consented, and 111 (21.0% of the total and 77.6% of those who consented) completed the study. Participants answered 14 yes/no therapy questions and were given 4 of these (2 originally answered correctly and 2 originally answered incorrectly) to search using either the PubMed main screen or PubMed Clinical Queries narrow therapy filter via a purpose-built system with identical search screens. Participants also picked 3 of the first 20 retrieved citations that best addressed each question. They were then asked to re-answer the original 14 questions. We found no statistically significant differences in the rates of correct or incorrect answers using the PubMed main screen or PubMed Clinical Queries. The rate of correct answers increased from 50.0% to 61.4% (95% CI 55.0%-67.8%) for the PubMed main screen searches and from 50.0% to 59.1% (95% CI 52.6%-65.6%) for Clinical Queries searches. These net absolute increases of 11.4% and 9.1%, respectively, included previously correct answers changing to incorrect at a rate of 9.5% (95% CI 5.6%-13.4%) for PubMed main screen searches and 9.1% (95% CI 5.3%-12.9%) for Clinical Queries searches, combined with increases in the rate of being correct of 20.5% (95% CI 15.2%-25.8%) for PubMed main screen searches and 17.7% (95% CI 12.7%-22.7%) for Clinical Queries searches. PubMed can assist clinicians answering clinical questions with an approximately 10% absolute rate of improvement in correct answers. This small increase includes more correct answers partially offset by a decrease in previously correct answers.

  7. Live your questions now

    OpenAIRE

    Brownrigg, Jenny

    2016-01-01

    'Live Your Questions Now' is a case study for Cubitt Education's publication 'Aging in Public: creative practice in ageing and the public realm from across the UK', edited by Daniel Baker and published by Cubitt Gallery, Studios and Education, London in 2016. The publication was linked to Cubitt's programme 'Public Wisdom' (2011-2015). My case study is about 'Live your questions now', a group exhibition I curated in 2011 for Mackintosh Museum, The Glasgow School of Art. 'Live your questions n...

  8. Testing increases suggestibility for narrative-based misinformation but reduces suggestibility for question-based misinformation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    LaPaglia, Jessica A; Chan, Jason C K

    2013-01-01

    A number of recent studies have found that recalling details of an event following its occurrence can increase people's suggestibility to later presented misinformation. However, several other studies have reported the opposite result, whereby earlier retrieval can reduce subsequent eyewitness suggestibility. In the present study, we investigated whether differences in the way misinformation is presented can modulate the effects of testing on suggestibility. Participants watched a video of a robbery and some were questioned about the event immediately afterwards. Later, participants were exposed to misinformation in a narrative (Experiment 1) or in questions (Experiment 2). Consistent with previous studies, we found that testing increased suggestibility when misinformation was presented via a narrative. Remarkably, when misinformation was presented in questions, testing decreased suggestibility. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

  9. A Technique Socratic Questioning-Guided Discovery

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    M. Hakan Türkçapar

    2012-03-01

    Full Text Available “Socratic Method” is a way of teaching philosophical thinking and knowledge by asking questions which was used by antique period greek philosopher Socrates. Socrates was teaching knowledge to his followers by asking questions and the conversation between them was named “Socratic Dialogues”. In this meaning, no novel knowledge is taught to the individual but only what is formerly known is reminded and rediscovered. The form of socratic questioning which is used during the process of cognitive behavioral therapy is known as Guided Discovery. In this method it is aimed to make the client notice the piece of knowledge which he could notice but is not aware with a series of questions. Socratic method or guided discovery consists of several steps which are: Identifying the problem by listening to the client and making reflections, finding alternatives by examining and evaluating, reidentification by using the newly found information and questioning the old distorted belief and reaching to a conclusion and applying it. Question types used during these procedures are, questions for gaining information, questions revealing the meanings, questions revealing the beliefs, questions about behaviours during the similar past experiences, analyse questions and analytic synthesis questions. In order to make the patient feel understood it is important to be empathetic and summarising the problem during the interview. In this text, steps of Socratic Questioning-Guided Discovery will be reviewed with sample dialogues after each step

  10. Treatment of diabetic retinopathy: Recent advances and unresolved challenges

    Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

    Michael W Stewart

    2016-01-01

    Diabetic retinopathy(DR) is the leading cause of blindness in industrialized countries. Remarkable advances in the diagnosis and treatment of DR have been made during the past 30 years, but several important management questions and treatment deficiencies remain unanswered. The global diabetes epidemic threatens to overwhelm resources and increase the incidence of blindness, necessitating the development of innovative programs to diagnose and treat patients. The introduction and rapid adoption of intravitreal pharmacologic agents, particularly drugs that block the actions of vascular endothelial growth factor(VEGF) and corticosteroids, have changed the goal of DR treatment from stabilization of vision to improvement. Anti-VEGF injections improve visual acuity in patients with diabetic macular edema(DME) from 8-12 letters and improvements with corticosteroids are only slightly less. Unfortunately, a third of patients have an incomplete response to anti-VEGF therapy, but the best second-line therapy remains unknown. Current first-line therapy requires monthly visits and injections; longer acting therapies are needed to free up healthcare resources and improve patient compliance. VEGF suppression may be as effective as panretinal photocoagulation(PRP) for proliferative diabetic retinopathy, but more studies are needed before PRP is abandoned. For over 30 years laser was the mainstay for the treatment of DME, but recent studies question its role in the pharmacologic era. Aggressive treatment improves vision in most patients, but many still do not achieve reading and driving vision. New drugs are needed to add to gains achieved with available therapies.

  11. Treatment of diabetic retinopathy: Recent advances and unresolved challenges

    Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

    Michael; W; Stewart[1

    2016-01-01

    Diabetic retinopathy (DR) is the leading cause of blindness in industrialized countries. Remarkable advances in the diagnosis and treatment of DR have been made during the past 30 years, but several important management questions and treatment deficiencies remain unanswered.The global diabetes epidemic threatens to overwhelm resources and increase the incidence of blindness, necessitating the development of innovative programs to diagnose and treat patients. The introduction and rapid adoption of intravitreal pharmacologic agents, particularly drugs that block the actions of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) and corticosteroids, have changed the goal of DR treatment from stabilization of vision to improvement. Anti-VEGF injections improve visual acuity in patients with diabetic macular edema (DME) from 8-12 letters and improvements with corticosteroids are only slightly less. Unfortunately, a third of patients have an incomplete response to anti-VEGF therapy, but the best second-line therapy remains unknown. Current first-line therapy requires monthly visits and injections; longer acting therapies are needed to free up healthcare resources and improve patient compliance. VEGF suppression may be as effective as panretinal photocoagulation (PRP) for proliferative diabetic retinopathy, but more studies are needed before PRP is abandoned. For over 30 years laser was the mainstay for the treatment of DME, but recent studies question its role in the pharmacologic era.Aggressive treatment improves vision in most patients,but many still do not achieve reading and driving vision.New drugs are needed to add to gains achieved with available therapies.

  12. The influence of previous subject experience on interactions during peer instruction in an introductory physics course: A mixed methods analysis

    Science.gov (United States)

    Vondruska, Judy A.

    Over the past decade, peer instruction and the introduction of student response systems has provided a means of improving student engagement and achievement in large-lecture settings. While the nature of the student discourse occurring during peer instruction is less understood, existing studies have shown student ideas about the subject, extraneous cues, and confidence level appear to matter in the student-student discourse. Using a mixed methods research design, this study examined the influence of previous subject experience on peer instruction in an introductory, one-semester Survey of Physics course. Quantitative results indicated students in discussion pairs where both had previous subject experience were more likely to answer clicker question correctly both before and after peer discussion compared to student groups where neither partner had previous subject experience. Students in mixed discussion pairs were not statistically different in correct response rates from the other pairings. There was no statistically significant difference between the experience pairs on unit exam scores or the Peer Instruction Partner Survey. Although there was a statistically significant difference between the pre-MPEX and post-MPEX scores, there was no difference between the members of the various subject experience peer discussion pairs. The qualitative study, conducted after the quantitative study, helped to inform the quantitative results by exploring the nature of the peer interactions through survey questions and a series of focus groups discussions. While the majority of participants described a benefit to the use of clickers in the lecture, their experience with their discussion partners varied. Students with previous subject experience tended to describe peer instruction more positively than students who did not have previous subject experience, regardless of the experience level of their partner. They were also more likely to report favorable levels of comfort with

  13. Frequent Questions on Recycling

    Science.gov (United States)

    This is a list of frequent questions on recycling, broken down into five categories. These are answers to common questions that EPA has received from press and web inquiries. This list is located on the Reduce, Reuse, Recycle website.

  14. Examining the Impact of Question Surface Features on Students’ Answers to Constructed-Response Questions on Photosynthesis

    Science.gov (United States)

    Weston, Michele; Haudek, Kevin C.; Prevost, Luanna; Urban-Lurain, Mark; Merrill, John

    2015-01-01

    One challenge in science education assessment is that students often focus on surface features of questions rather than the underlying scientific principles. We investigated how student written responses to constructed-response questions about photosynthesis vary based on two surface features of the question: the species of plant and the order of two question prompts. We asked four versions of the question with different combinations of the two plant species and order of prompts in an introductory cell biology course. We found that there was not a significant difference in the content of student responses to versions of the question stem with different species or order of prompts, using both computerized lexical analysis and expert scoring. We conducted 20 face-to-face interviews with students to further probe the effects of question wording on student responses. During the interviews, we found that students thought that the plant species was neither relevant nor confusing when answering the question. Students identified the prompts as both relevant and confusing. However, this confusion was not specific to a single version. PMID:25999312

  15. Use of medications of questionable benefit in advanced dementia.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tjia, Jennifer; Briesacher, Becky A; Peterson, Daniel; Liu, Qin; Andrade, Susan E; Mitchell, Susan L

    2014-11-01

    Advanced dementia is characterized by severe cognitive impairment and complete functional dependence. Patients' goals of care should guide the prescribing of medication during such terminal illness. Medications that do not promote the primary goal of care should be minimized. To estimate the prevalence of medications with questionable benefit used by nursing home residents with advanced dementia, identify resident- and facility-level characteristics associated with such use, and estimate associated medication expenditures. Cross-sectional study of medication use by nursing home residents with advanced dementia using a nationwide long-term care pharmacy database linked to the Minimum Data Set (460 facilities) between October 1, 2009, and September 30, 2010. Use of medication deemed of questionable benefit in advanced dementia based on previously published criteria and mean 90-day expenditures attributable to these medications per resident. Generalized estimating equations using the logit link function were used to identify resident- and facility-related factors independently associated with the likelihood of receiving medications of questionable benefit after accounting for clustering within nursing homes. Of 5406 nursing home residents with advanced dementia, 2911 (53.9%) received at least 1 medication with questionable benefit (range, 44.7% in the Mid-Atlantic census region to 65.0% in the West South Central census region). Cholinesterase inhibitors (36.4%), memantine hydrochloride (25.2%), and lipid-lowering agents (22.4%) were the most commonly prescribed. In adjusted analyses, having eating problems (adjusted odds ratio [AOR], 0.68; 95% CI, 0.59-0.78), a feeding tube (AOR, 0.58; 95% CI, 0.48-0.70), or a do-not-resuscitate order (AOR, 0.65; 95% CI, 0.57-0.75), and enrolling in hospice (AOR, 0.69; 95% CI, 0.58-0.82) lowered the likelihood of receiving these medications. High facility-level use of feeding tubes increased the likelihood of receiving these

  16. Final disposal of spent nuclear fuel in Sweden. Some unresolved issues and challenges in the design and implementation of the forthcoming planning and EIA processes

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Bjarnadottir, H.; Hilding-Rydevik, T.

    2001-06-01

    The aim of the study is to highlight some unresolved and challenging issues in the forthcoming approximately six year long Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) and planning process of the long-term disposal of spent nuclear fuel in Sweden. Different international and Nordic experiences of the processes for final disposal as well as from other development of similar scope, where experiences assumed to be of importance for final disposal of nuclear waste, have been described. Furthermore, issues relating to 'good EIA practice' as well as certain aspects of planning theory have also been presented. The current Swedish situation for the planning and EIA process of the final disposal of spent nuclear fuel was also been summarized. These different 'knowledge areas' have been compared and measured against our perception of the expectations towards the forthcoming process, put forward by different Swedish actors in the field. The result is a presentation of a number of questions and identification issues that the authors consider need special attention in the design and conduction of the planning and EIA process. The study has been realized through a literature survey and followed by reading and analysis of the written material. The main focus of the literature search was on material describing planning processes, actor perspectives and EIA. Material and literature on the technical and scientific aspects of spent nuclear fuel disposal was however deliberately avoided. There is a wealth of international and Swedish literature concerning final disposal of spent nuclear fuel - concerning both technical issues and issues concerning for example public participation and risk perception. But material of a more systematic and comparative nature (relating to both empirical and theoretical issues, and to practical experiences) in relation to EIA processes and communicative planning for final disposal of spent nuclear fuel seems to be more sparsely represented. Our perception of

  17. Identification of new unresolved safety issues relating to nuclear power plants - special report to Congress. Congressional report

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    1981-03-01

    As a result of NRC staff review and extended collegial consultations and investigations within the NRC, the Commission has designated four new Unresolved Safety Issues (USIs). This report describes the process used to evaluate the large number of concerns and recommendations which resulted from the major investigations of the Three Mile Island-2 accident as well as other events and investigations of the past year, and the report identifies the four new USIs selected as follows: (1) Shutdown decay heat removal requirements (Task A-45); (2) Seismic qualification of equipment in operating plants (Task A-46); (3) Safety implications of control systems (Task A-47); and (4) Hydrogen control measures and effects of hydrogen burns on safety equipment (Task A-48). Appendix A of the report presents an expanded discussion of each new USI including issue definition, a preliminary discussion of the action plan and a basis for continued plant operations and licensing. Appendix B of the report provides a brief discussion of each of the candidate safety issues not designated as an USI

  18. Regulatory analysis for resolution of Unresolved Safety Issue A-46, seismic qualification of equipment in operating plants

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Chang, T.Y.; Anderson, N.R.

    1987-02-01

    The margin of safety provided in existing nuclear power plant equipment to resist seismically induced loads and perform required safety functions may vary considerably, because of significant changes in design criteria and methods for the seismic qualification of equipment over the years. Therefore, the seismic qualification of equipment in operating plants must be reassessed to determine whether requalification is necessary. The objective of technical studies performed under Task Action Plan A-46 was to establish an explicit set of guidelines and acceptance criteria to judge the adequacy of equipment under seismic loading at all operating plants, in lieu of requiring these plants to meet the criteria that are applied to new plants. This report presents the regulatory analysis for Unresolved Safety Issue (USI) A-46. It includes: Statement of the Problem; the Objective of USI A-46; a Summary of A-46 Tasks; a Proposed Implementation Procedure; a Value-Impact Analysis; Application of the Backfit Rule; 10 CFR 50.109; Implementation; and Operating Plants To Be Reviewed to USI A-46 Requirements

  19. Conditions for exercising shareholders' right to ask questions

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Radović Vuk

    2014-01-01

    Full Text Available Law on Business Organizations from 2011 has significantly improved the regulation of shareholders' right to ask questions in Serbia. In contrast to the previous law from 2004, that has completely transferred regulation to companies which is why there was no guarantee for exercising this right, new law contains detailed norms in this respect. They are written under the dominant influence of German law and are completely harmonized with the Shareholders' Rights Directive. All important issues of shareholders' right to ask questions have been regulated mostly with imperative norms (subject of the right, conditions for exercising this right, debtor of this obligation, court protection, etc.. Corporations have a lot of freedom to adjust exercising this right to their needs, but only by giving more rights to shareholders. Limiting the scope of this right is possible only in certain, precisely defined areas. Although the general impression of the new regulation is very positive, there are certain aspects which can be criticized. Some of them can be cured by adequate judicial interpretation, while others cannot be cured without changes to the law. In the area of conditions for exercising this right, the most important deficiency is the fact that the law has not determined when the right to ask questions can be exercised, and that stands in obvious disharmony with the adopted conception to regulate all important aspects of this right. Contrary to conditions, which basically have been properly formulated, other aspects of legislation regarding this shareholders' right contain more profound obscurities that go beyond the scope of this paper.

  20. Status of safety issues at licensed power plants: TMI Action Plan requirements, unresolved safety issues, generic safety issues, other multiplant action issues

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    1992-12-01

    This report is to provide a comprehensive description of the implementation and verification status of Three Mile Island (TMI) Action Plan requirements, safety issues designated as Unresolved Safety Issues (USIs), Generic Safety Issues(GSIs), and other Multiplant Actions (MPAs) that have been resolved and involve implementation of an action or actions by licensees. This report makes the information available to other interested parties, including the public. An additional purpose of this NUREG report is to serve as a follow-on to NUREG-0933, ''A Prioritization of Generic Safety Issues,'' which tracks safety issues up until requirements are approved for imposition at licensed plants or until the NRC issues a request for action by licensees

  1. Wireless "Questions-Bank" System to Enhance M-Learning in School Education

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Samir Abou El-Seoud

    2010-01-01

    Full Text Available Abstract: Through wireless devices and wireless applications, M-learning supports an integrated access to Web content and services in education anytime and anywhere. This paper describes the analysis, design, and implementation of "Wireless Questions-Bank System", that allows the students to take web-based quizzes, web-based free exercises, web-based exams (midterm, and final, to download course reviews, to download previous exams and their model answers, to access the system through the Mobile and take quick quizzes and exercises. The system facilitates generation of automatic, balanced, and different exam sheets, that containing different types of questions, covering the entire curriculum, and displaying gradually from easiness to difficulty. The exam sheet produced by the system, takes into account the different levels of the students from excellent, good, to fair, and avoids any mistakes of language and non-clear terminologies

  2. Questions for Music Education Research

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jorgensen, Estelle R.

    2008-01-01

    In addressing the question-set "What questions do music education researchers need to address?", an illustrative list of juxtaposed descriptive and normative questions is sketched as follows: What are and should be the dimensions of music education? What are and should be the institutional agencies of music education? What are and should be the…

  3. Dynamic Question Ordering in Online Surveys

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Early Kirstin

    2017-09-01

    Full Text Available Online surveys have the potential to support adaptive questions, where later questions depend on earlier responses. Past work has taken a rule-based approach, uniformly across all respondents. We envision a richer interpretation of adaptive questions, which we call Dynamic Question Ordering (DQO, where question order is personalized. Such an approach could increase engagement, and therefore response rate, as well as imputation quality. We present a DQO framework to improve survey completion and imputation. In the general survey-taking setting, we want to maximize survey completion, and so we focus on ordering questions to engage the respondent and collect hopefully all information, or at least the information that most characterizes the respondent, for accurate imputations. In another scenario, our goal is to provide a personalized prediction. Since it is possible to give reasonable predictions with only a subset of questions, we are not concerned with motivating users to answer all questions. Instead, we want to order questions to get information that reduces prediction uncertainty, while not being too burdensome. We illustrate this framework with two case studies, for the prediction and survey-taking settings. We also discuss DQO for national surveys and consider connections between our statistics-based question-ordering approach and cognitive survey methodology.

  4. Research, climate, energy : Questions of destiny for the chemical industry

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Kastinen, A., email: aimo.kastinen@chemind.fi

    2010-07-01

    Registration for the first phase of Reach finishes at the end of November. Then we will see whether the standard of legislation has been set correctly in respect of the EU's operational ability. If it isn't, significant problems will result for the community's treatment of materials and the EU's competitiveness, and Reach's value as a global model will become questionable. Also, the CLP regulation concerning classification, labelling and packaging of chemicals will start to come into effect as from the beginning of December. In the first phase, the question is one of classification of substances, and gradually the requirements will be applied to mixtures too. At the same time, Safety Data Sheets shall be renewed in accordance with their own transition period. The current product legislation concerning chemicals shall be fully revised by the mid-point of the decade, but before then company safety officers will have to do lots of work to change the previous routines

  5. Repetitive Questioning Exasperates Caregivers

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    R. C. Hamdy MD

    2018-01-01

    Full Text Available Repetitive questioning is due to an impaired episodic memory and is a frequent, often presenting, problem in patients with Alzheimer’s disease (amnestic type. It is due to the patients’ difficulties learning new information, retaining it, and recalling it, and is often aggravated by a poor attention span and easy distractibility. A number of factors may trigger and maintain repetitive questioning. Caregivers should try to identify and address these triggers. In the case discussion presented, it is due to the patient’s concerns about her and her family’s safety triggered by watching a particularly violent movie aired on TV. What went wrong in the patient/caregiver interaction and how it could have been avoided or averted are explored. Also reviewed are the impact of repetitive questioning, the challenges it raises for caregivers, and some effective intervention strategies that may be useful to diffuse the angst that caregivers experience with repetitive questioning.

  6. Wh-Questions, Universal Statements and Free Choice Inferences in Child Mandarin.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Huang, Haiquan; Zhou, Peng; Crain, Stephen

    2017-11-16

    This study investigated 5-year-old Mandarin-speaking children's comprehension of wh-questions, universal statements and free choice inferences. Previous research has found that Mandarin-speaking children assign a universal interpretation to sentences with a wh-word (e.g., shei 'who') followed by the adverbial quantifier dou 'all' (Zhou in Appl Psycholinguist 36:411-435, 2013). Children also compute free choice inferences in sentences that contain a modal verb in addition to a wh-word and dou (Zhou, in: Nakayama, Su, Huang (eds.) Studies in Chinese and Japanese language acquisition: in honour of Stephen Crain. John Benjamins Publishing Company, Amsterdam, pp 223-235, 2017). The present study used a Question-Statement Task to assess children's interpretation of sentences containing shei + dou, both with and without the modal verb beiyunxu 'was allowed to', as well as the contrast between sentences with shei + dou, which are statements for adults, versus ones with dou + shei, which are wh-questions for adults. The 5-year-old Mandarin-speaking child participants exhibited adult-like linguistic knowledge of the semantics and pragmatics of wh-words, the adverbial quantifier dou, and the deontic modal verb beiyunxu.

  7. Threat, Fear, and Persuasion: Review and Critique of Questions About Functional Form

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Lijiang Shen

    2014-01-01

    Full Text Available Theories of threat appeals have been rightly concerned with the form of the relationship between fear and persuasion: Linear or curvilinear. They have not, however, clearly distinguished the question as a between- or within-persons phenomenon. In fact, the literature often treats these two perspectives as if they were interchangeable. We show that between- versus within-person questions about functional form are distinct from one another. Previous research, which is the product of between-persons designs, shows a linear relationship between fear and persuasion. Betweenpersons studies cannot address the question of how changes in fear over time produce persuasion. Consequently, a major piece of the fear appeals-persuasion puzzle may have been overlooked. Reanalysis of an existing data set shows curvilinearity of fear in within-persons data and demonstrates that the curve predicts persuasion. Audience segmentation reveals different curves for different groups as well as differential associations between those curves and persuasion. Overall, the argument and the empirical results suggest that a great deal less is known about fear appeals than it is currently believed.

  8. Self-reported previous knee injury and low knee function increase knee injury risk in adolescent female football.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Clausen, M B; Tang, L; Zebis, M K; Krustrup, P; Hölmich, P; Wedderkopp, N; Andersen, L L; Christensen, K B; Møller, M; Thorborg, K

    2016-08-01

    Knee injuries are common in adolescent female football. Self-reported previous knee injury and low Knee injury and Osteoarthritis Outcome Score (KOOS) are proposed to predict future knee injuries, but evidence regarding this in adolescent female football is scarce. The aim of this study was to investigate self-reported previous knee injury and low KOOS subscale score as risk factors for future knee injuries in adolescent female football. A sample of 326 adolescent female football players, aged 15-18, without knee injury at baseline, were included. Data on self-reported previous knee injury and KOOS questionnaires were collected at baseline. Time-loss knee injuries and football exposures were reported weekly by answers to standardized text-message questions, followed by injury telephone interviews. A priori, self-reported previous knee injury and low KOOS subscale scores (female football. © 2015 John Wiley & Sons A/S. Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

  9. The Question Complexity Rubric: Development and Application for a National Archive of Astro 101 Multiple-Choice Questions

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cormier, Sebastien; Prather, E. E.; Brissenden, G.; Collaboration of Astronomy Teaching Scholars CATS

    2011-01-01

    For the last two years we have been developing an online national archive of multiple-choice questions for use in the Astro 101 classroom. These questions are intended to either supplement an instructor's implementation of Think-Pair-Share or be used for assessment purposes (i.e. exams and homework). In this talk we will describe the development, testing and implementation of the Question Complexity Rubric (QCR), which is designed to guide the ranking of questions in this archive based on their conceptual complexity. Using the QCR, a score is assigned to differentiate each question based on the cognitive steps necessary to comprehensively explain the reasoning pathway to the correct answer. The lowest QCR score is given to questions with a reasoning pathway requiring only declarative knowledge whereas the highest QCR score is given to questions that require multiple pathways of multi-step reasoning. When completed, the online question archive will provide users with the utility to 1) search for and download questions based on subject and average QCR score, 2) use the QCR to score questions, and 3) add their own questions to the archive. We will also discuss other potential applications of the QCR, such as how it informs our work in developing and testing of survey instruments by allowing us to calibrate the range of question complexity. This material is based upon work supported by the National Science Foundation under Grant No. 0715517, a CCLI Phase III Grant for the Collaboration of Astronomy Teaching Scholars (CATS). Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation.

  10. The Value Question in Metaphysics

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kahane, Guy

    2012-01-01

    Much seems to be at stake in metaphysical questions about, for example, God, free will or morality. One thing that could be at stake is the value of the universe we inhabit—how good or bad it is. We can think of competing philosophical positions as describing possibilities, ways the world might turn out to be, and to which value can be assigned. When, for example, people hope that God exists, or fear that we do not possess free will, they express attitudes towards these possibilities, attitudes that presuppose answers to questions about their comparative value. My aim in this paper is to distinguish these evaluative questions from related questions with which they can be confused, to identify structural constraints on their proper pursuit, and to address objections to their very coherence. Answers to such evaluative questions offer one measure of the importance of philosophical disputes. PMID:23024399

  11. The Value Question in Metaphysics.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kahane, Guy

    2012-07-01

    Much seems to be at stake in metaphysical questions about, for example, God, free will or morality. One thing that could be at stake is the value of the universe we inhabit-how good or bad it is. We can think of competing philosophical positions as describing possibilities, ways the world might turn out to be, and to which value can be assigned. When, for example, people hope that God exists, or fear that we do not possess free will, they express attitudes towards these possibilities, attitudes that presuppose answers to questions about their comparative value. My aim in this paper is to distinguish these evaluative questions from related questions with which they can be confused, to identify structural constraints on their proper pursuit, and to address objections to their very coherence. Answers to such evaluative questions offer one measure of the importance of philosophical disputes.

  12. Haematopoietic stem cell niches: new insights inspire new questions

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ugarte, Fernando; Forsberg, E Camilla

    2013-01-01

    Haematopoietic stem cell (HSC) niches provide an environment essential for life-long HSC function. Intense investigation of HSC niches both feed off and drive technology development to increase our capability to assay functionally defined cells with high resolution. A major driving force behind the desire to understand the basic biology of HSC niches is the clear implications for clinical therapies. Here, with particular emphasis on cell type-specific deletion of SCL and CXCL12, we focus on unresolved issues on HSC niches, framed around some very recent advances and novel discoveries on the extrinsic regulation of HSC maintenance. We also provide ideas for possible paths forward, some of which are clearly within reach while others will require both novel tools and vision. PMID:24022369

  13. Legal Philosophy - Five Questions

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    This collection gathers together a host of the most eminent contemporary legal philosophers, who writes about their take on legal philosophy, its fundamental questions and potential.......This collection gathers together a host of the most eminent contemporary legal philosophers, who writes about their take on legal philosophy, its fundamental questions and potential....

  14. Positive, negative, and bipolar questions: The effect of question polarity on ratings of text readability

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Naomi Kamoen

    2013-12-01

    Full Text Available For decades, survey researchers have known that respondents give different answers to attitude questions worded positively (X is good. Agree-Disagree, negatively (X is bad. Agree-Disagree or on a bipolar scale (X is bad-good. This makes survey answers hard to interpret, especially since findings on exactly how the answers are affected are conflicting. In the current paper, we present twelve studies in which the effect of question polarity was measured for a set of thirteen contrastive adjectives. In each study, the same adjectives were used so the generalizability of wording effects across studies could be examined for each word pair. Results show that for five of the word pairs an effect of question wording can be generalized. The direction of these effects are largely consistent: respondents generally give the same answers to positive and bipolar questions, but they are more likely to disagree with negative questions than to agree with positive questions or to choose the positive side of the bipolar scale. In other words, respondents express their opinions more positively when the question is worded negatively. Even though answers to the three wording alternatives sometimes differ, results also show that reliable answers can be obtained with all three wording alternatives. So, for survey practice, these results suggest that all three wording alternatives may be used for attitude measurement.

  15. Closing the gap in travel medicine: reframing research questions for a new era.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chen, Lin H; Leder, Karin; Wilson, Mary E

    2017-07-01

    Travel medicine needs are changing. New patterns of travel, including greater travel by individuals from emerging economies with different values in costs, risks and benefits, must be considered. This review aims to (1) highlight selected studies that have been published that address previously identified gaps in knowledge; (2) propose possible ways to consider questions regarding travel medicine practice for travelers from emerging economies, underscoring priorities for research focusing on these important populations; (3) highlight potential deficiencies in relevance of current international guidelines as they pertain to travelers from emerging economies; (4) frame research questions for travelers from emerging economies and (5) consider roles for ISTM in closing the gap. We reviewed past travel medicine research priorities published in 2010 to identify publications that responded to some research questions posed. We also reviewed CDC and WHO recommendations and assessed their applicability to travelers from emerging economies. Recent publications have responded to some research questions, but gaps remain and new questions have emerged. Re-framing of several key research questions is needed for travelers from emerging economies. A new challenge looms for traditional travel medicine fields to identify and attend to knowledge and guideline gaps, particularly to rethink questions regarding travel medicine to make them relevant for travelers from emerging economies. The International Society of Travel Medicine is well positioned to assist emerging economies assess their resources and needs, formulate research priorities and tailor the development of travel medicine into a framework aligned to their requirements. © International Society of Travel Medicine, 2017. Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com

  16. Thousand Questions

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    2012-01-01

    (perhaps as an expanded Turing test) on its listeners. These questions are extracted in real-time from Twitter with the keyword search of the ‘?’ symbol to create a spatio-temporal experience. The computerized voice the audience hears is a collective one, an entanglement of humans and non-humans......In this work the network asks “If I wrote you a love letter would you write back?” Like the love letters which appeared mysteriously on the noticeboards of Manchester University’s Computer Department in the 1950s, thousands of texts circulate as computational processes perform the questions......, that circulates across networks. If I wrote you a love letter would you write back? (and thousands of other questions’ ) (封不回的情書?千言萬語無人回 was commissioned by the Microwave International New Media Festival 2012....

  17. Explaining topic prevalence in answers to open-ended survey questions about climate change

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tvinnereim, Endre; Fløttum, Kjersti

    2015-08-01

    Citizens’ opinions are crucial for action on climate change, but are, owing to the complexity of the issue, diverse and potentially unformed. We contribute to the understanding of public views on climate change and to knowledge needed by decision-makers by using a new approach to analyse answers to the open survey question `what comes to mind when you hear the words `climate change’?’. We apply automated text analysis, specifically structural topic modelling, which induces distinct topics based on the relative frequencies of the words used in 2,115 responses. From these data, originating from the new, nationally representative Norwegian Citizen Panel, four distinct topics emerge: Weather/Ice, Future/Impact, Money/Consumption and Attribution. We find that Norwegians emphasize societal aspects of climate change more than do respondents in previous US and UK studies. Furthermore, variables that explain variation in closed questions, such as gender and education, yield different and surprising results when employed to explain variation in what respondents emphasize. Finally, the sharp distinction between scepticism and acceptance of conventional climate science, often seen in previous studies, blurs in many textual responses as scepticism frequently turns into ambivalence.

  18. Legacy question

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Healy, J.W.

    1977-01-01

    The legacy question discussed refers to the definition of appropriate actions in this generation to provide a world that will allow future generations to use the earth without excessive limitations caused by our use and disposal of potentially hazardous materials

  19. An Online National Archive of Multiple-Choice Questions for Astro 101 and the Development of the Question Complexity Rubric

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cormier, S.; Prather, E.; Brissenden, G.

    2011-09-01

    We are developing a national archive of multiple-choice questions for use in the Astronomy 101 classroom. These questions are intended to supplement an instructor's implementation of Think-Pair-Share or for their assessment purposes (i.e., exams and homework). We are also developing the Question Complexity Rubric (QCR) to guide members of the Astro 101 teaching and learning community in assisting us with hierarchically ranking questions in this archive based on their conceptual complexity. Using the QCR, a score is assigned to differentiate each question based on the cognitive steps necessary to comprehensively explain the reasoning pathway to the correct answer. The lowest QCR score is given to questions with a reasoning pathway requiring only declarative knowledge. The highest QCR score is given to questions with a reasoning pathway that requires multiple connected cognitive steps. When completed, the online question archive will provide users with the utility to 1) use the QCR to score questions 2) search for and download questions based on topic and/or QCR score, and 3) add their own questions to the archive. Stop by our poster to test your skills at determining question complexity by trying out the QCR with our sample questions.

  20. Difficult Questions of Difficult Questions: The Role of The Researcher and Transcription Styles

    Science.gov (United States)

    Henderson, Holly

    2018-01-01

    This paper refracts a comparison of three distinct transcription styles through questions of researcher reflexivity. It uses the data from a single question asked by the researcher in multiple interviews for a small empirical project. These data are transcribed in three ways, and the resulting transcripts are discussed in relation to the analysis…

  1. Conceptual question response times in Peer Instruction classrooms

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Kelly Miller

    2014-08-01

    Full Text Available Classroom response systems are widely used in interactive teaching environments as a way to engage students by asking them questions. Previous research on the time taken by students to respond to conceptual questions has yielded insights on how students think and change conceptions. We measure the amount of time students take to respond to in-class, conceptual questions [ConcepTests (CTs] in two introductory physics courses taught using Peer Instruction and use item response theory to determine the difficulty of the CTs. We examine response time differences between correct and incorrect answers both before and after the peer discussion for CTs of varying difficulty. We also determine the relationship between response time and student performance on a standardized test of incoming physics knowledge, precourse self-efficacy, and gender. Our data reveal three results of interest. First, response time for correct answers is significantly faster than for incorrect answers, both before and after peer discussion, especially for easy CTs. Second, students with greater incoming physics knowledge and higher self-efficacy respond faster in both rounds. Third, there is no gender difference in response rate after controlling for incoming physics knowledge scores, although males register significantly more attempts before committing to a final answer than do female students. These results provide insight into effective CT pacing during Peer Instruction. In particular, in order to maintain a pace that keeps everyone engaged, students should not be given too much time to respond. When around 80% of the answers are in, the ratio of correct to incorrect responses rapidly approaches levels indicating random guessing and instructors should close the poll.

  2. Questioning Student Learning: An Exploration of Student's Views on Learning to Become Independent Nurse Prescribers

    Science.gov (United States)

    Banning, Maggi; Cortazzi, Martin

    2004-01-01

    This illuminative evaluation study gives insights into attitudes to learning, interaction and the perceived roles of theory, evidence, reading and previous experience. These insights lead us to question some aspects of the course as currently presented. Students indicated that they found the course material stimulating but prior guidance on the…

  3. Let's talk nuclear energy in 30 questions; Parlons nucleaire en 30 questions

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Reuss, Paul

    2012-01-11

    The Fukushima catastrophe of March 11, 2011 has called into question the share of nuclear energy in France and in foreign countries. Its replacement by renewable energy sources and the safety of nuclear power plants are in the center of today's debates. But what is the reality behind the mass of contradictory information that exists on this complex topic? This book moves the question out of the media noise and supplies objective and factual information with reliable figures about the nuclear industry by answering 30 key-questions. (J.S.)

  4. Question, answer, compare: a cross-category comparison of answers on question and answer websites

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ocepek, Melissa G.; Westbrook, Lynn

    2015-10-01

    Online information seekers make heavy use of websites that accept their natural language questions. This study compared the three types of such websites: social question and answer (Q&A), digital reference services, and ask-an-expert services. Questions reflecting daily life, research, and crisis situations were posed to high use websites of all three types. The resulting answers' characteristics were analyzed in terms of speed, transparency, formality, and intimacy. The results indicate that social Q&A websites excel in speed, ask-an-expert websites in intimacy, and digital reference services in transparency and formality.

  5. Examining the Impact of Question Surface Features on Students' Answers to Constructed-Response Questions on Photosynthesis

    Science.gov (United States)

    Weston, Michele; Haudek, Kevin C.; Prevost, Luanna; Urban-Lurain, Mark; Merrill, John

    2015-01-01

    One challenge in science education assessment is that students often focus on surface features of questions rather than the underlying scientific principles. We investigated how student written responses to constructed-response questions about photosynthesis vary based on two surface features of the question: the species of plant and the order of…

  6. Generic Drugs: Questions and Answers

    Science.gov (United States)

    ... Vaccines, Blood & Biologics Animal & Veterinary Cosmetics Tobacco Products Drugs Home Drugs Resources for You Information for Consumers (Drugs) Questions & Answers Generic Drugs: Questions & Answers Share Tweet Linkedin Pin it More ...

  7. Self-reported previous knee injury and low knee function increase knee injury risk in adolescent female football

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Clausen, Mikkel Bek; Tang, L; Zebis, M K

    2016-01-01

    with low KOOS subscale scores (Sport/Recreational (RR: 2.2) and Quality of Life (RR: 3.0) (P time-loss knee...... questionnaires were collected at baseline. Time-loss knee injuries and football exposures were reported weekly by answers to standardized text-message questions, followed by injury telephone interviews. A priori, self-reported previous knee injury and low KOOS subscale scores (... as independent variables in the risk factor analyses. The study showed that self-reported previous knee injury significantly increased the risk of time-loss knee injury [relative risk (RR): 3.65, 95% confidence (CI) 1.73-7.68; P time-loss knee injury was also significantly increased in players...

  8. A Survey of Patients' Preoperative Need for Information About Postoperative Pain-Effect of Previous Surgery Experience.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mavridou, Paraskevi; Manataki, Adamantia; Arnaoutoglou, Elena; Damigos, Dimitrios

    2017-10-01

    The aim of this study was to determine the kind of information patients need preoperatively about postoperative pain (POP) and whether this is affected by previous surgery experience. A descriptive study design using preoperative questionnaires. Questionnaires with fixed questions related to POP and its management were distributed preoperatively to consenting, consecutive surgical patients. Patients were divided into two groups: patients with previous surgery experience (group A) and patients without previous surgery experience (group B). Of the patients who participated in the study, 94.2% wanted information about POP and 77.8% of them believe that they will feel calmer if they get the information they need. The patients' biggest concern relates to pain management issues after discharge. Next, in order of preference is information about the analgesics that they need to take. The patients want to be informed primarily with a personal interview (59.4%). Previous surgery experience has no effect on patients' needs for information. Most of the patients want to be informed about the management of the POP after being discharged. It is remarkable that patients who had previous surgery experience need the same information with those who had no previous surgery. Copyright © 2016 American Society of PeriAnesthesia Nurses. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  9. Comparison of Performance on Multiple-Choice Questions and Open-Ended Questions in an Introductory Astronomy Laboratory

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wooten, Michelle M.; Cool, Adrienne M.; Prather, Edward E.; Tanner, Kimberly D.

    2014-01-01

    When considering the variety of questions that can be used to measure students' learning, instructors may choose to use multiple-choice questions, which are easier to score than responses to open-ended questions. However, by design, analyses of multiple-choice responses cannot describe all of students' understanding. One method that can…

  10. Questioning context: a set of interdisciplinary questions for investigating contextual factors affecting health decision making

    Science.gov (United States)

    Charise, Andrea; Witteman, Holly; Whyte, Sarah; Sutton, Erica J.; Bender, Jacqueline L.; Massimi, Michael; Stephens, Lindsay; Evans, Joshua; Logie, Carmen; Mirza, Raza M.; Elf, Marie

    2011-01-01

    Abstract Objective  To combine insights from multiple disciplines into a set of questions that can be used to investigate contextual factors affecting health decision making. Background  Decision‐making processes and outcomes may be shaped by a range of non‐medical or ‘contextual’ factors particular to an individual including social, economic, political, geographical and institutional conditions. Research concerning contextual factors occurs across many disciplines and theoretical domains, but few conceptual tools have attempted to integrate and translate this wide‐ranging research for health decision‐making purposes. Methods  To formulate this tool we employed an iterative, collaborative process of scenario development and question generation. Five hypothetical health decision‐making scenarios (preventative, screening, curative, supportive and palliative) were developed and used to generate a set of exploratory questions that aim to highlight potential contextual factors across a range of health decisions. Findings  We present an exploratory tool consisting of questions organized into four thematic domains – Bodies, Technologies, Place and Work (BTPW) – articulating wide‐ranging contextual factors relevant to health decision making. The BTPW tool encompasses health‐related scholarship and research from a range of disciplines pertinent to health decision making, and identifies concrete points of intersection between its four thematic domains. Examples of the practical application of the questions are also provided. Conclusions  These exploratory questions provide an interdisciplinary toolkit for identifying the complex contextual factors affecting decision making. The set of questions comprised by the BTPW tool may be applied wholly or partially in the context of clinical practice, policy development and health‐related research. PMID:21029277

  11. Annotating Logical Forms for EHR Questions.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Roberts, Kirk; Demner-Fushman, Dina

    2016-05-01

    This paper discusses the creation of a semantically annotated corpus of questions about patient data in electronic health records (EHRs). The goal is to provide the training data necessary for semantic parsers to automatically convert EHR questions into a structured query. A layered annotation strategy is used which mirrors a typical natural language processing (NLP) pipeline. First, questions are syntactically analyzed to identify multi-part questions. Second, medical concepts are recognized and normalized to a clinical ontology. Finally, logical forms are created using a lambda calculus representation. We use a corpus of 446 questions asking for patient-specific information. From these, 468 specific questions are found containing 259 unique medical concepts and requiring 53 unique predicates to represent the logical forms. We further present detailed characteristics of the corpus, including inter-annotator agreement results, and describe the challenges automatic NLP systems will face on this task.

  12. Generating ethnographic research questions

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Friberg, Torbjörn

    2015-01-01

    ? By drawing on the conceptual history of anthropology, the aim of this article is to generate ethnographic-oriented research questions concerned with higher education. The first part of the article provides an ethnographic background, while the second part focuses on Paul Willis's reasoning on ethnographic......As part of recent complex transformations, it seems that higher educational organisations are being forced to reorganise, standardise and streamline in order to survive in the new political and economic context. How are ethnographers in general going to approach these contemporary phenomena...... imagination, as a prerequisite for generating alternative research questions. The third part makes explicit anthropologist Maurice Godelier's theoretical imagination, carving out some specific theoretical parts which may be used in the generating process. The conclusion then suggests a number of questions...

  13. Will Veterans Answer Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity Questions?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ruben, Mollie A; Blosnich, John R; Dichter, Melissa E; Luscri, Lorry; Shipherd, Jillian C

    2017-09-01

    The Veterans Health Administration does not routinely collect and document sexual orientation and gender identity (SOGI) data, despite existing health disparities among sexual and gender minority Veterans. Because of the legacy of previous Department of Defense (DoD) policies that prohibited disclosure of sexual or gender minority identities among active duty personnel, Veterans may be reluctant to respond to SOGI questions. This population-based study assesses item nonresponse to SOGI questions by Veteran status. This is a secondary analysis of data from a population-based sample of adults in 20 US states that elected to administer a SOGI module in the 2014 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System survey. Prevalence of SOGI refusals and responses of "don't know" were compared for Veterans and non-Veterans. Veterans (n=22,587) and non-Veterans (n=146,475) were surveyed. Nearly all Veteran respondents (≥98%) completed the SOGI questions, with 95.4% identifying as heterosexual, 1.2% as gay or lesbian, 1.2% as bisexual, and 0.59% as transgender. A significantly lower proportion of Veterans than non-Veterans refuse to answer sexual orientation (1.5% vs. 1.9%). There was no difference between Veterans and non-Veterans in responses for gender identity. Veterans are just as likely as non-Veterans to complete SOGI items in survey research. Asking Veterans about SOGI is unlikely to yield significant nonresponse. These data suggest that future research should investigate Veterans' perspectives on being asked about SOGI in research settings and as part of routine clinical care.

  14. Instance-Based Question Answering

    Science.gov (United States)

    2006-12-01

    cluster-based query expan- sion, learning answering strategies, machine learning in NLP To my wife Monica Abstract During recent years, question...process is typically tedious and involves expertise in crafting and implement- ing these models (e.g. rule-based), utilizing NLP resources, and...questions. For languages that use capitalization (e.g. not Chinese or Arabic ) for named entities, IBQA can make use of NE classing (e.g. “Bob Marley

  15. Measurement and evaluation of nuclear data for fissile and fertile isotopes: An important task of present-day physics

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Van'kov, A.A.

    1986-01-01

    This paper considers questions relating to the analysis of neutron cross-section measurements and measurements of transmission functions for heavy isotopes in the unresolved resonance region. It also considers questions connected with the evaluation of group constants. Conclusions are drawn regarding the need to set up new experiments for measuring transmission functions. (author)

  16. Glenohumeral abduction contracture in children with unresolved neonatal brachial plexus palsy.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Eismann, Emily A; Little, Kevin J; Laor, Tal; Cornwall, Roger

    2015-01-21

    Following neonatal brachial plexus palsy, the Putti sign-obligatory tilt of the scapula with brachiothoracic adduction-suggests the presence of glenohumeral abduction contracture. In the present study, we utilized magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) to quantify this glenohumeral abduction contracture and evaluate its relationship to shoulder joint deformity, muscle atrophy, and function. We retrospectively reviewed MRIs of the thorax and shoulders obtained before and after shoulder rebalancing surgery (internal rotation contracture release and external rotation tendon transfer) for twenty-eight children with unresolved neonatal brachial plexus palsy. Two raters measured the coronal positions of the scapula, thoracic spine, and humeral shaft bilaterally on coronal images, correcting trigonometrically for scapular protraction on axial images. Supraspinatus, deltoid, and latissimus dorsi muscle atrophy was assessed, blinded to other measures. Correlations between glenohumeral abduction contracture and glenoid version, humeral head subluxation, passive external rotation, and Mallet shoulder function before and after surgery were performed. MRI measurements were highly reliable between raters. Glenohumeral abduction contractures were present in twenty-five of twenty-eight patients, averaging 33° (range, 10° to 65°). Among those patients, abductor atrophy was present in twenty-three of twenty-five, with adductor atrophy in twelve of twenty-five. Preoperatively, greater abduction contracture severity correlated with greater Mallet global abduction and hand-to-neck function. Abduction contracture severity did not correlate preoperatively with axial measurements of glenohumeral dysplasia, but greater glenoid retroversion was associated with worse abduction contractures postoperatively. Surgery improved passive external rotation, active abduction, and hand-to-neck function, but did not change the abduction contracture. A majority of patients with persistent shoulder weakness

  17. Protein Electrochemistry: Questions and Answers.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fourmond, V; Léger, C

    This chapter presents the fundamentals of electrochemistry in the context of protein electrochemistry. We discuss redox proteins and enzymes that are not photoactive. Of course, the principles described herein also apply to photobioelectrochemistry, as discussed in later chapters of this book. Depending on which experiment is considered, electron transfer between proteins and electrodes can be either direct or mediated, and achieved in a variety of configurations: with the protein and/or the mediator free to diffuse in solution, immobilized in a thick, hydrated film, or adsorbed as a sub-monolayer on the electrode. The experiments can be performed with the goal to study the protein or to use it. Here emphasis is on mechanistic studies, which are easier in the configuration where the protein is adsorbed and electron transfer is direct, but we also explain the interpretation of signals obtained when diffusion processes affect the response.This chapter is organized as a series of responses to questions. Questions 1-5 are related to the basics of electrochemistry: what does "potential" or "current" mean, what does an electrochemical set-up look like? Questions 6-9 are related to the distinction between adsorbed and diffusive redox species. The answers to questions 10-13 explain the interpretation of slow and fast scan voltammetry with redox proteins. Questions 14-19 deal with catalytic electrochemistry, when the protein studied is actually an enzyme. Questions 20, 21 and 22 are general.

  18. IMS Learning Design Frequently Asked Questions

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Tattersall, Colin; Manderveld, Jocelyn; Hummel, Hans; Sloep, Peter; Koper, Rob; De Vries, Fred

    2004-01-01

    This list of frequently asked questions was composed on the basis of questions asked of the Educational Technology Expertise Centrum. The questions addessed are: Where can I find the IMS Learning Design Specification? What is meant by the phrase “Learning Design”? What is the IMS LD Specification

  19. Effect of two types of control questions and two question formats on the outcomes of polygraph examinations.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Horvath, Frank; Palmatier, John J

    2008-07-01

    Two major variations of polygraph "Control Question" testing, the Zone Comparison (ZoC) and the Modified General Question Test (MGQT) were evaluated. Within each, the type of control question, Exclusive or "time bar" (e.g., "Before you were 21, did you ever...") and Nonexclusive or "no time bar" (e.g., "Did you ever....?") was manipulated in a mock theft scenario, with 80 male and 40 female subjects randomly assigned to be either innocent or guilty. Polygraphic data collected by experienced field examiners were numerically scored by an evaluator blind to all aspects of the study. Decision accuracy was not related to the type of procedure (ZoC/MGQT) used or the subject's sex. Accuracy was significantly related to the type of control question [chi(2) (2) = 11.46, p = 0.003; tau c = 0.29]. Nonexclusive control questions produced greater accuracy than Exclusive control questions on both innocent and guilty subjects. These results and subjects' self-reports support the general "theory" on which control question (CQ) testing is based. The need for better empirical support of accepted dogma and current field practices is strongly indicated by these findings.

  20. Questioning As a Pedagogical Tool for Eliciting Student Generated Questions During the Teaching of Acid-base Equilibria

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ayoade Ejiwale Okanlawon

    2012-04-01

    Full Text Available Traditionally, teachers simply taught problem-solving by explaining the worked-out examples taken from textbooks and students were expected to listen quietly, copy the solution to the problem, and then work independently at their desks. But a large body of research notes that guiding students to develop a solution pathway with questioning is more effective than simply explaining the sequence of steps to solve the problem. Students involved in question- and-answer sessions are more attentive than those who listen passively to teacher explanations and they are more likely to generate questions. The questions students ask during a lesson perform a number of important functions, including providing the teacher with valuable information about students’ understanding and misunderstanding, fostering self-regulation, inviting classroom discussions and aiding comprehension of contents presented. The skill of posing questions during classroom instruction is often under-valued and under taught in today’s classrooms. To encourage students to ask quality and thought provoking questions related to the contents taught, explicit instruction is required. This paper, therefore, qualitatively reports factors that foster student generated questions during the problem-solving instruction involving acid-base titration problem.

  1. THE SPITZER INFRARED SPECTROGRAPH DEBRIS DISK CATALOG. I. CONTINUUM ANALYSIS OF UNRESOLVED TARGETS

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Chen, Christine H. [Space Telescope Science Institute, 3700 San Martin Drive, Baltimore, MD 21218 (United States); Mittal, Tushar [Department of Earth and Planetary Science, University of California Berkeley, Berkeley, CA 94720-4767 (United States); Kuchner, Marc [NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Exoplanets and Stellar Astrophysics Laboratory, Code 667, Greenbelt, MD 20771 (United States); Forrest, William J.; Watson, Dan M. [Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Rochester, Rochester, NY 14627 (United States); Lisse, Carey M. [Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory, 11100 Johns Hopkins Road, Laurel, MD 20723 (United States); Manoj, P. [Tata Institute of Fundamental Research, Homi Bhabha Road, Mumbai 400 005 (India); Sargent, Benjamin A., E-mail: cchen@stsci.edu [Center for Imaging Science and Laboratory for Multiwavelength Astrophysics, Rochester Institute of Technology, 54 Lomb Memorial Drive, Rochester, NY 14623 (United States)

    2014-04-01

    During the Spitzer Space Telescope cryogenic mission, Guaranteed Time Observers, Legacy Teams, and General Observers obtained Infrared Spectrograph (IRS) observations of hundreds of debris disk candidates. We calibrated the spectra of 571 candidates, including 64 new IRAS and Multiband Imaging Photometer for Spitzer (MIPS) debris disks candidates, modeled their stellar photospheres, and produced a catalog of excess spectra for unresolved debris disks. For 499 targets with IRS excess but without strong spectral features (and a subset of 420 targets with additional MIPS 70 μm observations), we modeled the IRS (and MIPS data) assuming that the dust thermal emission was well-described using either a one- or two-temperature blackbody model. We calculated the probability for each model and computed the average probability to select among models. We found that the spectral energy distributions for the majority of objects (∼66%) were better described using a two-temperature model with warm (T {sub gr} ∼ 100-500 K) and cold (T {sub gr} ∼ 50-150 K) dust populations analogous to zodiacal and Kuiper Belt dust, suggesting that planetary systems are common in debris disks and zodiacal dust is common around host stars with ages up to ∼1 Gyr. We found that younger stars generally have disks with larger fractional infrared luminosities and higher grain temperatures and that higher-mass stars have disks with higher grain temperatures. We show that the increasing distance of dust around debris disks is inconsistent with self-stirred disk models, expected if these systems possess planets at 30-150 AU. Finally, we illustrate how observations of debris disks may be used to constrain the radial dependence of material in the minimum mass solar nebula.

  2. Effects of mixing on resolved and unresolved scales on stratospheric age of air

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    S. Dietmüller

    2017-06-01

    Full Text Available Mean age of air (AoA is a widely used metric to describe the transport along the Brewer–Dobson circulation. We seek to untangle the effects of different processes on the simulation of AoA, using the chemistry–climate model EMAC (ECHAM/MESSy Atmospheric Chemistry and the Chemical Lagrangian Model of the Stratosphere (CLaMS. Here, the effects of residual transport and two-way mixing on AoA are calculated. To do so, we calculate the residual circulation transit time (RCTT. The difference of AoA and RCTT is defined as aging by mixing. However, as diffusion is also included in this difference, we further use a method to directly calculate aging by mixing on resolved scales. Comparing these two methods of calculating aging by mixing allows for separating the effect of unresolved aging by mixing (which we term aging by diffusion in the following in EMAC and CLaMS. We find that diffusion impacts AoA by making air older, but its contribution plays a minor role (order of 10 % in all simulations. However, due to the different advection schemes of the two models, aging by diffusion has a larger effect on AoA and mixing efficiency in EMAC, compared to CLaMS. Regarding the trends in AoA, in CLaMS the AoA trend is negative throughout the stratosphere except in the Northern Hemisphere middle stratosphere, consistent with observations. This slight positive trend is neither reproduced in a free-running nor in a nudged simulation with EMAC – in both simulations the AoA trend is negative throughout the stratosphere. Trends in AoA are mainly driven by the contributions of RCTT and aging by mixing, whereas the contribution of aging by diffusion plays a minor role.

  3. The effect of question format and task difficulty on reasoning strategies and diagnostic performance in Internal Medicine residents.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Heemskerk, Laura; Norman, Geoff; Chou, Sophia; Mintz, Marcy; Mandin, Henry; McLaughlin, Kevin

    2008-11-01

    Previous studies have suggested an association between reasoning strategies and diagnostic success, but the influence on this relationship of variables such as question format and task difficulty, has not been studied. Our objective was to study the association between question format, task difficulty, reasoning strategies and diagnostic success. Study participants were 13 Internal Medicine residents at the University of Calgary. Each was given eight problem-solving questions in four clinical presentations and were randomized to groups that differed only in the question format, such that a question presented as short answer (SA) to the first group was presented as extended matching (EM) to the second group. There were equal numbers of SA/EM questions and straightforward/difficult tasks. Participants performed think-aloud during diagnostic reasoning. Data were analyzed using multiple logistic regression. Question format was associated with reasoning strategies; hypothetico-deductive reasoning being used more frequently on EM questions and scheme-inductive reasoning on SA questions. For SA question, non-analytic reasoning alone was used more frequently to answer straightforward cases than difficult cases, whereas for EM questions no such association was observed. EM format and straightforward task increased the odds of diagnostic success, whereas hypothetico-deductive reasoning was associated with reduced odds of success. Question format and task difficulty both influence diagnostic reasoning strategies and studies that examine the effect of reasoning strategies on diagnostic success should control for these effects. Further studies are needed to investigate the effect of reasoning strategies on performance of different groups of learners.

  4. The Question Concerning Thinking

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Riis, Søren

    2008-01-01

    Martin Heidegger's thought-provoking essay "The Question Concerning Technology" (1977a) placed technology at the heart of philosophy. Heidegger tried to show that the essence of technology provokes humans to think about the world in a very dangerous way. Yet if we follow Heidegger's analysis...... of technology, what role does that ascribe to philosophy? To be able to understand the programmatic scope of Heidegger's question ‘concerning' technology, we need to see it as inseparable from his famous thesis about the end of philosophy (1977c) and what he considers to be the ideal kind of thinking. However......, by doing so, we will in the end realize two important things. First, that Heidegger's declaration of the end of philosophy in fact also means the end of anything we can meaningfully call thinking. Second, that Heidegger's own thinking is completely different from his own ideal of thinking. Our question...

  5. Comparison of performance on multiple-choice questions and open-ended questions in an introductory astronomy laboratory

    OpenAIRE

    Michelle M. Wooten; Adrienne M. Cool; Edward E. Prather; Kimberly D. Tanner

    2014-01-01

    When considering the variety of questions that can be used to measure students’ learning, instructors may choose to use multiple-choice questions, which are easier to score than responses to open-ended questions. However, by design, analyses of multiple-choice responses cannot describe all of students’ understanding. One method that can be used to learn more about students’ learning is the analysis of the open-ended responses students’ provide when explaining their multiple-choice response. I...

  6. Unreviewed Disposal Question Evaluation: Waste Disposal In Engineered Trench #3

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Hamm, L. L.; Smith, F. G. III; Flach, G. P.; Hiergesell, R. A.; Butcher, B. T.

    2013-07-29

    Because Engineered Trench #3 (ET#3) will be placed in the location previously designated for Slit Trench #12 (ST#12), Solid Waste Management (SWM) requested that the Savannah River National Laboratory (SRNL) determine if the ST#12 limits could be employed as surrogate disposal limits for ET#3 operations. SRNL documented in this Unreviewed Disposal Question Evaluation (UDQE) that the use of ST#12 limits as surrogates for the new ET#3 disposal unit will provide reasonable assurance that Department of Energy (DOE) 435.1 performance objectives and measures (USDOE, 1999) will be protected. Therefore new ET#3 inventory limits as determined by a Special Analysis (SA) are not required.

  7. Analysis of students’ generated questions in laboratory learning environments

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Juan Antonio Llorens-Molina

    2012-03-01

    Full Text Available In order to attain a reliable laboratory work assessment, we argue taking the Learning Environment as a core concept and a research paradigm that considers the factors affecting the laboratory as a particularly complex educational context. With regard to Laboratory Learning Environments (LLEs, a well known approach is the SLEI (Science Laboratory Environment Inventory. The aim of this research is to design and apply an alternative and qualitative assessment tool to characterize Laboratory Learning Environments in an introductory course of organic chemistry. An alternative and qualitative assessment tool would be useful for providing feed-back for experimental learning improvement; serving as a complementary triangulation tool in educational research on LLEs; and generating meaningful categories in order to design quantitative research instruments. Toward this end, spontaneous questions by students have been chosen as a reliable source of information. To process these questions, a methodology based on the Grounded Theory has been developed to provide a framework for characterizing LLEs. This methodology has been applied in two case studies. The conclusions lead us to argue for using more holistic assessment tools in both everyday practice and research. Likewise, a greater attention should be paid to metacognition to achieve suitable self-perception concerning students’ previous knowledge and manipulative skills.

  8. Using Mind Maps to Make Student Questioning Effective: Learning Outcomes of a Principle-Based Scenario for Teacher Guidance

    Science.gov (United States)

    Stokhof, Harry; de Vries, Bregje; Bastiaens, Theo; Martens, Rob

    2018-01-01

    Student questioning is an important learning strategy, but rare in many classrooms, because teachers have concerns if these questions contribute to attaining curricular objectives. Teachers face the challenge of making student questioning effective for learning the curriculum. To address this challenge, a principle-based scenario for guiding effective student questioning was developed and tested for its relevance and practicality in two previous studies. In the scenario, which consists of a sequence of pedagogical activities, mind maps support teachers and students to explore and elaborate upon a core curriculum, by raising, investigating, and exchanging student questions. In this paper, a follow-up study is presented that tested the effectiveness of the scenario on student outcomes in terms of attainment of curricular objectives. Ten teachers and their 231 students participated in the study. Pre- and posttest mind maps were used to measure individual and collective learning outcomes of student questioning. Findings show that a majority of students progressed in learning the core curriculum and elaborated upon it. The findings suggest that visualizing knowledge construction in a shared mind map supports students to learn a core curriculum and to refine their knowledge structures.

  9. The Impact of Similarity-Based Interference in Processing Wh-Questions in Aphasia

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Shannon Mackenzie

    2014-04-01

    Full Text Available We describe two experiments investigating the comprehension of different types of Wh-questions in neurotypical adults (Experiment 1 and adults with Broca’s aphasia (Experiment 2. Consider as examples: Two mailmen and a fireman got into a fight yesterday afternoon. 1a. Who pushed the fireman yesterday afternoon? – Subject-extracted Who 1b. Who did the fireman push ___ yesterday afternoon? – Object-extracted Who 2a. Which mailman pushed the fireman yesterday afternoon? – Subject-extracted Which 2b. Which mailman did the fireman push ___ yesterday afternoon? – Object-extracted Which There is evidence from the linguistic and psycholinguistic literatures that suggest Which-questions are more difficult to understand than Who/What-questions and within those, that object-extracted are more difficult than subject-extracted. We used a unique eye tracking-while listening method where listeners were presented with sentences like (1 and (2 above while gazing at a three-figure picture (e.g., a picture of a mailman pushing a fireman who is pushing another mailman; we measured gazes to the referents in the pictures across the time-course of the sentences, and also collected accuracy and response time data to answer the questions (by button press. We examined four specific hypotheses: Discourse, Memory Retrieval, Word Order, and Intervener. The Discourse hypothesis suggests that Which-questions should be more difficult to process than Who-questions because the former is required to refer to an individual taken from a set of entities previously mentioned in the discourse (Donkers & Stowe, 2006; Shapiro, 2000. The Memory Retrieval hypothesis makes the opposite claim; Which-questions, unlike Who-questions, contain specific information in the Wh-phrase that should speed memory retrieval (Hofmeister, 2007. The Word Order hypothesis suggests that, regardless of question type (Which or Who, object-extracted questions should be more difficult to understand

  10. The new history of psychology II: Some (different) answers to Watrin's four questions.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Brock, Adrian C

    2017-05-01

    This article is mainly a response to the article by João Paulo Watrin, "The Ambiguous 'New History of Psychology': Some New Questions to Brock (2017)" (Watrin, 2017), which was itself a reply to my article, "The New History of Psychology: Some (Different) Answers to Lovett's Five Questions" (Brock, 2017). Watrin (2017) suggested that previous writers have conflated the terms "critical history" and "new history." They are said to differ, in that although the former is merely a name for a loose collection of approaches to the history of psychology, the latter involves rhetoric about the historiographical commitments of critical history. He also disputed the validity of the distinction between "old" and "new" history. I suggest that he is wrong on all these points. Watrin then poses and answers four rhetorical questions on Whig history, textbooks, critical thinking, and ad hominem arguments, and I provide alternative answers to all of them. After suggesting that our different views can be attributed to different agendas, I conclude with some reflections on how professional historians and psychologists can work together. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2017 APA, all rights reserved).

  11. Questioning the Patient, Questioning Hippocrates: Rufus of Ephesus and the Pursuit of Knowledge.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Letts, Melinda

    2016-01-01

    Rufus of Ephesus' short treatise, Quaestiones Medicinales, the only ancient medical work that takes as its topic the dialogue between doctor and patient, has usually been seen as a procedural practical handbook serving an essentially operational purpose. In this paper I argue that the treatise, with its insistent message that doctors cannot properly understand and treat illnesses unless they supplement their own knowledge by questioning patients, and its remarkable appreciation of the singularity of each patient's experience, shows itself to be no mere handbook but a work addressing the place of questioning in the clinical encounter. I illustrate some of the differences between Rufus' conceptualisation of the relevance and use of questioning and that which can be seen in the theoretical and descriptive writings of Galen and in the Hippocratic corpus, and show how apparent resonances with some of the preoccupations of modern Western healthcare can be used judiciously to elucidate the significance of those differences.

  12. INFECTIVE ENDOCARDITIS: MODERN COURSE

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    T. L. Vinogradova

    2014-07-01

    Full Text Available The paper presents the characteristic features of the modern course of infective endocarditis. Unresolved questions of classification of diseaseand drug therapy are discussed. Clearly defined indications for surgical treatment of endocarditis.

  13. Mutations in ATM, Radiation Exposure and Breast Cancer Risk Among Black and White Women

    National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

    Schubert, Elizabeth

    1998-01-01

    .... An important and unresolved question of breast cancer etiology is whether there are other genes which have a more moderate effect on breast cancer risk, possibly involving more women than do other inherited mutations...

  14. Mutations in ATM, Radiation Exposure and Breast Cancer Risk Among Black and White Women

    National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

    King, Mary

    1997-01-01

    .... An important and unresolved question of breast cancer etiology is whether there are other genes which have a more moderate effect on breast cancer risk, possibly involving more women than do other inherited mutations...

  15. Mutations in ATM, Radiation Exposure and Breast Cancer Risk Among Black and White Women

    National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

    Schubert, Elizabeth

    1999-01-01

    .... An important and unresolved question of breast cancer etiology is whether there are other genes which have a more moderate effect on breast cancer risk, possibly involving more women than do other inherited mutations...

  16. Good questions require good answers. Critics on current climate research contradicted

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Vellinga, P.; Van Dorland, R.; Kabat, P.

    2008-01-01

    In some of the previous issues of this magazine (Spil 2007, issue 4 and 5-6, and Spil 2008, issue 1) the authors Labohm, Roersch and Thoenes started a frontal attack of the greenhouse theory and the researchers who report on the state of science in the framework of the IPCC. The author of this article addresses two main questions arising from the above-mentioned authors: (1) Does the use of fossil fuels affect global climate?; and (2) Is the warming of the last 30 years related to the increasing concentrations of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere? [mk] [nl

  17. Structured Attentions for Visual Question Answering

    OpenAIRE

    Zhu, Chen; Zhao, Yanpeng; Huang, Shuaiyi; Tu, Kewei; Ma, Yi

    2017-01-01

    Visual attention, which assigns weights to image regions according to their relevance to a question, is considered as an indispensable part by most Visual Question Answering models. Although the questions may involve complex relations among multiple regions, few attention models can effectively encode such cross-region relations. In this paper, we demonstrate the importance of encoding such relations by showing the limited effective receptive field of ResNet on two datasets, and propose to mo...

  18. A Technique Socratic Questioning-Guided Discovery

    OpenAIRE

    M. Hakan Türkçapar; A. Emre Sargýn

    2012-01-01

    “Socratic Method” is a way of teaching philosophical thinking and knowledge by asking questions which was used by antique period greek philosopher Socrates. Socrates was teaching knowledge to his followers by asking questions and the conversation between them was named “Socratic Dialogues”. In this meaning, no novel knowledge is taught to the individual but only what is formerly known is reminded and rediscovered. The form of socratic questioning which is used during t...

  19. Traveling questions

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Hoeyer, Klaus

    2016-01-01

    In this paper, I argue that uncertainty and nonknowledge, and not just research results, can be important vehicles of translation through which genetic research participation comes to affect the lives of research participants. Based on interviews with participants in a genetic research project, I....... Research questions, and not just results, may serve as a generative form of knowledge that can travel as fast as any answer....

  20. Cosmetic Procedure Questions

    Science.gov (United States)

    ... for Every Season How to Choose the Best Skin Care Products In This Section Dermatologic Surgery What is dermatologic ... for Every Season How to Choose the Best Skin Care Products Cosmetic Procedure Questions Want to look younger? Start ...

  1. QUESTION ANSWERING SYSTEM DAN PENERAPANNYA PADA ALKITAB

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Gunawan Gunawan

    2006-01-01

    Full Text Available Question answering system is a system that allows user to state his or her information need in the form of natural language question, and return short text excerpts or even phrases as an answer. The availability of a wide and various information source and improvements in the techniques of natural language processing, information extraction (wrapper, and information retrieval give a big effect on the development of question answering system, from just answering questions in a specific domain by consulting to structured information source such as database, and like in this research, answering any questions based on information stored in an unstructured text collection. A general architecture of question answering system based on text consists of six processing stages, i.e. question analysis, document collection preprocessing, candidate document selection, candidate document analysis, answer extraction, and response generation. Application of question answering system like AnswerBus, Mulder, and Webclopedia that are developed with its own characteristics has similar processing steps as in the general architecture. Answers returned by a question answering system need to be evaluated for performance measure. This research completed with a simple question answering system application using english Bible in World English Bible (WEB version as the source of information to answer some questions. Because specific domain is selected: Bible, questions that can be posed by user could ask about information in the Bible itself only. Question is also limited to three types of answers that can be supported by the application: person (who, location (where, and date (when. Abstract in Bahasa Indonesia : Question answering system (QA system adalah sistem yang mengijinkan user menyatakan kebutuhan informasinya dalam bentuk natural language question (pertanyaan dalam bahasa alami, dan mengembalikan kutipan teks singkat atau bahkan frase sebagai jawaban. Ketersediaan

  2. Orthostatic Tremor and Orthostatic Myoclonus: Weight-bearing Hyperkinetic Disorders: A Systematic Review, New Insights, and Unresolved Questions

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Anhar Hassan

    2016-11-01

    Full Text Available Background: Orthostatic tremor (OT and orthostatic myoclonus (OM are weight-bearing hyperkinetic movement disorders most commonly affecting older people that induce “shaky legs” upon standing. OT is divided into “classical” and “slow” forms based on tremor frequency. In this paper, the first joint review of OT and OM, we review the literature and compare and contrast their demographic, clinical, electrophysiological, neuroimaging, pathophysiological, and treatment characteristics. Methods: A PubMed search up to July 2016 using the phrases “orthostatic tremor,” “orthostatic myoclonus,” “shaky legs,” and “shaky legs syndrome” was performed. Results: OT and OM should be suspected in older patients reporting unsteadiness with prolonged standing and/or who exhibit cautious, wide-based gaits. Surface electromyography (SEMG is necessary to verify the diagnoses. Functional neuroimaging and electrophysiology suggest the generator of classical OT lies within the cerebellothalamocortical network. For OM, and possibly slow OT, the frontal, subcortical cerebrum is the most likely origin. Clonazepam is the most useful medication for classical OT, and levetiracetam for OM, although results are often disappointing. Deep brain stimulation appears promising for classical OT. Rolling walkers reliably improve gait affected by these disorders, as both OT and OM attenuate when weight is transferred from the legs to the arms. Discussion: Orthostatic hyperkinesias are likely underdiagnosed, as SEMG is often unavailable in clinical practice, and thus may be more frequent than currently recognized. The shared weight-bearing induction of OT and OM may indicate a common pathophysiology. Further research, including use of animal models, is necessary to better define the prevalence and pathophysiology of OT and OM, in order to improve their treatment, and provide additional insights into basic balance and gait mechanisms.

  3. Association between framing of the research question using the PICOT format and reporting quality of randomized controlled trials

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Thabane Lehana

    2010-02-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Experts recommend formulating a structured research question to guide the research design. However, the basis for this recommendation has not been formally evaluated. The aim of this study was to examine if a structured research question using the PICOT (Population, Intervention, Comparator, Outcome, Time-frame format is associated with a better reporting quality of randomized controlled trials (RCTs. Methods We evaluated 89 RCTs reports published in three endocrinology journals in 2005 and 2006, the quality of reporting of which was assessed in a previous study. We examined whether the reports stated each of the five elements of a structured research question: population, intervention, comparator, outcome and time-frame. A PICOT score was created with a possible score between 0 and 5. Outcomes were: 1 a 14-point overall reporting quality score (OQS based on the Consolidated Standards for Reporting Trials; and 2 a 3-point key score (KS, based on allocation concealment, blinding and use of intention-to-treat analysis. We conducted multivariable regression analyses using generalized estimating equations to determine if a higher PICOT score or the use of a structured research question were independently associated with a better reporting quality. Journal of publication, funding source and sample size were identified as factors associated with OQS in our previous report on this dataset, and therefore included in the model. Results A higher PICOT score was independently associated with OQS (incidence rate ratio (IRR = 1.021, 95% CI: 1.012 to 1.029 and KS (IRR = 1.142, 95% CI: 1.079 to 1.210. A structured research question was present in 33.7% of the reports and it was associated with a better OQS (IRR = 1.095, 95% CI 1.059-1.132 and KS (IRR = 1.530, 95% CI 1.311-1.786. Conclusions Better framing of the research question using the PICOT format is independently associated with better overall reporting quality - although the effect

  4. Frequently Asked Questions about Bunion Surgery

    Science.gov (United States)

    ... A | Print | Share Frequently Asked Questions About Bunion Surgery Here are some frequently asked questions (FAQs) and ... best for you. 5. How can I avoid surgery? Sometimes observation of the bunion is all that ...

  5. Impact of Students’ Class Attendance on Recalling Previously Acquired Information

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Camellia Hemyari

    2018-03-01

    Full Text Available Background: In recent years, availability of class material including typed lectures, the professor’s Power Point slides, sound recordings, and even videos made a group of students feel that it is unnecessary to attend the classes. These students usually read and memorize typed lectures within two or three days prior to the exams and usually pass the tests even with low attendance rate. Thus, the question is how effective is this learning system and how long the one-night memorized lessons may last.Methods: A group of medical students (62 out of 106 students, with their class attendance and educational achievements in the Medical Mycology and Parasitology course being recorded since two years ago, was selected and their knowledge about this course was tested by multiple choice questions (MCQ designed based on the previous lectures.Results: Although the mean re-exam score of the students at the end of the externship was lower than the corresponding final score, a significant association was found between the scores of the students in these two exams (r=0.48, P=0.01. Moreover, a significant negative association was predicted between the number of absences and re-exam scores (r=-0.26, P=0.037.Conclusion: As our findings show, the phenomenon of recalling the acquired lessons is preserved for a long period of time and it is associated with the students’ attendance. Many factors including generation effect (by taking notes and cued-recall (via slide picture might play a significant role in the better recalling of the learned information in students with good class attendance.Keywords: STUDENT, MEMORY, LONG-TERM, RECALL, ABSENTEEISM, LEARNING

  6. Finding Question-Answer Pairs from Online Forums

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Cong, Gao; Wang, Long; Lin, Chin-Yew

    2008-01-01

    Online forums contain a huge amount of valuable user generated content. In this paper we address the problem of extracting question-answer pairs from forums. Question-answer pairs extracted from forums can be used to help Question Answering services (e.g. Yahoo! Answers) among other applications...

  7. How to…write a good research question

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Mattick, Karen; Johnston, Jenny; de la Croix, Anne

    This paper, on writing research questions, is the first in a series that aims to support novice researchers within clinical education, particularly those undertaking their first qualitative study. Put simply, a research question is a question that a research project sets out to answer. Most research

  8. The Socratic Method and Levels of Questioning.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Watson, Karilee

    1980-01-01

    Determines if instruction in the Socratic method would increase higher level questioning during peer teaching experiences in teacher education programs. Raters, using the higher order questioning strategy, evaluated 14 students. A significant increase in higher level questions being asked suggests the Socratic Method may be useful. (Author)

  9. Question Answering for Dutch : Simple does it

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Hoekstra, A.H.; Hiemstra, Djoerd; van der Vet, P.E.; Huibers, Theo W.C.; Schobbens, Pierre-Yves; Vanhoof, Wim; Schwanen, Gabriel

    2006-01-01

    When people pose questions in natural language to search for information on the web, the role of question answering (QA) systems becomes important. In this paper the QAsystem simpleQA, capable of answering Dutch questions on which the answer is a person or a location, is described. The system's

  10. A framework for laboratory pre-work based on the concepts, tools and techniques questioning method

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Huntula, J; Sharma, M D; Johnston, I; Chitaree, R

    2011-01-01

    Learning in the laboratory is different from learning in other contexts because students have to engage with various aspects of the practice of science. They have to use many skills and knowledge in parallel-not only to understand the concepts of physics but also to use the tools and analyse the data. The question arises, how to best guide students' learning in the laboratory. This study is about creating and using questions with a specifically designed framework to aid learning in the laboratory. The concepts, tools and techniques questioning (CTTQ) method was initially designed and used at Mahidol University, Thailand, and was subsequently extended to laboratory pre-work at the University of Sydney. The CTTQ method was implemented in Sydney with 190 first-year students. Three pre-work exercises on a series of electrical experiments were created based on the CTTQ method. The pre-works were completed individually and submitted before the experiment started. Analysed pre-work, surveys and interviews were used to evaluate the pre-work questions in this study. The results indicated that the CTTQ method was successful and the flow in the experiments was better than that in the previous year. At the same time students had difficulty with the last experiment in the sequence and with techniques.

  11. Physician Perspectives on Unresolved Issues in the Management of Ulcerative Colitis: The UC Horizons Project.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gisbert, Javier P; Barreiro-de Acosta, Manuel; Esteve, María; García-Sánchez, Valle; Gomollón, Fernando; Guardiola, Jordi; Hinojosa, Joaquin; Martín Arranz, Maria-Dolores; Minguez, Miguel; Taxonera, Carlos; Vera, Isabel

    2016-03-01

    There is still uncertainty about what constitutes the best therapeutic practice in ulcerative colitis (UC). The purpose of the "UC Horizons Project" was to raise a series of questions regarding the management of UC to provide responses based on the best scientific evidence available. The 11 members of the scientific committee prepared draft answers to the 10 questions from available evidence after a literature search. A total of 48 Spanish gastroenterology specialists nationwide participated in the project. The national meeting discussed the 10 issues in working groups and reached consensus regarding the recommendations by anonymous, interactive vote following the Delphi methodology. Final answers were developed, based on evidence and clinical experience of the participants. All the recommendations achieved a high level of agreement in the plenary vote, although the quality of the evidence was markedly heterogeneous. The lowest percentage of agreement corresponded to the questions with the weakest level of evidence, highlighting the necessity of conducting further studies in these areas. The recommendations focused on (1) aminosalicylates therapy (regarding dose and appropriateness of coadministration with thiopurines), (2) corticosteroid therapy (regarding dose and route of administration), (3) thiopurine treatment (regarding indications and possibility of withdrawal), (4) anti-tumor necrosis factor therapy (regarding appropriateness of combination with thiopurines, intensification, or discontinuation of treatment), and (5) colorectal cancer (regarding risk and time trends). The UC Horizons Project raised a series of eminently practical questions about the management of UC and provided responses based on the best scientific evidence available.

  12. "I didn't write the questions!" - Negotiating telephone-survey questions on birth timing

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Marian May

    2008-06-01

    Full Text Available This paper examines interviewer-respondent interaction in the collection of demographic data. Conversation analysis (CA makes transparent the interaction between an interviewer and 25 respondents on a question about pregnancy and birth timing in an Australian telephone survey, Negotiating the Life Course. The analysis focuses on the troubles that occur and the work interviewers do to fit respondents' answers to the survey researcher's categories. Interviewers are shown to act as mediators in difficult interaction, with responses often distorted by question format, the imperative of achieving an allowed response, and the need to keep the respondent in the survey.

  13. Interactions of relativistic heavy ions in thick heavy element targets and some unresolved problems

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Brandt, R.; Ditlov, V.A.; Pozharova, E.A.; Smirnitskij, V.A.

    2005-01-01

    Interactions of relativistic heavy ions with total energies above 30 GeV in thick Cu and Pb targets (≥2 cm) have been studied with various techniques. Radiochemical irradiation experiments using thick Cu targets, both in a compact form or as diluted '2π-Cu targets' have been carried out with several relativistic heavy ions, such as 44 GeV 12 C (JINR, Dubna) and 72 GeV 40 Ar (LBL, Berkeley, USA). Neutron measuring experiments using thick targets irradiated with various relativistic heavy ions up to 44 GeV 12 C have been performed at JINR. In addition, the number of 'black prongs' in nuclear interactions (due to protons with energies less than 30 MeV and emitted from the target-like interaction partner at rest) produced with 72 GeV 22 Ne ions in nuclear emulsion plates has been measured in the first nuclear interaction of the primary 22 Ne ion and in the following second nuclear interaction of the secondary heavy (Z>1) ion. Some essential results have been obtained. 1) Spallation products produced by relativistic secondary fragments in interactions ([44 GeV 12 C or 72 GeV 40 Ar]+Cu) within thick copper yield less products close to the target and much more products far away from the target as compared to primary beam interactions. This applies also to secondary particles emitted into large angles (Θ>10deg). 2) The neutron production of 44 GeV 12 C within thick Cu and Pb targets is beyond the estimated yield as based on experiments with 12 GeV 12 C. These rather independent experimental results cannot be understood with well-accepted nuclear reaction models. They appear to present unresolved problems

  14. Radiography and scanner: let us ask the right questions

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    2012-07-01

    By answering simple questions, this document proposes a brief overview of radiographic and scanner-based examinations. It recalls that these both techniques use X rays, the cumulative dose of which could slightly increase a risk of cancer on a long term. It outlines that the benefits of these examinations are much more important that the related risks. It indicates the received dose (compared to a daily natural irradiation) for different kinds of examination and for different parts of the human body. It outlines the sensitivity of children to X rays, gives some recommendations regarding these examinations (they are not automatic; the doctor must explain why he chooses them, previous examinations and photos must be kept and brought with; the received dose must be specified in the examination report)

  15. Do emotional intelligence and previous caring experience influence student nurse performance? A comparative analysis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Stenhouse, Rosie; Snowden, Austyn; Young, Jenny; Carver, Fiona; Carver, Hannah; Brown, Norrie

    2016-08-01

    Reports of poor nursing care have focused attention on values based selection of candidates onto nursing programmes. Values based selection lacks clarity and valid measures. Previous caring experience might lead to better care. Emotional intelligence (EI) might be associated with performance, is conceptualised and measurable. To examine the impact of 1) previous caring experience, 2) emotional intelligence 3) social connection scores on performance and retention in a cohort of first year nursing and midwifery students in Scotland. A longitudinal, quasi experimental design. Adult and mental health nursing, and midwifery programmes in a Scottish University. Adult, mental health and midwifery students (n=598) completed the Trait Emotional Intelligence Questionnaire-short form and Schutte's Emotional Intelligence Scale on entry to their programmes at a Scottish University, alongside demographic and previous caring experience data. Social connection was calculated from a subset of questions identified within the TEIQue-SF in a prior factor and Rasch analysis. Student performance was calculated as the mean mark across the year. Withdrawal data were gathered. 598 students completed baseline measures. 315 students declared previous caring experience, 277 not. An independent-samples t-test identified that those without previous caring experience scored higher on performance (57.33±11.38) than those with previous caring experience (54.87±11.19), a statistically significant difference of 2.47 (95% CI, 0.54 to 4.38), t(533)=2.52, p=.012. Emotional intelligence scores were not associated with performance. Social connection scores for those withdrawing (mean rank=249) and those remaining (mean rank=304.75) were statistically significantly different, U=15,300, z=-2.61, p$_amp_$lt;0.009. Previous caring experience led to worse performance in this cohort. Emotional intelligence was not a useful indicator of performance. Lower scores on the social connection factor were associated

  16. Designing effective questions for classroom response system teaching

    Science.gov (United States)

    Beatty, Ian D.; Gerace, William J.; Leonard, William J.; Dufresne, Robert J.

    2006-01-01

    Classroom response systems can be powerful tools for teaching physics. Their efficacy depends strongly on the quality of the questions. Creating effective questions is difficult and differs from creating exam and homework problems. Each classroom response system question should have an explicit pedagogic purpose consisting of a content goal, a process goal, and a metacognitive goal. Questions can be designed to fulfill their purpose through four complementary mechanisms: directing students' attention, stimulating specific cognitive processes, communicating information to the instructor and students via classroom response system-tabulated answer counts, and facilitating the articulation and confrontation of ideas. We identify several tactics that are useful for designing potent questions and present four "makeovers" to show how these tactics can be used to convert traditional physics questions into more powerful questions for a classroom response system.

  17. 30 CFR 250.1200 - Question index table.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-07-01

    ... 30 Mineral Resources 2 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false Question index table. 250.1200 Section 250.1200 Mineral Resources MINERALS MANAGEMENT SERVICE, DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR OFFSHORE OIL AND GAS AND SULPHUR... Security § 250.1200 Question index table. The table in this section lists questions concerning Oil and Gas...

  18. Questions and dependency in intuitionistic logic

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Ciardelli, Ivano; Iemhoff, Rosalie; Yang, Fan

    2017-01-01

    In recent years, the logic of questions and dependencies has been investigated in the closely related frameworks of inquisitive logic and dependence logic. These investigations have assumed classical logic as the background logic of statements, and added formulas expressing questions and

  19. Questions and Answers About Nuclear Power Plants.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Environmental Protection Agency, Washington, DC.

    This pamphlet is designed to answer many of the questions that have arisen about nuclear power plants and the environment. It is organized into a question and answer format, with the questions taken from those most often asked by the public. Topics include regulation of nuclear power sources, potential dangers to people's health, whether nuclear…

  20. The Relationship between Feelings-of-Knowing and Partial Knowledge for General Knowledge Questions.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Norman, Elisabeth; Blakstad, Oskar; Johnsen, Øivind; Martinsen, Stig K; Price, Mark C

    2016-01-01

    Feelings of knowing (FoK) are introspective self-report ratings of the felt likelihood that one will be able to recognize a currently unrecallable memory target. Previous studies have shown that FoKs are influenced by retrieved fragment knowledge related to the target, which is compatible with the accessibility hypothesis that FoK is partly based on currently activated partial knowledge about the memory target. However, previous results have been inconsistent as to whether or not FoKs are influenced by the accuracy of such information. In our study (N = 26), we used a recall-judge-recognize procedure where stimuli were general knowledge questions. The measure of partial knowledge was wider than those applied previously, and FoK was measured before rather than after partial knowledge. The accuracy of reported partial knowledge was positively related to subsequent recognition accuracy, and FoK only predicted recognition on trials where there was correct partial knowledge. Importantly, FoK was positively related to the amount of correct partial knowledge, but did not show a similar incremental relation with incorrect knowledge.

  1. US fertility prevention as poverty prevention: an empirical question and social justice issue.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Romero, Diana; Agénor, Madina

    2009-01-01

    This paper examines the impact of the US welfare reform family-cap policy on the childbearing decisions of poor and low-income women by posing two complementary questions, both placed within a broader historical context. Specifically, it raises an empirical question pertaining to the family cap's effectiveness and a social justice question pertaining to the policy's ethical and legal justification in terms of human and reproductive rights. To address the first question, a thorough review of past and current research pertaining to the family cap at both the state and national levels is provided. The second question is addressed with an overview of international human and reproductive rights documents of relevance to the family-cap policy, as well as an analysis of the covenants' numerous components with which the family cap is in conflict. Finally, this paper situates the family cap in its historical context by investigating previous governmental attempts to control and regulate the reproductive health and rights of poor women and women of color in the United States. The majority of empirical analyses of the family cap have found that the policy has not had an impact on poor women's reproductive health behaviors. In addition, the exclusive application of this policy to poor women receiving cash assistance is demonstrated to be in violation of eight international human and reproductive rights documents, several of which the US is a signatory. These two findings make a strong case that policy makers and social and health researchers alike critically reexamine whether a policy that has not achieved its ostensible goal and is applied in a disparate manner-primarily to poor women and families and women of color-should continue to be implemented by the states.

  2. Epigenetic Editing: targeted rewriting of epigenetic marks to modulate expression of selected target genes.

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    de Groote, M.L.; Verschure, P.J.; Rots, M.G.

    2012-01-01

    Despite significant advances made in epigenetic research in recent decades, many questions remain unresolved, especially concerning cause and consequence of epigenetic marks with respect to gene expression modulation (GEM). Technologies allowing the targeting of epigenetic enzymes to predetermined

  3. Epigenetic Editing : targeted rewriting of epigenetic marks to modulate expression of selected target genes

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    de Groote, Marloes L.; Verschure, Pernette J.; Rots, Marianne G.

    2012-01-01

    Despite significant advances made in epigenetic research in recent decades, many questions remain unresolved, especially concerning cause and consequence of epigenetic marks with respect to gene expression modulation (GEM). Technologies allowing the targeting of epigenetic enzymes to predetermined

  4. Cash transfers for HIV prevention: considering their potential.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Heise, Lori; Lutz, Brian; Ranganathan, Meghna; Watts, Charlotte

    2013-08-23

    Cash payments to vulnerable households and/or individuals have increasingly garnered attention as a means to reduce poverty, improve health and achieve other development-related outcomes. Recent evidence from Malawi and Tanzania suggests that cash transfers can impact HIV-related behaviours and outcomes and, therefore, could serve as an important addition to HIV prevention efforts. This article reviews the current evidence on cash transfers for HIV prevention and suggests unresolved questions for further research. Gaps include (1) understanding more about the mechanisms and pathways through which cash transfers affect HIV-related outcomes; (2) addressing key operational questions, including the potential feasibility and the costs and benefits of different models of transfers and conditionality; and (3) evaluating and enhancing the wider impacts of cash transfers on health and development. Ongoing and future studies should build on current findings to unpack unresolved questions and to collect additional evidence on the multiple impacts of transfers in different settings. Furthermore, in order to address questions on sustainability, cash transfer programmes need to be integrated with other sectors and programmes that address structural factors such as education and programming to promote gender equality and address HIV.

  5. How do 5-year-olds understand questions?

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Sauerland, Uli; Grohmann, Kleanthes; Teresa Guasti, Maria

    2016-01-01

    developing children across 19 European countries, 18 different languages, and 7 language (sub-)families. The study investigated the effects of two factors on question formation: (a) whether the question contains a simple interrogative word like ‘who’ or a complex one like ‘which princess’, and (b) whether......The comprehension of constituent questions is an important topic for language acquisition research and for applications in the diagnosis of language impairment. This article presents the results of a study investigating the comprehension of different types of questions by 5-year-old, typically...... the question word was related to the sentential subject or object position of the verb. The findings show that there is considerable variation among languages, but the two factors mentioned consistently affect children’s performance. The cross-linguistic variation shows that three linguistic factors facilitate...

  6. Environmental Ethics: Questions for Adult Education.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Parker, Jenneth

    1993-01-01

    Presents a series of questions through which adult educators can explore controversial questions of environmental values and moral behavior in their programs. The subjects include geography, local history, natural history, economics, politics, business, labor education, world affairs, literature, women's studies, psychology, and courses for the…

  7. From Question Answering to Visual Exploration

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    McColgin, Dave W.; Gregory, Michelle L.; Hetzler, Elizabeth G.; Turner, Alan E.

    2006-08-11

    Research in Question Answering has focused on the quality of information retrieval or extraction using the metrics of precision and recall to judge success; these metrics drive toward finding the specific best answer(s) and are best supportive of a lookup type of search. These do not address the opportunity that users? natural language questions present for exploratory interactions. In this paper, we present an integrated Question Answering environment that combines a visual analytics tool for unstructured text and a state-of-the-art query expansion tool designed to compliment the cognitive processes associated with an information analysts work flow. Analysts are seldom looking for factoid answers to simple questions; their information needs are much more complex in that they may be interested in patterns of answers over time, conflicting information, and even related non-answer data may be critical to learning about a problem or reaching prudent conclusions. In our visual analytics tool, questions result in a comprehensive answer space that allows users to explore the variety within the answers and spot related information in the rest of the data. The exploratory nature of the dialog between the user and this system requires tailored evaluation methods that better address the evolving user goals and counter cognitive biases inherent to exploratory search tasks.

  8. Cochrane Qualitative and Implementation Methods Group guidance series-paper 2: methods for question formulation, searching, and protocol development for qualitative evidence synthesis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Harris, Janet L; Booth, Andrew; Cargo, Margaret; Hannes, Karin; Harden, Angela; Flemming, Kate; Garside, Ruth; Pantoja, Tomas; Thomas, James; Noyes, Jane

    2018-05-01

    This paper updates previous Cochrane guidance on question formulation, searching, and protocol development, reflecting recent developments in methods for conducting qualitative evidence syntheses to inform Cochrane intervention reviews. Examples are used to illustrate how decisions about boundaries for a review are formed via an iterative process of constructing lines of inquiry and mapping the available information to ascertain whether evidence exists to answer questions related to effectiveness, implementation, feasibility, appropriateness, economic evidence, and equity. The process of question formulation allows reviewers to situate the topic in relation to how it informs and explains effectiveness, using the criterion of meaningfulness, appropriateness, feasibility, and implementation. Questions related to complex questions and interventions can be structured by drawing on an increasingly wide range of question frameworks. Logic models and theoretical frameworks are useful tools for conceptually mapping the literature to illustrate the complexity of the phenomenon of interest. Furthermore, protocol development may require iterative question formulation and searching. Consequently, the final protocol may function as a guide rather than a prescriptive route map, particularly in qualitative reviews that ask more exploratory and open-ended questions. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  9. 'Any questions?'--Clinicians' usage of invitations to ask questions (IAQs) in outpatient plastic surgery consultations.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bristowe, Katherine; Patrick, Peter L

    2014-12-01

    To explore use of 'Invitations to Ask Questions' (IAQs) by plastic surgeons in outpatient consultations, and consider how type of IAQ impacts on patients' responses to, and recollection of, IAQs. Descriptive study: 63 patients were audio recorded in consultation with 5 plastic surgeons, and completed a brief questionnaire immediately after the consultation. Consultation transcripts were analyzed using inductive qualitative methods of Discourse Analysis and compared with questionnaire findings. A taxonomy of IAQs was developed, including three types of IAQ (Overt, Covert, and Borderline). Overt IAQs were rarely identified, and almost all IAQs occurred in the closing stages of the consultation. However, when an overt IAQ was used, patients always recollected being asked if they had any questions after the consultation. Patients are rarely explicitly offered the opportunity to ask questions. When this does occur, it is often in the closing stages of the consultation. Clinicians should openly encourage patients to ask questions frequently throughout the consultation, and be mindful that subtle differences in construction of these utterances may impact upon interpretation. Clear communication, of message and intention, is essential in clinical encounters to minimize misunderstanding, misinterpretation, or missed opportunities for patients to raise concerns. Copyright © 2014. Published by Elsevier Ireland Ltd.

  10. Probability of climatic change. Identification of key questions

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Fransen, W.

    1995-01-01

    Addressing the question what the probability is of an anthropogenically induced change in the climate, leads to a number of other, underlying questions. These questions, which deal with the characteristics of climate, of climatic change, and of probabilistic statements on climatic change, should be addressed first. The long-term objective of the underlying study, i.e. a quantitative assessment of the risks and opportunities of the predicted climatic change, sets the context against which of those questions should be answered. In addition, this context induces extra questions, i.e. about the characteristics of risk

  11. Question-answer sequences in survey interviews

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Dijkstra, W.; Ongena, Y.P.

    2006-01-01

    Interaction analysis was used to analyze a total of 14,265 question-answer sequences of (Q-A Sequences) 80 questions that originated from two face-to-face and three telephone surveys. The analysis was directed towards the causes and effects of particular interactional problems. Our results showed

  12. HEART TRANSPLANTATION IN PATIENTS WITH PREVIOUS OPEN HEART SURGERY

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    R. Sh. Saitgareev

    2016-01-01

    cited in the review may have important clinical applications, because they outline the range of problems and possible solutions in the performance of the HTx in recipients previously operated on open heart. This knowledge can facilitate the decision making process with regard to the opportunities and risks of the implementation of HTx. Given the uniqueness of each of the recipient and the donor, it is required to make a personalized approach to the question of the possible risks and to the preventive measures to reduce those risks in any given clinical situation. 

  13. Question Word in the Mandarin Language

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Xu Yunyu

    2016-12-01

    Full Text Available In an interrogative sentence in Mandarin language, a question word can be placed in the beginning, middle or end of a sentence. Because of the different nation and culture, when a foreign student learns Mandarin, they find it difficult to understand the question words and the position of the question words in that language. Because of that, the writer proposes to explain such problems. This research aims to find out what are the types of question words in Mandarin, and also to explain the function and usage of question words in the Mandarin interrogative sentence. An interrogative sentence is a very important sentence. In Mandarin, the following question words: 谁(shuí “Who”,在哪里(zài nǎli “where”, 在哪儿(zài nǎ’er “where”,为什么(wèi shénme “why”, 怎么(zěnme “why”,多少(duō shǎo) “how many”,多久(duō jiǔ “how long”,什么时候 (shénme shíhòu “when”,什么(shénme “what”,做什么(zuò shénme “why”,干 什么(gàn shénme “why”,干嘛(gànma “why” and so on are used to ask “who”, “where”, “what”, “how much”, “when”, “what time”, and “why”. Those words have different functions and usage. Each sentence has a certain structure and word order. A question word can be placed in the beginning, middle, or end of a sentence. When the place is changed, there is a possibility of miscommunication.   DOI: https://doi.org/10.24071/llt.2013.160106

  14. URR [Unresolved Resonance Region] computer code: A code to calculate resonance neutron cross-section probability tables, Bondarenko self-shielding factors, and self-indication ratios for fissile and fertile nuclides

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Leal, L.C.; de Saussure, G.; Perez, R.B.

    1990-01-01

    The URR computer code has been developed to calculate cross-section probability tables, Bondarenko self-shielding factors, and self-indication ratios for fertile and fissile isotopes in the unresolved resonance region. Monte Carlo methods are utilized to select appropriate resonance parameters and to compute the cross sections at the desired reference energy. The neutron cross sections are calculated by the single-level Breit-Wigner formalism with s-, p-, and d-wave contributions. The cross-section probability tables are constructed by sampling by Doppler broadened cross-sections. The various self-shielding factors are computer numerically as Lebesgue integrals over the cross-section probability tables

  15. Laparoscopy After Previous Laparotomy

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Zulfo Godinjak

    2006-11-01

    Full Text Available Following the abdominal surgery, extensive adhesions often occur and they can cause difficulties during laparoscopic operations. However, previous laparotomy is not considered to be a contraindication for laparoscopy. The aim of this study is to present that an insertion of Veres needle in the region of umbilicus is a safe method for creating a pneumoperitoneum for laparoscopic operations after previous laparotomy. In the last three years, we have performed 144 laparoscopic operations in patients that previously underwent one or two laparotomies. Pathology of digestive system, genital organs, Cesarean Section or abdominal war injuries were the most common causes of previouslaparotomy. During those operations or during entering into abdominal cavity we have not experienced any complications, while in 7 patients we performed conversion to laparotomy following the diagnostic laparoscopy. In all patients an insertion of Veres needle and trocar insertion in the umbilical region was performed, namely a technique of closed laparoscopy. Not even in one patient adhesions in the region of umbilicus were found, and no abdominal organs were injured.

  16. Evaluation of Station Blackout accidents at nuclear power plants. Technical findings related to Unresolved Safety Issue A-44. Draft report for comment

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Baranowsky, P.W.

    1985-05-01

    ''Station Blackout,'' which is the complete loss of alternating current (ac) electrical power in a nuclear power plant, has been designated as Unresolved Safety Issue A-44. Because many safety systems required for reactor core decay heat removal and containment heat removal depend on ac power, the consequences of a station blackout could be severe. This report documents the findings of technical studies performed as part of the program to resolve this issue. The important factors analyzed include: the frequency of loss of offsite power; the probability that emergency or onsite ac power supplies would be unavailable; the capability and reliability of decay heat removal systems independent of ac power; and the likelihood that offsite power would be restored before systems that cannot operate for extended periods without ac power fail, thus resulting in core damage. This report also addresses effects of different designs, locations, and operational features on the estimated frequency of core damage resulting from station blackout events

  17. Academic Oversight: Asking Questions, Building Bridges

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wilson, E. B.

    2011-01-01

    The best way for trustees to fully understand and fulfill their responsibility to ensure that their institution is providing quality education and meeting academic goals is by asking appropriate questions. Collaboration among trustees, faculty members, and administrators is essential to framing questions from a strategic perspective. Just the act…

  18. 37 CFR 354.2 - Novel questions.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-07-01

    ... of law, referral to the Register of Copyrights by the Copyright Royalty Judges is mandatory. A “novel... discretionary referral of material questions of copyright law to the Register of Copyrights by the Copyright... Copyrights in resolving material questions of substantive law is binding upon the Copyright Royalty Judges...

  19. Heterologous embryo transfer: Magisterial answers and metaphysical questions.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Accad, Michel

    2014-02-01

    The debate regarding the morality of heterologous embryo transfer (HET) as a solution for the fate of cryopreserved embryos remains active. This paper endeavors to show that the magisterial instructions on bioethical issues can only lead to the conclusion that HET is always morally illicit. I begin by showing that the text of Dignitas personae recognizes HET as a procedure accomplishing a procreative function, and I indicate that it is through gestation that this procreative function occurs. I further show that the previous Instruction, Donum vitae, implicitly points to an ontological or spiritual consideration at play during gestation. This consideration is likely related to the procreative function identified in Dignitas personae. Finally, I place these two textual arguments in the context of the debate concerning HET and conclude that metaphysical questions must be clarified in order for the immorality of HET to be understood from a suitable anthropological perspective and gain more widespread acceptance.

  20. Robustness Analysis of Visual QA Models by Basic Questions

    KAUST Repository

    Huang, Jia-Hong

    2017-09-14

    Visual Question Answering (VQA) models should have both high robustness and accuracy. Unfortunately, most of the current VQA research only focuses on accuracy because there is a lack of proper methods to measure the robustness of VQA models. There are two main modules in our algorithm. Given a natural language question about an image, the first module takes the question as input and then outputs the ranked basic questions, with similarity scores, of the main given question. The second module takes the main question, image and these basic questions as input and then outputs the text-based answer of the main question about the given image. We claim that a robust VQA model is one, whose performance is not changed much when related basic questions as also made available to it as input. We formulate the basic questions generation problem as a LASSO optimization, and also propose a large scale Basic Question Dataset (BQD) and Rscore (novel robustness measure), for analyzing the robustness of VQA models. We hope our BQD will be used as a benchmark for to evaluate the robustness of VQA models, so as to help the community build more robust and accurate VQA models.

  1. Robustness Analysis of Visual QA Models by Basic Questions

    KAUST Repository

    Huang, Jia-Hong; Alfadly, Modar; Ghanem, Bernard

    2017-01-01

    Visual Question Answering (VQA) models should have both high robustness and accuracy. Unfortunately, most of the current VQA research only focuses on accuracy because there is a lack of proper methods to measure the robustness of VQA models. There are two main modules in our algorithm. Given a natural language question about an image, the first module takes the question as input and then outputs the ranked basic questions, with similarity scores, of the main given question. The second module takes the main question, image and these basic questions as input and then outputs the text-based answer of the main question about the given image. We claim that a robust VQA model is one, whose performance is not changed much when related basic questions as also made available to it as input. We formulate the basic questions generation problem as a LASSO optimization, and also propose a large scale Basic Question Dataset (BQD) and Rscore (novel robustness measure), for analyzing the robustness of VQA models. We hope our BQD will be used as a benchmark for to evaluate the robustness of VQA models, so as to help the community build more robust and accurate VQA models.

  2. "Wh"-Questions in the English Language

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mowarin, Macaulay

    2011-01-01

    This paper analyzes "wh"-questions in the English Language based mainly on Chomsky's Minimalist Programme of transformational grammar as the theoretical model. The four main objectives of this paper are as follows: first, it undertakes a cross linguistic typological analysis of "wh"-questions and it then discusses the derivation of…

  3. I’ll Never Forgive You: High Conflict Divorce, Social Network, and Co-Parenting Conflicts

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Visser, M.M.; Finkenauer, Catrin; Schoemaker, Kim S.; Kluwer, Esther S.; van der Rijken, Rachel; van Lawick, Justine; Bom, Hans; de Schipper, J. Clasien; Lamers, F.

    2017-01-01

    The relation between divorce, co-parenting conflicts, and children’s adjustment problems has been well established. An unresolved question for research and clinical interventions, however, is how conflicts between parents are maintained and/or escalate. This cross-sectional research tested the

  4. I'll never forgive you: High conflict divorce, social network, and co-parenting conflicts

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Visser, M.; Finkenauer, C.; Schoemaker, K.; Kluwer, E.S.; Rijken, R.E.A. van der; Lawick, M.J. van; Bom, H.; Schipper, J.C. de; Lamers, F.

    2017-01-01

    The relation between divorce, co-parenting conflicts, and children's adjustment problems has been well established. An unresolved question for research and clinical interventions, however, is how conflicts between parents are maintained and/or escalate. This cross-sectional research tested the

  5. An international randomized trial comparing four thrombolytic strategies for acute myocardial infarction

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    M.L. Simoons (Maarten); E.J. Topol (Eric); R.M. Califf (Robert); F.J.J. van de Werf (Frans); P.W. Armstrong (Paul); P.E. Aylward (Philip Edmund); G.I. Barbash; E.R. Bates (Eric); A. Betriu; J.H. Chesebro (James); J.J. Col (Jacques); D.P. de Bono (David); J.M. Gore (Joel); A.D. Guerci (Alan); J.R. Hampton (John)

    1993-01-01

    textabstractBACKGROUND: The relative efficacy of streptokinase and tissue plasminogen activator and the roles of intravenous as compared with subcutaneous heparin as adjunctive therapy in acute myocardial infarction are unresolved questions. The current trial was designed to compare new, aggressive

  6. Early Improvement As a Predictor of Later Response to Antipsychotics in Schizophrenia: A Diagnostic Test Review

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Samara, Myrto T.; Leucht, Claudia; Leeflang, Mariska M.; Anghelescu, Ion-George; Chung, Young-Chul; Crespo-Facorro, Benedicto; Elkis, Helio; Hatta, Kotaro; Giegling, Ina; Kane, John M.; Kayo, Monica; Lambert, Martin; Lin, Ching-Hua; Möller, Hans-Jürgen; Pelayo-Terán, José María; Riedel, Michael; Rujescu, Dan; Schimmelmann, Benno G.; Serretti, Alessandro; Correll, Christoph U.; Leucht, Stefan

    2015-01-01

    How long clinicians should wait before considering an antipsychotic ineffective and changing treatment in schizophrenia is an unresolved clinical question. Guidelines differ substantially in this regard. The authors conducted a diagnostic test meta-analysis using mostly individual patient data to

  7. Three Key Questions on Measuring Learning

    Science.gov (United States)

    McTighe, Jay

    2018-01-01

    The author examines three essential questions on educational assessment: What really matters in a contemporary education? How should we assess those things that matter? How might our assessments enhance learning that matters, not just measure it? In answering these question, he argues that schools need a broader collection of measures, with a…

  8. The acquisition of wh-questions in Russian

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Nina Rojina

    2005-02-01

    Full Text Available In this paper, I study the acquisition of wh-questions in Russian by one Russian-speaking child from an early stage of syntactic development. For my analysis, I follow Plunkett (1992:73 in adopting a weak version of the Continuity Hypothesis where all the principles of UG are available from the outset of the acquisition process, but the structure of the functional template must be built up before parameter setting can begin. I adopt this hypothesis due to its compatibility with my finding that in the acquisition of Russian wh-questions, the functional projection CP appears at a later stage of syntactic development than other functional projections. Following Plunkett, I assume that in the beginning, the landing site for the wh-word is [Spec,TP] and later, for the valuation of other features (such as finiteness, the child is forced to acquire another functional projection (CP in order to create a landing site for the wh-word. The analysis shows that the first wh-questions acquired by the child are wh-complement questions. The child starts to produce subject wh-questions when the CP projection is acquired, and by the age of 2;4.14, the child’s structure of wh-questions is close to that of adult speech.

  9. Semi-automated categorization of open-ended questions

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Matthias Schonlau

    2016-08-01

    Full Text Available Text data from open-ended questions in surveys are difficult to analyze and are frequently ignored. Yet open-ended questions are important because they do not constrain respondents’ answer choices. Where open-ended questions are necessary, sometimes multiple human coders hand-code answers into one of several categories. At the same time, computer scientists have made impressive advances in text mining that may allow automation of such coding. Automated algorithms do not achieve an overall accuracy high enough to entirely replace humans. We categorize open-ended questions soliciting narrative responses using text mining for easy-to-categorize answers and humans for the remainder using expected accuracies to guide the choice of the threshold delineating between “easy” and “hard”. Employing multinomial boosting avoids the common practice of converting machine learning “confidence scores” into pseudo-probabilities. This approach is illustrated with examples from open-ended questions related to respondents’ advice to a patient in a hypothetical dilemma, a follow-up probe related to respondents’ perception of disclosure/privacy risk, and from a question on reasons for quitting smoking from a follow-up survey from the Ontario Smoker’s Helpline. Targeting 80% combined accuracy, we found that 54%-80% of the data could be categorized automatically in research surveys.

  10. Total hip arthroplasty after a previous pelvic osteotomy: A systematic review and meta-analysis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shigemura, T; Yamamoto, Y; Murata, Y; Sato, T; Tsuchiya, R; Wada, Y

    2018-06-01

    There are several reports regarding total hip arthroplasty (THA) after a previous pelvic osteotomy (PO). However, to our knowledge, until now there has been no formal systematic review and meta-analysis published to summarize the clinical results of THA after a previous PO. Therefore, we conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis of results of THA after a previous PO. We focus on these questions as follows: does a previous PO affect the results of subsequent THA, such as clinical outcomes, operative time, operative blood loss, and radiological parameters. Using PubMed, Web of Science, and Cochrane Library, we searched for relevant original papers. The pooling of data was performed using RevMan software (version 5.3, Cochrane Collaboration, Oxford, UK). A p-value50%, significant heterogeneity was assumed and a random-effects model was applied for the meta-analysis. A fixed-effects model was applied in the absence of significant heterogeneity. Eleven studies were included in this meta-analysis. The pooled results indicated that there was no significant difference in postoperative Merle D'Aubigne-Postel score (I 2 =0%, SMD=-0.15, 95% CI: -0.36 to 0.06, p=0.17), postoperative Harris hip score (I 2 =60%, SMD=-0.23, 95% CI: -0.50 to 0.05, p=0.10), operative time (I 2 =86%, SMD=0.37, 95% CI: -0.09 to 0.82, p=0.11), operative blood loss (I 2 =82%, SMD=0.23, 95% CI: -0.17 to 0.63, p=0.25), and cup abduction angle (I 2 =43%, SMD=-0.08, 95% CI: -0.25 to 0.09, p=0.38) between THA with and without a previous PO. However, cup anteversion angle of THA with a previous PO was significantly smaller than that of without a previous PO (I 2 =77%, SMD=-0.63, 95% CI: -1.13 to -0.13, p=0.01). Systematic review and meta-analysis of results of THA after a previous PO was performed. A previous PO did not affect the results of subsequent THA, except for cup anteversion. Because of the low quality evidence currently available, high-quality randomized controlled trials are required

  11. The Effects of Secret Instructions and Yes/no Questions on Maltreated and Non-maltreated Children's Reports of a Minor Transgression.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ahern, Elizabeth C; Stolzenberg, Stacia N; McWilliams, Kelly; Lyon, Thomas D

    2016-11-01

    This study examined the effects of secret instructions (distinguishing between good/bad secrets and encouraging disclosure of bad secrets) and yes/no questions (DID: "Did the toy break?" versus DYR: "Do you remember if the toy broke?") on 262 maltreated and non-maltreated children's (age range 4-9 years) reports of a minor transgression. Over two-thirds of children failed to disclose the transgression in response to free recall (invitations and cued invitations). The secret instruction increased disclosures early in free recall, but was not superior to no instruction when combined with cued invitations. Yes/no questions specifically asking about the transgression elicited disclosures from almost half of the children who had not previously disclosed, and false alarms were rare. DYR questions led to ambiguous responding among a substantial percentage of children, particularly younger children. The findings highlight the difficulties of eliciting transgression disclosures without direct questions. Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

  12. Two questions about surrogacy and exploitation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wertheimer, Alan

    1992-01-01

    In this article I will consider two related questions about surrogacy and exploitation: (1) Is surrogacy exploitative? (2) If surrogacy is exploitative, what is the moral force of this exploitation? Briefly stated, I shall argue that whether surrogacy is exploitative depends on whether exploitation must be harmful to the exploited party or whether (as I think) there can be mutually advantageous exploitation. It also depends on some facts about surrogacy about which we have little reliable evidence and on our philosophical view on what counts as a harm to the surrogate. Our answer to the second question will turn in part on the account of exploitation we invoke in answering the first question and in part on the way in which we resolve some other questions about the justification of state interference. I shall suggest, however, that if surrogacy is a form of voluntary and mutually advantageous exploitation, then there is a strong presumption that surrogacy contracts should be permitted and even enforceable, although that presumption may be overridden on other grounds.

  13. KEMAMPUAN MAHASISWA DALAM MEMBUAT COMPREHENSION QUESTIONS

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Pudiyono Pudiyono

    2016-10-01

    Full Text Available The aims of the research were to find out (a the level of the students’ ability in making comprehension questions, (b the students’ map of problems in making comprehension questions. The population of the research was all students joining Reading 4 academic year 2016, totaling to 30 students, while the sample was taken from all students. The result of data analysis showed that the average ability of the students, with score more than 70 reached 66.66%. In details, only 4 of the samples (13.33% got no wrong answers or an A. Those who got good achievement (B, considered as majority, amounted to 16 students (53.33%. The participants achieving enough grades (C reached 7 students or 23.33%. The last level achieved in this research was D with the number reaching 3 (10%. The map of problems laid on their inability in identifying between yes/no and WH questions, inverted sentence, choosing the right auxiliary and verbs and their spelling ability. Keyword: comprehension, questions, inversion, problem map, ability

  14. Preoperative screening: value of previous tests.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Macpherson, D S; Snow, R; Lofgren, R P

    1990-12-15

    To determine the frequency of tests done in the year before elective surgery that might substitute for preoperative screening tests and to determine the frequency of test results that change from a normal value to a value likely to alter perioperative management. Retrospective cohort analysis of computerized laboratory data (complete blood count, sodium, potassium, and creatinine levels, prothrombin time, and partial thromboplastin time). Urban tertiary care Veterans Affairs Hospital. Consecutive sample of 1109 patients who had elective surgery in 1988. At admission, 7549 preoperative tests were done, 47% of which duplicated tests performed in the previous year. Of 3096 previous results that were normal as defined by hospital reference range and done closest to the time of but before admission (median interval, 2 months), 13 (0.4%; 95% CI, 0.2% to 0.7%), repeat values were outside a range considered acceptable for surgery. Most of the abnormalities were predictable from the patient's history, and most were not noted in the medical record. Of 461 previous tests that were abnormal, 78 (17%; CI, 13% to 20%) repeat values at admission were outside a range considered acceptable for surgery (P less than 0.001, frequency of clinically important abnormalities of patients with normal previous results with those with abnormal previous results). Physicians evaluating patients preoperatively could safely substitute the previous test results analyzed in this study for preoperative screening tests if the previous tests are normal and no obvious indication for retesting is present.

  15. Transforming classroom questioning using emerging technology.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mahon, Paul; Lyng, Colette; Crotty, Yvonne; Farren, Margaret

    2018-04-12

    Classroom questioning is a common teaching and learning strategy in postgraduate nurse education. Technologies such as audience response systems (ARS) may offer advantage over traditional approaches to classroom questioning. However, despite being available since the 1960s, ARSs are still considered novel in many postgraduate nurse education classroom settings. This article aims to explicate the attitudes of postgraduate nursing students in an Irish academic teaching hospital towards classroom questioning (CQ) and the use of ARSs as an alternative to traditional CQ techniques. The results of this small-scale study demonstrate that ARSs have a role to play in CQ in the postgraduate setting, being regarded by students as beneficial to learning, psychological safety and classroom interaction.

  16. Comparison of integrated testlet and constructed-response question formats

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Aaron D. Slepkov

    2014-09-01

    Full Text Available Constructed-response (CR questions are a mainstay of introductory physics textbooks and exams. However, because of the time, cost, and scoring reliability constraints associated with this format, CR questions are being increasingly replaced by multiple-choice (MC questions in formal exams. The integrated testlet (IT is a recently developed question structure designed to provide a proxy of the pedagogical advantages of CR questions while procedurally functioning as set of MC questions. ITs utilize an answer-until-correct response format that provides immediate confirmatory or corrective feedback, and they thus allow not only for the granting of partial credit in cases of initially incorrect reasoning, but, furthermore, the ability to build cumulative question structures. Here, we report on a study that directly compares the functionality of ITs and CR questions in introductory physics exams. To do this, CR questions were converted to concept-equivalent ITs, and both sets of questions were deployed in midterm and final exams. We find that both question types provide adequate discrimination between stronger and weaker students, with CR questions discriminating slightly better than the ITs. There is some indication that any difference in discriminatory power may result from the baseline score for guessing that is inherent in MC testing. Meanwhile, an analysis of interrater scoring of the CR questions raises serious concerns about the reliability of the granting of partial credit when this traditional assessment technique is used in a realistic (but nonoptimized setting. Furthermore, we show evidence that partial credit is granted in a valid manner in the ITs. Thus, together with consideration of the vastly reduced costs of administering IT-based examinations compared to CR-based examinations, our findings indicate that ITs are viable replacements for CR questions in formal examinations where it is desirable both to assess concept integration and to

  17. Interviewers' question rewording: not always a bad thing

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Haan, Marieke; Ongena, Yfke; Huiskes, Mike

    2013-01-01

    Although correct question reading is a fundamental assumption of standardized interviewing, in surveys, interviewers will not always read all questions exactly as worded. In this study the deviations in question reading by interviewers were analyzed. In addition, we studied if these deviations were

  18. Probability and Statistics: 5 Questions

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Probability and Statistics: 5 Questions is a collection of short interviews based on 5 questions presented to some of the most influential and prominent scholars in probability and statistics. We hear their views on the fields, aims, scopes, the future direction of research and how their work fits...... in these respects. Interviews with Nick Bingham, Luc Bovens, Terrence L. Fine, Haim Gaifman, Donald Gillies, James Hawthorne, Carl Hoefer, James M. Joyce, Joseph B. Kadane Isaac Levi, D.H. Mellor, Patrick Suppes, Jan von Plato, Carl Wagner, Sandy Zabell...

  19. Final disposal of spent nuclear fuel in Sweden. Some unresolved issues and challenges in the design and implementation of the forthcoming planning and EIA processes

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Bjarnadottir, H.; Hilding-Rydevik, T. [Nordregio, Stockholm (Sweden)

    2001-06-01

    The aim of the study is to highlight some unresolved and challenging issues in the forthcoming approximately six year long Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) and planning process of the long-term disposal of spent nuclear fuel in Sweden. Different international and Nordic experiences of the processes for final disposal as well as from other development of similar scope, where experiences assumed to be of importance for final disposal of nuclear waste, have been described. Furthermore, issues relating to 'good EIA practice' as well as certain aspects of planning theory have also been presented. The current Swedish situation for the planning and EIA process of the final disposal of spent nuclear fuel was also been summarized. These different 'knowledge areas' have been compared and measured against our perception of the expectations towards the forthcoming process, put forward by different Swedish actors in the field. The result is a presentation of a number of questions and identification issues that the authors consider need special attention in the design and conduction of the planning and EIA process. The study has been realized through a literature survey and followed by reading and analysis of the written material. The main focus of the literature search was on material describing planning processes, actor perspectives and EIA. Material and literature on the technical and scientific aspects of spent nuclear fuel disposal was however deliberately avoided. There is a wealth of international and Swedish literature concerning final disposal of spent nuclear fuel - concerning both technical issues and issues concerning for example public participation and risk perception. But material of a more systematic and comparative nature (relating to both empirical and theoretical issues, and to practical experiences) in relation to EIA processes and communicative planning for final disposal of spent nuclear fuel seems to be more sparsely represented

  20. Accuracy of questions related to allergic contact dermatitis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fleming, C J; Burden, A D; Forsyth, A

    2000-12-01

    The ability of a physician to select individuals likely to benefit from patch testing depends on his or her ability to interpret responses to enquiries related to contact allergy. The significance of such responses to questions of nickel, fragrance and colophon allergy is unclear. The specificity, sensitivity and predictive value of questions relating to nickel, fragrance and colophony allergy were determined. A total of 258 patients attending for routine patch testing were questioned about skin reactions to nickel, fragrances and Elastoplast (Smith and Nephew Healthcare, Hull, England). All subjects were then patch tested to nickel, fragrance mix, and colophony. Responses to questions were compared with patch test results. The sensitivity of questions relating to nickel, fragrance, and colophony was 82%, 49%, and 71%, respectively. The specificity of the same questions was 77%, 79%, and 90%; the positive predictive value was 54%, 46% and 29%, respectively. After adjustment to include clinical relevance, the sensitivity of nickel questions rose to 100%. These data permit greater understanding of the role of patient history in selection of patients for patch testing. Copyright 2000 by W.B. Saunders Company

  1. Collective physician perspectives on non-oral medication approaches for the management of clinically relevant unresolved issues in Parkinson's disease

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Odin, P; Ray Chaudhuri, K; Slevin, J T

    2015-01-01

    ) of 13 movement disorder specialists. The ISC identified 71 clinical questions important for device-aided management of PD. Fifty-six experts responded to a web-based survey, rating 15 questions as 'critically important;' these were refined to 10 questions by the ISC to be addressed through available......-levodopa-based therapies should be referred for specialist assessment even if disease duration is deep brain stimulation (DBS) with caution. For patients who have cognitive...

  2. Research projects lead by the USDA Cranberry Entomology Laboratory (CEL)

    Science.gov (United States)

    1. Newly discovered native nematode species represent bio-insecticides (grad student project) a. Problems being addressed: Issues over flea beetle control; unresolved questions over pesticide use during bloom. b. Discoveries: at least two native nematodes species new to science have been discovered ...

  3. ’I want my HDTV’? Underlying factors of perceived usefulness for high definition television

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Baaren, Eva; van de Wijngaert, Lidwien; Huizer, E.; Tscheligi, Manfred; Obrist, Marianna; Lugmayr, Artur

    2008-01-01

    While traditional technology acceptance models concentrate on relationships between usefulness and acceptance, they leave unresolved the questions about why a certain technology is found useful, in which contexts, and by whom. This paper presents an empirical study of some of the factors behind

  4. Jubilee Lecture

    Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

    structure and number is a hallmark of human epithelial cancers, which is triggered early in cancer development. What provokes chromosomal instability, and how it fosters cancer pathogenesis, remain major unresolved questions central to understanding carcinogenesis. Moreover, the near- universal occurrence of ...

  5. Children's Question Asking and Curiosity: A Training Study

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jirout, Jamie; Klahr, David

    2011-01-01

    A primary instructional objective of most early science programs is to foster children's scientific curiosity and question-asking skills (Jirout & Klahr, 2011). However, little is known about the relationship between curiosity, question-asking behavior, and general inquiry skills. While curiosity and question asking are invariably mentioned in…

  6. D-linking or set-restriction? Processing Which-questions in Dutch

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Donkers, Jantien; Hoeks, John C. J.; Stowe, Laurie A.

    2013-01-01

    Research on Wh-questions suggests that Which questions are harder to process than Who questions (e.g., Who/Which athlete won the competition?). According to the Discourse (D)-linking Hypothesis, Which-questions differ from Who-questions in that Which questions need a link to a preceding discourse,

  7. Questioning care at the end of life.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ruopp, Patricia; Good, Mary-Jo Delvecchio; Lakoma, Matthew; Gadmer, Nina M; Arnold, Robert M; Block, Susan D

    2005-06-01

    The goal of the larger study was to explore physicians' emotional responses to the death of their patients; this study analyzed a subset of physician transcripts to elucidate the construct of questioning care, which emerged from the larger study. To analyzes how physicians question care-expressing concern, unease, or uncertainty about treatment decisions and practices, errors, or adverse events-as they attend dying patients. Retrospective interview study of physicians caring for randomly selected deaths on the medical service of a major academic teaching hospital, using qualitative and quantitative measures. SETTING, SUBJECTS: 188 attendings, residents, and interns on the internal medical services of two academic medical centers were part of the larger study. A subsample of 75 physician narratives was selected for qualitative data analysis for this study. Qualitative measures included open-ended questions eliciting physicians' stories of the most recent and a most emotionally powerful patient death they have experienced. Grounded theory was used to analyze physician narratives. Quantitative instruments measured physician attitudes toward end-of-life care and responses to the most recent and most emotional patient death. Physicians question care more frequently in most emotional deaths (42%) than in most recent deaths (34%). Physicians question communication with patients and families and within medical teams, medical judgment and technique, standards of practice, and high-risk treatments, often assigning responsibility for medical management they perceive as inappropriate, futile, overly aggressive, or mistakes in judgment and technique. Responsibility ranges from the distal (the culture of medicine) to the proximal (personal). Frustration, guilt, and anger are more frequently expressed in these narratives when care is questioned. A typology of questioning care emerged from these physicians' narratives that parallels and reflects recent and classic research on

  8. Cocaine is pharmacologically active in the nonhuman primate fetal brain

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Benveniste, Helene; Fowler, Joanna S; Rooney, William D

    2010-01-01

    Cocaine use during pregnancy is deleterious to the newborn child, in part via its disruption of placental blood flow. However, the extent to which cocaine can affect the function of the fetal primate brain is still an unresolved question. Here we used PET and MRI and show that in third-trimester ......Cocaine use during pregnancy is deleterious to the newborn child, in part via its disruption of placental blood flow. However, the extent to which cocaine can affect the function of the fetal primate brain is still an unresolved question. Here we used PET and MRI and show that in third......-trimester pregnant nonhuman primates, cocaine at doses typically used by drug abusers significantly increased brain glucose metabolism to the same extent in the mother as in the fetus (approximately 100%). Inasmuch as brain glucose metabolism is a sensitive marker of brain function, the current findings provide...

  9. Cocaine is pharmacologically active in the nonhuman primate fetal brain

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Benveniste, Helene; Fowler, Joanna S; Rooney, William D

    2010-01-01

    Cocaine use during pregnancy is deleterious to the newborn child, in part via its disruption of placental blood flow. However, the extent to which cocaine can affect the function of the fetal primate brain is still an unresolved question. Here we used PET and MRI and show that in third-trimester ......Cocaine use during pregnancy is deleterious to the newborn child, in part via its disruption of placental blood flow. However, the extent to which cocaine can affect the function of the fetal primate brain is still an unresolved question. Here we used PET and MRI and show that in third...... are influenced by the state of pregnancy. Our findings have clinical implications because they imply that the adverse effects of prenatal cocaine exposure to the newborn child include not only cocaine's deleterious effects to the placental circulation, but also cocaine's direct pharmacological effect...

  10. Perspectives from the Avian Phylogenomics Project: Questions that Can Be Answered with Sequencing All Genomes of a Vertebrate Class.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jarvis, Erich D

    2016-01-01

    The rapid pace of advances in genome technology, with concomitant reductions in cost, makes it feasible that one day in our lifetime we will have available extant genomes of entire classes of species, including vertebrates. I recently helped cocoordinate the large-scale Avian Phylogenomics Project, which collected and sequenced genomes of 48 bird species representing most currently classified orders to address a range of questions in phylogenomics and comparative genomics. The consortium was able to answer questions not previously possible with just a few genomes. This success spurred on the creation of a project to sequence the genomes of at least one individual of all extant ∼10,500 bird species. The initiation of this project has led us to consider what questions now impossible to answer could be answered with all genomes, and could drive new questions now unimaginable. These include the generation of a highly resolved family tree of extant species, genome-wide association studies across species to identify genetic substrates of many complex traits, redefinition of species and the species concept, reconstruction of the genomes of common ancestors, and generation of new computational tools to address these questions. Here I present visions for the future by posing and answering questions regarding what scientists could potentially do with available genomes of an entire vertebrate class.

  11. Question-asking behavior as a form of cognitive activity

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Elvira A. Baranova

    2017-03-01

    Full Text Available Children’s questions are an indicator of active cognitive perception of reality. Questions but not answers are relevant in revealing a child’s mental life, consciousness and thinking. The lack of question-asking skills can hinder learning, searching and exploration in children. To determine in 7- and 8-year-old school children the common and variable peculiarities of designing a search process for necessary information concerning an unknown object by volitionally formulated questions, as well as the dynamics of the questioning process throughout a school year. The study was based on an experimental methodology, codenamed Guess what there is in the box, and was conducted in four schools in Cheboksary. The sample comprised 158 primary school first-graders who took part in a confirmatory experiment twice, once in September and once in May. The research showed that 96.3% of the questions asked were search questions. Only 30% of the first-graders initiated their searching activities of their own will without having to resort to the given search algorithm, while 70% did not begin asking questions without outside stimulation. The analysis of the dynamics of children’s question-asking behavior exhibited a tendency to decrease in a number of questions asked over the course of the school year. Primary school children need psychological and pedagogical scaffolding aimed at developing a question-asking behavior as a form of cognitive activity to achieve a possible age potential in development.

  12. A questions-based investigation of consumer mental-health information

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kart, Joyce Brothers

    2015-01-01

    Despite the wealth of mental-health information available online to consumers, research has shown that the mental-health information needs of consumers are not being met. This study contributes to that research by soliciting consumer questions directly, categorizing them, analyzing their form, and assessing the extent to which they can be answered from a trusted and vetted source of online information, namely the website of the US National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH). As an alternative to surveys and analyses of online activity, this study shows how consumer questions provide new insight into what consumers do not know and how they express their information needs. The study crowdsourced 100 consumer questions through Amazon Inc.’s Mechanical Turk. Categorization of the questions shows broad agreement with earlier studies in terms of the content of consumer questions. It also suggests that consumers’ grasp of mental health issues may be low compared to other health topics. The majority of the questions (74%) were simple in form, with the remainder being multi-part, multifaceted or narrative. Even simple-form questions could, however, have complex interpretations. Fifty four questions were submitted to the search box at the NIMH website. For 32 questions, no answer could be found in the top one to three documents returned. Inadequacies in the search and retrieval technology deployed at websites account for some of the failure to find answers. The nature of consumer questions in mental health also plays a role. A question that has a false presupposition is less likely to have an answer in trusted and vetted sources of information. Consumer questions are also expressed with a degree of specificity that makes the retrieval of relevant information difficult. The significance of this study is that it shows what an analysis of consumer mental-health questions can tell us about consumer information needs and it provides new insight into the difficulties facing

  13. Is supergravity well-posed?

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Isenberg, J.; Bao, D.; Yasskin, P.B.

    1983-01-01

    One rather fundamental question concerning supergravity remains unresolved: Is supergravity a well-posed field theory? That is, does a set of certain (Cauchy) data specified on some initial spacelike surface determine a unique, causally propagating spacetime solution of the supergravity field equations (at least in some finite neighborhood of the initial surface)? In this paper, the authors give a very brief report on work directed towards answering this question. (Auth.)

  14. The role of teacher questions in the chemistry classroom

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Dohrn, Sofie Weiss; Dohn, Niels Bonderup

    2018-01-01

    , the students become highly accomplished in recalling facts but have difficulties when higher order thinking is required. The findings suggest that an interactive classroom can be created by using many engaging teacher questions. The six different categories of questions promote the students' learning process......The purpose of this study was to investigate how a chemistry teacher's questions influence the classroom discourse. It presents a fine-grained analysis of the rich variety of one teacher's questions and the roles they play in an upper secondary chemistry classroom. The study identifies six...... different functions for the teacher's questions: Student Knowledge, Request, Monologic Discourse, Clarification, Relations and Interaction of Contexts. Overall, these questions create a safe and interactive learning environment. However, the questions are predominantly closed in form. As a result...

  15. URR [Unresolved Resonance Region] computer code: A code to calculate resonance neutron cross-section probability tables, Bondarenko self-shielding factors, and self-indication ratios for fissile and fertile nuclides

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Leal, L.C.; de Saussure, G.; Perez, R.B.

    1989-01-01

    The URR computer code has been developed to calculate cross-section probability tables, Bondarenko self-shielding factors, and self- indication ratios for fertile and fissile isotopes in the unresolved resonance region. Monte Carlo methods are utilized to select appropriate resonance parameters and to compute the cross sections at the desired reference energy. The neutron cross sections are calculated by the single-level Breit-Wigner formalism with s-, p-, and d-wave contributions. The cross-section probability tables are constructed by sampling the Doppler broadened cross-section. The various shelf-shielded factors are computed numerically as Lebesgue integrals over the cross-section probability tables. 6 refs

  16. Unresolved Questions Concerning the Effectiveness of Psychological Assessment as a Therapeutic Intervention: Comment on Poston and Hanson (2010)

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lilienfeld, Scott O.; Garb, Howard N.; Wood, James M.

    2011-01-01

    In a recent article in this journal, Poston and Hanson (2010) reported a meta-analysis of 17 studies on the use of psychological assessment as a therapeutic intervention (PATI) and concluded that "psychological assessment procedures--when combined with personalized, collaborative, and highly involving test feedback--have positive, clinically…

  17. Usage-based vs. rule-based learning: the acquisition of word order in wh-questions in English and Norwegian.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Westergaard, Marit

    2009-11-01

    This paper discusses different approaches to language acquisition in relation to children's acquisition of word order in wh-questions in English and Norwegian. While generative models assert that children set major word order parameters and thus acquire a rule of subject-auxiliary inversion or generalized verb second (V2) at an early stage, some constructivist work argues that English-speaking children are simply reproducing frequent wh-word+auxiliary combinations in the input. The paper questions both approaches, re-evaluates some previous work, and provides some further data, concluding that the acquisition of wh-questions must be the result of a rule-based process. Based on variation in adult grammars, a cue-based model to language acquisition is presented, according to which children are sensitive to minor cues in the input, called micro-cues. V2 is not considered to be one major parameter, but several smaller-scale cues, which are responsible for children's lack of syntactic (over-)generalization in the acquisition process.

  18. QUESTION FORMATION OF BAHASA INDONESIA AS A SECOND LANGUAGE

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    zulfa Sakhiyya

    2013-07-01

    Full Text Available Abstract: This article aims to implement Processability Theory (PT to Bahasa Indonesia or Indonesian language and to identify developmental stages for question formation in the setting of Bahasa Indonesia as a second language (ISL. PT provides a theoretical framework in making predictions about the course of language development, in this case the question formation acquisition. This study proposes developmental stages of question formation in ISL setting by contrasting the lexical functional grammar of Indonesian question as compared to ESL question formation. Four stages of ISL question formation were proposed. The proposed stages serve as the basis for data analysis and to show its plausibility.

  19. On the placement of practice questions during study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Weinstein, Yana; Nunes, Ludmila D; Karpicke, Jeffrey D

    2016-03-01

    Retrieval practice improves retention of information on later tests. A question remains: When should retrieval occur during learning-interspersed throughout study or at the end of each study period? In a lab experiment, an online experiment, and a classroom study, we aimed to determine the ideal placement (interspersed vs. at-the-end) of retrieval practice questions. In the lab experiment, 64 subjects viewed slides about APA style and answered short-answer practice questions about the content or restudied the slides (restudy condition). The practice questions either appeared 1 every 1-2 slides (interspersed condition), or all at the end of the presentation (at-the-end condition). One week later, subjects returned and answered the same questions on a final test. In the online experiment, 175 subjects completed the same procedure. In the classroom study, 62 undergraduate students took quizzes as part of class lectures. Short-answer practice questions appeared either throughout the lectures (interspersed condition) or at the end of the lectures (at-the-end condition). Nineteen days after the last quiz, students were given a surprise final test. Results from the 3 experiments converge in demonstrating an advantage for interspersing practice questions on the initial tests, but an absence of this advantage on the final test. (c) 2016 APA, all rights reserved).

  20. Radiation protection in questions and answers

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ewen, K.; Hoppe, G.

    1976-01-01

    An easily surveyable catalogue of questions is presented which is to make it easier for medical personnel to get acquainted with the basic knowledge according to the X-ray Ordinance and to acquire the expert knowledge in radiation protection. The catalogue is arranged according to different subjects. There are several alternative answers to every question. The right answer is given in the solution index (annex). (HP) [de

  1. The implications of nonauthentic questions in Galatians | Verster ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    A new classification of non-authentic questions is helpful in understanding the way in which Paul uses persuasion in Galatians. Paul uses many non-authentic questions, and the implications thereof are evident in the type of question used. The way in which he violates the maxims identified by Grice also entails certain ...

  2. Questions about elastic waves

    CERN Document Server

    Engelbrecht, Jüri

    2015-01-01

    This book addresses the modelling of mechanical waves by asking the right questions about them and trying to find suitable answers. The questions follow the analytical sequence from elementary understandings to complicated cases, following a step-by-step path towards increased knowledge. The focus is on waves in elastic solids, although some examples also concern non-conservative cases for the sake of completeness. Special attention is paid to the understanding of the influence of microstructure, nonlinearity and internal variables in continua. With the help of many mathematical models for describing waves, physical phenomena concerning wave dispersion, nonlinear effects, emergence of solitary waves, scales and hierarchies of waves as well as the governing physical parameters are analysed. Also, the energy balance in waves and non-conservative models with energy influx are discussed. Finally, all answers are interwoven into the canvas of complexity.

  3. The enigma of inhaled salbutamol and sport: unresolved after 45 years.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fitch, Ken D

    2017-07-01

    During the past 45 years, there have been more changes on the World Anti-Doping Agency's (WADA) Prohibited List (the List) to the status of inhaled salbutamol than any other substance. With 658 athletes, 6.1% of all participating athletes approved to inhale salbutamol at the 2008 Beijing Games, it is one of the medications used most frequently by Olympic athletes. Nevertheless, since the 2008 Games, WADA has made numerous changes to inhaled salbutamol on the List including prohibiting its use, then a year later permitting it without prior notification and recommending a pharmacokinetic study if an athlete exceeds the urinary threshold of 1000 ng/mL. Recently, an elite athlete undertook two pharmacokinetic studies and the results have raised several questions. These include whether WADA should continue to permit nebulized salbutamol as an acceptable method of inhalation and there is some justification for nebulized salbutamol to be prohibited in sport. Another question is whether the modified advisory on salbutamol in the 2017 List appropriately informs athletes of the risks of exceeding the urinary threshold and the recent changes may not inform athletes optimally. Finally, concern is expressed at the persistent failure of WADA to apply a correction down to a specific gravity of 1.020 when an exogenous substance is identified in the urine of a dehydrated athlete. It is recommended that this should be implemented. Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

  4. Rabies: Questions and Answers

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rabies: Questions and Answers Information about the disease and vaccines What causes rabies? Rabies is caused by a virus. The virus invades ... nervous system and disrupts its functioning. How does rabies spread? The rabies virus is transmitted in the ...

  5. Categorization of questions posed before and after inquiry-based learning

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Sandra Milena García González

    2014-07-01

    Full Text Available Posing research questions is the central ability of the scientific thought. This article examines the ability of sixth grade children to pose researchable questions before and after a three months’ work on a didactic sequence based on the inquiry school model. According to their purpose, the questions asked by children, after reading a text, were classified into researchable questions -susceptible to be empirically explored-, questions about a cause, and questions on a piece of data. The results show that the amount and the type of questions the students were able to pose during the intervention changed, from most of questions on data or information, to most of researchable questions, subsequently, the importance of designing teaching approaches to foster this ability was proved.

  6. Questioning Strategies of Literature Teachers among Grade 8 Filipino Students

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Magdalena M. Ocbian

    2015-11-01

    Full Text Available Questioning is a useful and relevant tool to facilitate classroom discussion in a literature class. This study identified the levels of questions teachers use in their literature class, determined the different question strategies they utilized and proposed activities to enhance the questioning strategies of literature teachers. Video analysis was the main instrument used. These videos were provided during the conduct of class observations by the researchers. There were eight respondents in the study selected through total enumeration. They are teachers from Gubat Cluster of secondary schools of Sorsogon Province. To identify the levels of questions and questioning strategies, question tally form and percentage were used. Results revealed that knowledge was the most used level of questions followed by comprehension, application, analysis, synthesis and evaluation. The most used question technique is the participation, followed by proving, sequencing, wait time, balance and student questions. It was recommended that literature teachers vary their level of questions when discussing literary pieces. They may utilize different question techniques to develop critical thinking skills of their students. The use of the proposed activities may enhance the questioning strategies of literature teachers. Likewise, school heads and program supervisors may utilize video analysis technique as a mode for classroom observation.

  7. Children's Exhaustive Readings of Questions

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cremers, Alexandre; Tieu, Lyn; Chemla, Emmanuel

    2017-01-01

    Questions, just like plain declarative sentences, can give rise to multiple interpretations. As discussed by Spector & Egré (2015), among others, questions embedded under know are ambiguous between "weakly exhaustive" (WE), "intermediate exhaustive" (IE), and "strongly exhaustive" (SE) interpretations (for…

  8. Microbial litter degradation across a land-use gradient of Danish streams

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Rasmussen, Jes; Baattrup-Pedersen, Annette; Wiberg-Larsen, Peter

    Stream ecosystems are impacted by numerous anthropogenic stressors, and they remain some of the most impaired ecosystems on earth in terms of species extinction rates. This emphasises the importance of a yet unresolved question – whether these ecosystems are able to maintain their ecological...

  9. Generic representations: typical design without the use of types

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Achten, H.H.; Junge, R.

    1997-01-01

    The building type is a (knowledge) structure that is both recognised as a constitutive cognitive element of human thought and as a constitutive computational element in CAAD systems. Questions that seem unresolved up to now about computational approaches to building types are the relationship

  10. Allometric and non-allometric consequences of inbreeding on Drosophila melanogaster wings

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Trotta, Vincenzo; Cavicchi, Sandro; Guerra, Daniela

    2011-01-01

    Inbreeding is expected to increase the variability in size and shape within populations. The distinct effects of inbreeding on size and shape suggest that they are governed by different developmental pathways. One unresolved question is whether the non-allometric shape component is partially unco...

  11. Stress enhances reconsolidation of declarative memory

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Bos, M.G.N.; Schuijer, J.; Lodestijn, F.; Beckers, T.; Kindt, M.

    2014-01-01

    Retrieval of negative emotional memories is often accompanied by the experience of stress. Upon retrieval, a memory trace can temporarily return into a labile state, where it is vulnerable to change. An unresolved question is whether post-retrieval stress may affect the strength of declarative

  12. Aspects of tuberculosis and HIV diagnosis, care and treatment in Rwandan health facilities: operational studies

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Kayigamba, R.F.

    2014-01-01

    This thesis outlines studies that were conducted between 2006 and 2010 in Rwandan clinical and public health settings to respond to some unresolved research priority questions. It describes and analyses sputum completion and conversion rates at two months of treatment and their determinants. It

  13. Sample Focus Group Questions for Girls in STEM

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Coronado, Elizabeth Phillips [Los Alamos National Lab. (LANL), Los Alamos, NM (United States)

    2018-02-13

    These are sample questions for focus groups to be conducted as part of qualitative data collection for Year 2- Year 6 of Girls in STEM. You may use any of the questions from the list during the two sessions during the school year, as long as those questions are not repeated in both Baseline and follow-up sessions.

  14. Unresolved issues for the disposal of remote-handled transuranic waste in the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Silva, M.K.; Neill, R.H.

    1994-09-01

    The purpose of the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) is to dispose of 176,000 cubic meters of transuranic (TRU) waste generated by the defense activities of the US Government. The envisioned inventory contains approximately 6 million cubic feet of contact-handled transuranic (CH TRU) waste and 250,000 cubic feet of remote handled transuranic (RH TRU) waste. CH TRU emits less than 0.2 rem/hr at the container surface. Of the 250,000 cubic feet of RH TRU waste, 5% by volume can emit up to 1,000 rem/hr at the container surface. The remainder of RH TRU waste must emit less than 100 rem/hr. These are major unresolved problems with the intended disposal of RH TRU waste in the WIPP. (1) The WIPP design requires the canisters of RH TRU waste to be emplaced in the walls (ribs) of each repository room. Each room will then be filled with drums of CH TRU waste. However, the RH TRU waste will not be available for shipment and disposal until after several rooms have already been filled with drums of CH TRU waste. RH TRU disposal capacity will be loss for each room that is first filled with CH TRU waste. (2) Complete RH TRU waste characterization data will not be available for performance assessment because the facilities needed for waste handling, waste treatment, waste packaging, and waste characterization do not yet exist. (3) The DOE does not have a transportation cask for RH TRU waste certified by the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC). These issues are discussed along with possible solutions and consequences from these solutions. 46 refs

  15. The kinds of questions asked by novice teachers in learning mathematics

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zahra, L.; Kusmayadi, T. A.; Usodo, B.

    2018-05-01

    This study describes the kinds of questions asked by novice teachers during mathematics learning process in senior high school. This study used descriptive analysis. The subjects of this study were two novice teachers who teach mathematics in 10th grade. The result showed that the frequently asked questions by novice teachers based on the objective were compliance questions, rethorical questions and sometimes prompting questions and probing questions. The frequently questions asked by novice teacher based on the cognitive process dimension of Revised Bloom’s Taxonomy were questions of remembering, questions of understanding, questions of applying, questions of analyzing and questions of evaluating. The novice teachers asked the routine questions which had same thinking level. The question with the highest level of thinking did not asked by the novice teachers.

  16. Questions and Answers about Sex (For Parents)

    Science.gov (United States)

    ... español Preguntas y respuestas sobre sexo Answering their kids' questions about sex is a responsibility that many parents dread. Otherwise ... avoided. Parents can help foster healthy feelings about sex if they answer kids' questions in an age-appropriate way. When do ...

  17. Question presentation methods for paired-associate learning

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Engel, F.L.; Geerings, M.P.W.

    1988-01-01

    Four different methods of question presentation, in interactive computeraided learning of Dutch-English word pairs are evaluated experimentally. These methods are: 1) the 'open-question method', 2) the 'multiple-choice method', 3) the 'sequential method' and 4) the 'true/ false method'. When

  18. [Two simple questions to diagnose post-stroke depression].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nolte, C H; Müller-Nordhorn, J; Jungehülsing, G J; Rossnagel, K; Reich, A; Roll, S; Laumeier, I; Beerfelde, D; Willich, S N; Villringer, A

    2006-05-01

    Many patients develop a depression after having suffered a stroke. Such a Post-Stroke Depression (PSD) impairs rehabilitation and quality of life. PSD is underdiagnosed in spite of available treatment. Several questionnaires have been created to diagnose a PSD. But questionnaires have been considered cumbersome and time-consuming. The aim of this study was to find out whether two simple, standardised questions will identify those stroke patients, who have developed a PSD. The two case-finding questions and the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI) were sent to patients of the Berlin Acute Stroke Study (BASS) four years after their stroke. Incomplete questionnaires were complemented via mail or telephone. Severity of depression was assessed by means of BDI. Out of 211 patients, 199 responded to the questionnaire (94 %). 193 questionnaires were complete (97 %). Forty-two patients affirmed both case-finding questions (22 %). Compared to patients, who did not affirm both questions, these patients had a higher BDI score (19 +/- 8 vs. 7 +/- 5; p two questions were 89 % and 90 %, respectively. The positive and negative predictive value were 60 % and 98 % respectively. The number of confirmed questions (0, 1, 2) correlated well with the BDI score (r (2) = 0.67, p Two standardized questions can identify patients with PSD for further diagnostic evaluation and therapy. Diagnosis of PSD might be facilitated by using them as screening instrument.

  19. America in Perspective: Yesterday's Questions and Today's Students.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Danzer, Gerald A.

    In 1780, a prize was established in France for the best answer to the question; "Was the discovery of America a blessing or a curse to mankind?" This question and its only response from an individual living in America, constitute the basis of a high school history class unit. The background of the question and the content are developed,…

  20. On safety goals and related questions

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kaplan, S.

    1985-01-01

    The question of what safety goals should be established for nuclear power plants has been receiving a great deal of urgent attention and debate recently, both by those responsible for reactor licensing and by others interested in establishing a quantitative measure of reactor safety. The same question, phrased alternately in the forms: ''What is acceptable risk?'' and ''How safe is safe enough?,'' has been debated extensively for quite a long time. The purpose of the present paper, therefore, is to show that the above questions, taken at face value, exist within an unworkable context, which the authors shall call the Old Regulatory Context (ORC), and that within this context lead to several absurdities. They shall argue that this context needs to be replaced by another context, which they call the Decision Theory Context (DTC), and which the authors discuss here

  1. A subtraction scheme for computing QCD jet cross sections at NNLO: integrating the subtraction terms I

    Science.gov (United States)

    Somogyi, Gábor; Trócsányi, Zoltán

    2008-08-01

    In previous articles we outlined a subtraction scheme for regularizing doubly-real emission and real-virtual emission in next-to-next-to-leading order (NNLO) calculations of jet cross sections in electron-positron annihilation. In order to find the NNLO correction these subtraction terms have to be integrated over the factorized unresolved phase space and combined with the two-loop corrections. In this paper we perform the integration of all one-parton unresolved subtraction terms.

  2. Fifty important research questions in microbial ecology.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Antwis, Rachael E; Griffiths, Sarah M; Harrison, Xavier A; Aranega-Bou, Paz; Arce, Andres; Bettridge, Aimee S; Brailsford, Francesca L; de Menezes, Alexandre; Devaynes, Andrew; Forbes, Kristian M; Fry, Ellen L; Goodhead, Ian; Haskell, Erin; Heys, Chloe; James, Chloe; Johnston, Sarah R; Lewis, Gillian R; Lewis, Zenobia; Macey, Michael C; McCarthy, Alan; McDonald, James E; Mejia-Florez, Nasmille L; O'Brien, David; Orland, Chloé; Pautasso, Marco; Reid, William D K; Robinson, Heather A; Wilson, Kenneth; Sutherland, William J

    2017-05-01

    Microbial ecology provides insights into the ecological and evolutionary dynamics of microbial communities underpinning every ecosystem on Earth. Microbial communities can now be investigated in unprecedented detail, although there is still a wealth of open questions to be tackled. Here we identify 50 research questions of fundamental importance to the science or application of microbial ecology, with the intention of summarising the field and bringing focus to new research avenues. Questions are categorised into seven themes: host-microbiome interactions; health and infectious diseases; human health and food security; microbial ecology in a changing world; environmental processes; functional diversity; and evolutionary processes. Many questions recognise that microbes provide an extraordinary array of functional diversity that can be harnessed to solve real-world problems. Our limited knowledge of spatial and temporal variation in microbial diversity and function is also reflected, as is the need to integrate micro- and macro-ecological concepts, and knowledge derived from studies with humans and other diverse organisms. Although not exhaustive, the questions presented are intended to stimulate discussion and provide focus for researchers, funders and policy makers, informing the future research agenda in microbial ecology. © FEMS 2017. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.

  3. Questions and answers on nuclear energy

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    1989-04-01

    Leading questions about nuclear power are posed. These include questions about how much extra radioactivity in the environments is due to the nuclear industry, the risk of a nuclear accident, radioactive wastes, nuclear power as a solution to the greenhouse effect, alternative energy sources, and the economics of nuclear power. The answers are presented from the view point of the authors, members of Greenpeace. A glossary, notes and references are included. (UK)

  4. Power dynamics and questioning in elementary science lessons

    Science.gov (United States)

    Reinsvold, Lori Ann

    Discourse interactions between a teacher and students in an inquiry-based fourth-grade science classroom were analyzed to investigate how power dynamics and questioning strategies within elementary science lessons help support students in building their science understanding. Five inquiry-based classroom sessions were observed; verbal interactions were audio- and video-recorded. Research data consisted of observation transcripts, teacher interviews, student work, and instructional materials. Analyses were conducted on the frequencies of utterances, participation roles, power categories, and questioning categories. Results revealed that when students used more frequent power, (a) no significant differences were noted between frequencies of teacher and student talk, (b) the teacher posed more questions than did the students, and (c) students explained what they knew and asked questions to clarify their understanding. When the teacher used more frequent power, she asked questions to provide students opportunities to negotiate investigative processes and explain what they knew and how they knew it. Evidence of student understanding of the science concepts was found in how students used subject matter to discuss what they knew and how they knew it. Pre-service and in-service teachers should be encouraged to consider how their use of power and questioning strategies can engage students to reflect on how they build understanding of science concepts. Teachers can use Professional Learning Communities to reflect on how their practice engages students. Future research should be employed to observe classrooms across an entire school year to determine how power and questioning dynamics flow among students and teachers and change over time. Research can also be used to understand the influence of gender and culture on power and questioning dynamics in classroom settings.

  5. The social question revisited

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Kenneth, Petersson; Olsson, Ulf; Krejsler, John B.

    2015-01-01

    The focus of this chapter is the re-installation of the social question as a historical practice. The purpose is to investigate how historic figures return and are applied in contemporary political discourses, more precisely in the context of education, education policy and teacher education...

  6. Michaelis' hundred Questions and the Royal Instructions

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Friis, Ib

    2017-01-01

    Michaelis' 100 questions for the expedition is a remarkable document. It provides insight into the sources and methods of biblical research anno 1762, at the same time as highlighting the challenges the members of the expedition faced. As the scholarly foundation of the expedition, the questions ...

  7. Michaelis' Hundred Questions and the Royal Instruction

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Friis, Ib

    2015-01-01

    Michaelis' 100 questions for the expedition is a remarkable document. It provides insight into the sources and methods of biblical research anno 1762, at the same time as highlighting the challenges the members of the expedition faced. As the scholarly foundation of the expedition, the questions ...

  8. A qualitative study of older adults' responses to sitting-time questions: do we get the information we want?

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Hill Robert L

    2011-06-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background In the last decade, there has been increasing interest in the health effects of sedentary behavior, which is often assessed using self-report sitting-time questions. The aim of this qualitative study was to document older adults' understanding of sitting-time questions from the International Physical Activity (PA Questionnaire (IPAQ and the PA Scale for the Elderly (PASE. Methods Australian community-dwelling adults aged 65+ years answered the IPAQ and PASE sitting questions in face-to-face semi-structured interviews. IPAQ uses one open-ended question to assess sitting on a weekday in the last 7 days 'at work, at home, while doing coursework and during leisure time'; PASE uses a three-part closed question about daily leisure-time sitting in the last 7 days. Participants expressed their thoughts out loud while answering each question. They were then probed about their responses. Interviews were recorded, transcribed and coded into themes. Results Mean age of the 28 male and 27 female participants was 73 years (range 65-89. The most frequently reported activity was watching TV. For both questionnaires, many participants had difficulties understanding what activities to report. Some had difficulty understanding what activities should be classified as 'leisure-time sitting'. Some assumed they were being asked to only report activities provided as examples. Most reported activities they normally do, rather than those performed on a day in the previous week. Participants used a variety of strategies to select 'a day' for which they reported their sitting activities and to calculate sitting time on that day. Therefore, many different ways of estimating sitting time were used. Participants had particular difficulty reporting their daily sitting-time when their schedules were not consistent across days. Some participants declared the IPAQ sitting question too difficult to answer. Conclusion The accuracy of older adults' self

  9. [Laurentius on anatomy].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sawai, Tadashi; Sakai, Tatsuo

    2005-03-01

    Andreas Laurentius wrote Opera anatomica (1593) and Historia anatomica (1600). These books were composed of two types of chapters; 'historia' and 'quaestio'. His description is not original, but take from other anatomists. 'Historia' describes the structure, action and usefulness of the body parts clarified after dissection. 'Quaestio' treats those questions which could not be solved only by dissection. Laurentius cited many previous contradicting interpretations to these questions and choose a best interpretation for the individual questions. In most cases, Laurentius preferred Galen's view. Historia anatomica retained almost all the 'historia' and 'quaestio' from Opera anatomica, and added some new 'historia' and 'quaestio', especially in regard to the components of the body, such as ligaments, membranes, vessels, nerves and glands. Other new 'historia' and 'quaestio' in Historia anatomica concerned several topics on anatomy in general to comprehensively analyze the history of anatomy, methods of anatomy, and usefulness of anatomy. Historia anatomica reviewed what was anatomy by describing in 'historia' what was known and in 'quaestio' what was unresolved. Till now Laurentius's anatomical works have attracted little attention because his description contained few original findings and depended on previous books. However, the important fact that Historia anatomica was very popular in the 17th century tells us that people needed non-original and handbook style of this textbook. Historia anatomica is important for further research on the propagation of anatomical knowledge from professional anatomists to non-professionals in the 17th century.

  10. asking questions for higher order thinking in visual literacy

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Numerous factors such as socio-economic back- ground of .... questions should comprise 40% low-order questions (Knowledge), 40% middle-order questions ... The data obtained from the class participants comprise details of a two-step tea-.

  11. Testing audiovisual comprehension tasks with questions embedded in videos as subtitles: a pilot multimethod study

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Juan Carlos Casañ Núñez

    2017-06-01

    Full Text Available Listening, watching, reading and writing simultaneously in a foreign language is very complex. This paper is part of wider research which explores the use of audiovisual comprehension questions imprinted in the video image in the form of subtitles and synchronized with the relevant fragments for the purpose of language learning and testing. Compared to viewings where the comprehension activity is available only on paper, this innovative methodology may provide some benefits. Among them, it could reduce the conflict in visual attention between watching the video and completing the task, by spatially and temporally approximating the questions and the relevant fragments. The technique is seen as especially beneficial for students with a low proficiency language level. The main objectives of this study were to investigate if embedded questions had an impact on SFL students’ audiovisual comprehension test performance and to find out what examinees thought about them. A multimethod design (Morse, 2003 involving the sequential collection of three quantitative datasets was employed. A total of 41 learners of Spanish as a foreign language (SFL participated in the study (22 in the control group and 19 in the experimental one. Informants were selected by non-probabilistic sampling. The results showed that imprinted questions did not have any effect on test performance. Test-takers’ attitudes towards this methodology were positive. Globally, students in the experimental group agreed that the embedded questions helped them to complete the tasks. Furthermore, most of them were in favour of having the questions imprinted in the video in the audiovisual comprehension test of the final exam. These opinions are in line with those obtained in previous studies that looked into experts’, SFL students’ and SFL teachers’ views about this methodology (Casañ Núñez, 2015a, 2016a, in press-b. On the whole, these studies suggest that this technique has

  12. Questionnaire design: carry-over effects of overall acceptance question placement and pre-evaluation instructions on overall acceptance scores in central location tests.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bastian, Mauresa; Eggett, Dennis L; Jefferies, Laura K

    2015-02-01

    Question placement and usage of pre-evaluation instructions (PEI) in questionnaires for food sensory analysis may bias consumers' scores via carry-over effects. Data from consumer sensory panels previously conducted at a central location, spanning 11 years and covering a broad range of food product categories, were compiled. Overall acceptance (OA) question placement was studied with categories designated as first (the first evaluation question following demographic questions), after nongustation questions (immediately following questions that do not require panelists to taste the product), and later (following all other hedonic and just-about-right [JAR] questions, but occasionally before ranking, open-ended comments, and/or intent to purchase questions). Each panel was categorized as having or not having PEI in the questionnaire; PEI are instructions that appear immediately before the first evaluation question and show panelists all attributes they will evaluate before receiving test samples. Postpanel surveys were administered regarding the self-reported effect of PEI on panelists' evaluation experience. OA scores were analyzed and compared (1) between OA question placement categories and (2) between panels with and without PEI. For most product categories, OA scores tended to be lower when asked later in the questionnaire, suggesting evidence of a carry-over effect. Usage of PEI increased OA scores by 0.10 of a 9-point hedonic scale point, which is not practically significant. Postpanel survey data showed that presence of PEI typically improved the panelists' experience. Using PEI does not appear to introduce a meaningful carry-over effect. © 2015 Institute of Food Technologists®

  13. The ecological crisis: a question of justice

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kempf, H.

    2010-01-01

    The question of ecology has become a major issue for international relations in the next half-century. But it poses new problems of worldwide justice more than questions of power politics, and its solution will always be a reflection of internal social issues in the countries concerned. (author)

  14. Open-ended questions in sensory testing practice

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Piqueras Fiszman, B.

    2015-01-01

    Why use open-ended questions? This chapter provides an up-to-date overview on the use of open-ended questions in novel rapid sensory methodologies and the potential applications in which they could provide unique benefits. Next, the step-by-step process is described (from task performance to

  15. Questioning Danish Cartoon Images

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Bojsen, Heidi

    2007-01-01

    Danes today when it is considered demeaning and racist in most other countries. The conclusion does emphatically not plead in favour of law enforced limitations of the freedom of expression, but does question the prevalent "freedom of ignorance" concerning black identities which means...

  16. 'In situ simulation' versus 'off site simulation' in obstetric emergencies and their effect on knowledge, safety attitudes, team performance, stress, and motivation

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Sørensen, Jette Led; Van der Vleuten, Cees; Lindschou, Jane

    2013-01-01

    learner outcomes. However, many questions on how SBME can be optimized remain unanswered. One unresolved issue is how 'in situ simulation' (ISS) versus 'off site simulation' (OSS) impact learning. ISS means simulation-based training in the actual patient care unit (in other words, the labor room...

  17. Effects of Music on Emotion Regulation: A Systematic Literature Review

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Luck, Geoff; Brabant, Olivier; Uhlig, Sylka; Jaschke, Artur; Scherder, E.J.A.

    2013-01-01

    Music and its use for emotion regulation processes, to this day remains an unresolved question. Multiple experimental layouts encompassing its daily life use and clinical applications across different cultures and con-tinents have preserved music as a self-regulative tool. Therefore it is seen as a

  18. Intelligent Dispositions: Dewey, Habits and Inquiry in Teacher Education

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nelsen, Peter J.

    2015-01-01

    Despite much debate in the literature, accrediting agencies continue to require that teacher education programs demonstrate that candidates possess requisite sets of dispositions deemed necessary for licensure. At least three unresolved and important questions remain unanswered that directly affect programs' abilities to do so: Are…

  19. Clinical Perspective on Antihypertensive Drug Treatment in Adults With Grade 1 Hypertension and Low-to-Moderate Cardiovascular Risk

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Morales Salinas, Alberto; Coca, Antonio; Olsen, Michael H.

    2017-01-01

    Hypertension is a leading risk factor for disease burden globally. An unresolved question is whether grade 1 hypertension (140-159/90-99. mm. Hg) with low (cardiovascular mortality <1% at 10 years) to moderate (cardiovascular mortality ≥1% and <5% at 10 years) absolute total cardiovascular risk (...

  20. Quantum theory from questions

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Hoehn, Philipp [Institute for Quantum Optics and Quantum Information, Austrian Academy of Sciences, Vienna (Austria); Wever, Christopher [Institute for Theoretical Particle Physics, Karlsruhe (Germany)

    2016-07-01

    In contrast to relativity, quantum theory has evaded a commonly accepted apprehension, in part because of the lack of physical statements that fully characterize it. In an attempt to remedy the situation, we summarize a novel reconstruction of the explicit formalism of quantum theory (for arbitrarily many qubits) from elementary rules on an observer's information acquisition. Our approach is purely operational: we consider an observer O interrogating a system S with binary questions and define S's state as O's ''catalogue of knowledge'' about S; no ontic assumptions are necessary. From the rules, one can derive, among other things, the state spaces, the unitary group, the von Neumann evolution and show that the binary questions correspond to Pauli operators. The reconstruction also offers new structural insights in the form of novel informational charges and informational complementarity relations which define the state spaces and the unitary group. This reconstruction permits a new perspective on quantum theory.

  1. [Estimating child mortality using the previous child technique, with data from health centers and household surveys: methodological aspects].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Aguirre, A; Hill, A G

    1988-01-01

    2 trials of the previous child or preceding birth technique in Bamako, Mali, and Lima, Peru, gave very promising results for measurement of infant and early child mortality using data on survivorship of the 2 most recent births. In the Peruvian study, another technique was tested in which each woman was asked about her last 3 births. The preceding birth technique described by Brass and Macrae has rapidly been adopted as a simple means of estimating recent trends in early childhood mortality. The questions formulated and the analysis of results are direct when the mothers are visited at the time of birth or soon after. Several technical aspects of the method believed to introduce unforeseen biases have now been studied and found to be relatively unimportant. But the problems arising when the data come from a nonrepresentative fraction of the total fertile-aged population have not been resolved. The analysis based on data from 5 maternity centers including 1 hospital in Bamako, Mali, indicated some practical problems and the information obtained showed the kinds of subtle biases that can result from the effects of selection. The study in Lima tested 2 abbreviated methods for obtaining recent early childhood mortality estimates in countries with deficient vital registration. The basic idea was that a few simple questions added to household surveys on immunization or diarrheal disease control for example could produce improved child mortality estimates. The mortality estimates in Peru were based on 2 distinct sources of information in the questionnaire. All women were asked their total number of live born children and the number still alive at the time of the interview. The proportion of deaths was converted into a measure of child survival using a life table. Then each woman was asked for a brief history of the 3 most recent live births. Dates of birth and death were noted in month and year of occurrence. The interviews took only slightly longer than the basic survey

  2. The frequency of previously undetectable deletions involving 3' Exons of the PMS2 gene.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Vaughn, Cecily P; Baker, Christine L; Samowitz, Wade S; Swensen, Jeffrey J

    2013-01-01

    Lynch syndrome is characterized by mutations in one of four mismatch repair genes, MLH1, MSH2, MSH6, or PMS2. Clinical mutation analysis of these genes includes sequencing of exonic regions and deletion/duplication analysis. However, detection of deletions and duplications in PMS2 has previously been confined to Exons 1-11 due to gene conversion between PMS2 and the pseudogene PMS2CL in the remaining 3' exons (Exons 12-15). We have recently described an MLPA-based method that permits detection of deletions of PMS2 Exons 12-15; however, the frequency of such deletions has not yet been determined. To address this question, we tested for 3' deletions in 58 samples that were reported to be negative for PMS2 mutations using previously available methods. All samples were from individuals whose tumors exhibited loss of PMS2 immunohistochemical staining without concomitant loss of MLH1 immunostaining. We identified seven samples in this cohort with deletions in the 3' region of PMS2, including three previously reported samples with deletions of Exons 13-15 (two samples) and Exons 14-15. Also detected were deletions of Exons 12-15, Exon 13, and Exon 14 (two samples). Breakpoint analysis of the intragenic deletions suggests they occurred through Alu-mediated recombination. Our results indicate that ∼12% of samples suspected of harboring a PMS2 mutation based on immunohistochemical staining, for which mutations have not yet been identified, would benefit from testing using the new methodology. Copyright © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

  3. Resolution of Unresolved Safety Issue A-48, ''Hydrogen control measures and effects of hydrogen burns on safety equipment''

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ferrell, C.M.; Soffer, L.

    1989-09-01

    Unresolved Safety Issue (USI) A-48 arose as a result of the large amount of hydrogen generated and burned within containment during the Three Mile Island accident. This issue covers hydrogen control measures for recoverable degraded-core accidents for all boiling-water reactors (BWRs) and those pressurized-water reactors (PWRs) with ice-condenser containments. The Commission and the nuclear industry have sponsored extensive research in this area, which has led to significant revision of the Commission's hydrogen control regulations, given in Title 10, Code of Federal Regulations, Part 50 (10 CFR 50), Section 50.44. BWRs having Mark I and II containments are presently required to operate with inerted containment atmospheres that effectively prevent hydrogen combustion. BWRs with Mark III containments and PWRs with ice-condenser containments are now required to be equipped with hydrogen control systems to protect containment integrity and safety systems inside containment. Industry has chosen to use hydrogen igniter systems to burn hydrogen produced in a controlled fashion to prevent damage. An independent review by a Committee of the National Research Council concluded that, for most accident scenarios, current regulatory requirements make it highly unlikely that hydrogen detonation would be the cause of containment failure. On the basis of the extensive research effort conducted and current regulatory requirements, including their implementation, the staff concludes that no new regulatory guidance on hydrogen control for recoverable degraded-core accidents for these types of plants is necessary and that USI A-48 is resolved

  4. Deriving the true mass of an unresolved Brown Dwarf companion to an M-Dwarf with AO aided astrometry*

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Kürster M.

    2011-07-01

    Full Text Available From radial velocity (RV detections alone one does not get all orbital parameters needed to derive the true mass of a non-transiting, unresolved substellar companion to a star. Additional astrometric measurements are needed to calculate the inclination and the longitude of the ascending node. Until today only few true substellar companion masses have been determined by this method with the HST fine guidance sensor [1, 2]. We aim to derive the true mass of a brown dwarf candidate companion to an early M 2.5V dwarf with groundbased high-resolution astrometry aided by adaptive optics. We found this unique brown dwarf desert object, whose distance to the host star is only 0.42 AU, in our UVES precision RV survey of M dwarfs, inferring a minimum companion mass of 27 Jupiter masses [3]. Combining the data with HIPPARCOS astrometry, we found a probability of only 2.9% that the companion is stellar. We therefore observed the host star together with a reference star within a monitoring program with VLT/NACO to derive the true mass of the companion and establish its nature (brown dwarf vs. star. Simultaneous observations of a reference field in a globular cluster are performed to determine the stability of the adaptive optics (AO plus detector system and check its suitability for such high-precision astrometric measurements over several epochs which are needed to find and analyse extrasolar planet systems.

  5. Promoting Self-Questioning through Picture Book Illustrations

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lohfink, Gayla

    2013-01-01

    This teaching tip manuscript demonstrates how picture book illustrations can be used as an inquiry tool that facilitates one's connecting of visual investigations in a picture to the process of generating self-questions. Techniques suggested to promote self-questioning are (1) introducing young readers to an interactive picture book read aloud…

  6. The science and art of asking questions in cognitive therapy.

    Science.gov (United States)

    James, Ian Andrew; Morse, Rachel; Howarth, Alan

    2010-01-01

    Questions underpin all aspects of therapeutic assessment and intervention and are a vital component of the clinical process. Over recent years frameworks have started to be applied to obtain a greater understanding of questioning formats and processes. This paper examines the use of questions in cognitive therapy (CT). An overview of the main types of questions identified in the literature is presented. In addition, we examine a range of client and therapist characteristics that may impact on the questioning process. Asking questions in therapy is a complex, yet under-taught, skill. This paper provides a set of frameworks to assist in identifying helpful and unhelpful questioning skills. Thus the article has implications for further training and research.

  7. Interviewer Effects on a Network-Size Filter Question

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Josten Michael

    2016-06-01

    Full Text Available There is evidence that survey interviewers may be tempted to manipulate answers to filter questions in a way that minimizes the number of follow-up questions. This becomes relevant when ego-centered network data are collected. The reported network size has a huge impact on interview duration if multiple questions on each alter are triggered. We analyze interviewer effects on a network-size question in the mixed-mode survey “Panel Study ‘Labour Market and Social Security’” (PASS, where interviewers could skip up to 15 follow-up questions by generating small networks. Applying multilevel models, we find almost no interviewer effects in CATI mode, where interviewers are paid by the hour and frequently supervised. In CAPI, however, where interviewers are paid by case and no close supervision is possible, we find strong interviewer effects on network size. As the area-specific network size is known from telephone mode, where allocation to interviewers is random, interviewer and area effects can be separated. Furthermore, a difference-in-difference analysis reveals the negative effect of introducing the follow-up questions in Wave 3 on CAPI network size. Attempting to explain interviewer effects we neither find significant main effects of experience within a wave, nor significantly different slopes between interviewers.

  8. Antisocial behaviour and psychopathy: Uncovering the externalizing link in the P3 modulation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pasion, Rita; Fernandes, Carina; Pereira, Mariana R; Barbosa, Fernando

    2017-03-22

    In 2009, Gao and Raine's meta-analysis analysed P3 modulation over the antisocial spectrum. However, some questions remained open regarding the P3 modulation patterns across impulsive and violent manifestations of antisocial behaviour, phenotypic components of psychopathy, and P3 components. A systematic review of 36 studies was conducted (N=3514) to extend previous results and to address these unresolved questions. A clear link between decreased P3 amplitude and antisocial behaviour was found. In psychopathy, dimensional approaches become more informative than taxonomic models. Distinct etiological pathways of psychopathy were evidenced in cognitive tasks: impulsive-antisocial psychopathic traits mainly predicted blunted P3 amplitude, while interpersonal-affective psychopathic traits explained enhanced P3 amplitude. Supporting the low fear hypothesis, the interpersonal-affective traits were associated with reduced P3 amplitude in emotional-affective learning tasks. From the accumulated knowledge we propose a framework of P3 amplitude modulation that uncovers the externalizing link between psychopathy and antisocial behaviour. However, the main hypotheses are exploratory and call for more data before stablishing robust conclusions. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  9. Postsecondary Education Issues: Visible Questions. Invisible Answers.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Western Interstate Commission for Higher Education, Boulder, CO. National Center for Higher Education Management Systems.

    With some justification, the inability to answer most of the important questions in higher education is due to the lack of necessary information. But careful examination of our many faceted questions suggests that more information may not be the only answer. The National Center for Higher Education Management Systems (NCHEMS) has found other…

  10. A statistical analysis of student questions in a cell biology laboratory.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Keeling, Elena L; Polacek, Kelly M; Ingram, Ella L

    2009-01-01

    Asking questions is an essential component of the practice of science, but question-asking skills are often underemphasized in science education. In this study, we examined questions written by students as they prepared for laboratory exercises in a senior-level cell biology class. Our goals were to discover 1) what types of questions students asked about laboratory activities, 2) whether the types or quality of questions changed over time, and 3) whether the quality of questions or degree of improvement was related to academic performance. We found a majority of questions were about laboratory outcomes or seeking additional descriptive information about organisms or processes to be studied. Few questions earned the highest possible ranking, which required demonstration of extended thought, integration of information, and/or hypotheses and future experiments, although a majority of students asked such a question at least once. We found no correlation between types of student questions or improvement in questions and final grades. Only a small improvement in overall question quality was seen despite considerable practice at writing questions about science. Our results suggest that improving students' ability to generate higher-order questions may require specific pedagogical intervention.

  11. Phenomenology of the innovative question when based on wonderment

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Herholdt-Lomholdt, Sine Maria; Hansen, Finn Thorbjørn

    This paper questions, how we, from a phenomenological point of view, can describe and understand the phenomenology of innovative questions and processes of questioning when based in a wonderdriven approach to innovation and entrepreneurship. Approach: In our research we take on a phenomenological...

  12. Children’s questions as a base of teaching

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Pavlović Branka S.

    2003-01-01

    Full Text Available The paper considers interrelationships between children’s questions and teaching and learning in the light of experimental studies on the role and aim of children’s questions in Nature and Society teaching in the third grade of primary school. The experiment comprising two parallel groups was carried out on the sample of 150 respondents from two primary schools in Šabac during the second term of the academic year 2002/2003. The present paper involves a portion of the results obtained for the type of questions children asked during teaching process as classified by independent observers; average distribution of some types of questions; qualitative analysis of discussions conducted with children after two classes where identical teaching content was presented in groups E and K; qualitative analysis of two interviews conducted with teachers after those classes in groups E and K; observers’ general impression of classes in groups E and K. The results showed that teaching based on children’s questions encourages children’s proactive attitude towards learning and leads to its higher cognitive efficiency and that children express a high degree of satisfaction by participating in thus organized work during classes and preference of atmosphere present in the classroom during such classes compared to the atmosphere during classes managed in a traditional way. Communication between children and between teacher and children is less formal, more relaxed and dynamic, which all produces motivational effects on children makes them more engaged in learning during teaching whose base is in their questions and not in teaching managed by teacher’s questions.

  13. Training IBM Watson using Automatically Generated Question-Answer Pairs

    OpenAIRE

    Lee, Jangho; Kim, Gyuwan; Yoo, Jaeyoon; Jung, Changwoo; Kim, Minseok; Yoon, Sungroh

    2016-01-01

    IBM Watson is a cognitive computing system capable of question answering in natural languages. It is believed that IBM Watson can understand large corpora and answer relevant questions more effectively than any other question-answering system currently available. To unleash the full power of Watson, however, we need to train its instance with a large number of well-prepared question-answer pairs. Obviously, manually generating such pairs in a large quantity is prohibitively time consuming and...

  14. Reply & Supply: Efficient crowdsourcing when workers do more than answer questions.

    Science.gov (United States)

    McAndrew, Thomas C; Guseva, Elizaveta A; Bagrow, James P

    2017-01-01

    Crowdsourcing works by distributing many small tasks to large numbers of workers, yet the true potential of crowdsourcing lies in workers doing more than performing simple tasks-they can apply their experience and creativity to provide new and unexpected information to the crowdsourcer. One such case is when workers not only answer a crowdsourcer's questions but also contribute new questions for subsequent crowd analysis, leading to a growing set of questions. This growth creates an inherent bias for early questions since a question introduced earlier by a worker can be answered by more subsequent workers than a question introduced later. Here we study how to perform efficient crowdsourcing with such growing question sets. By modeling question sets as networks of interrelated questions, we introduce algorithms to help curtail the growth bias by efficiently distributing workers between exploring new questions and addressing current questions. Experiments and simulations demonstrate that these algorithms can efficiently explore an unbounded set of questions without losing confidence in crowd answers.

  15. Augmenting Fellow Education Through Spaced Multiple-Choice Questions.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Barsoumian, Alice E; Yun, Heather C

    2018-01-01

    The San Antonio Uniformed Services Health Education Consortium Infectious Disease Fellowship program historically included a monthly short-answer and multiple-choice quiz. The intent was to ensure medical knowledge in relevant content areas that may not be addressed through clinical rotations, such as operationally relevant infectious disease. After completion, it was discussed in a small group with faculty. Over time, faculty noted increasing dissatisfaction with the activity. Spaced interval education is useful in retention of medical knowledge and skills by medical students and residents. Its use in infectious disease fellow education has not been described. To improve the quiz experience, we assessed the introduction of spaced education curriculum in our program. A pre-intervention survey was distributed to assess the monthly quiz with Likert scale and open-ended questions. A multiple-choice question spaced education curriculum was created using the Qstream(R) platform in 2011. Faculty development on question writing was conducted. Two questions were delivered every 2 d. Incorrectly and correctly answered questions were repeated after 7 and 13 d, respectively. Questions needed to be answered correctly twice to be retired. Fellow satisfaction was assessed at semi-annual fellowship reviews over 5 yr and by a one-time repeat survey. Pre-intervention survey of six fellows indicated dissatisfaction with the time commitment of the monthly quiz (median Likert score of 2, mean 6.5 h to complete), neutral in perceived utility, but satisfaction with knowledge retention (Likert score 4). Eighteen fellows over 5 yr participated in the spaced education curriculum. Three quizzes with 20, 39, and 48 questions were designed. Seventeen percentage of questions addressed operationally relevant topics. Fifty-nine percentage of questions were answered correctly on first attempt, improving to 93% correct answer rate at the end of the analysis. Questions were attempted 2,999 times

  16. What do IPAQ questions mean to older adults? Lessons from cognitive interviews

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Hill Robert L

    2010-05-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Most questionnaires used for physical activity (PA surveillance have been developed for adults aged ≤65 years. Given the health benefits of PA for older adults and the aging of the population, it is important to include adults aged 65+ years in PA surveillance. However, few studies have examined how well older adults understand PA surveillance questionnaires. This study aimed to document older adults' understanding of questions from the International PA Questionnaire (IPAQ, which is used worldwide for PA surveillance. Methods Participants were 41 community-dwelling adults aged 65-89 years. They each completed IPAQ in a face-to-face semi-structured interview, using the "think-aloud" method, in which they expressed their thoughts out loud as they answered IPAQ questions. Interviews were transcribed and coded according to a three-stage model: understanding the intent of the question; performing the primary task (conducting the mental operations required to formulate a response; and response formatting (mapping the response into pre-specified response options. Results Most difficulties occurred during the understanding and performing the primary task stages. Errors included recalling PA in an "average" week, not in the previous 7 days; including PA lasting Conclusions These findings indicate a need for caution in administering IPAQ to adults aged ≥65 years. Most errors resulted in over-reporting, although errors resulting in under-reporting were also noted. Given the nature of the errors made by participants, it is possible that similar errors occur when IPAQ is used in younger populations and that the errors identified could be minimized with small modifications to IPAQ.

  17. Risk Factor Analysis and the Youth Question

    Science.gov (United States)

    France, Alan

    2008-01-01

    This paper is concerned with exploring how in late modernity the "youth question" is being addressed by public policy and what impact this is having on understandings of childhood and youth. Historically the youth question has been shaped by adult anxieties over youth delinquency and their problems of social integration. In late modernity, this is…

  18. Visual question answering using hierarchical dynamic memory networks

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shang, Jiayu; Li, Shiren; Duan, Zhikui; Huang, Junwei

    2018-04-01

    Visual Question Answering (VQA) is one of the most popular research fields in machine learning which aims to let the computer learn to answer natural language questions with images. In this paper, we propose a new method called hierarchical dynamic memory networks (HDMN), which takes both question attention and visual attention into consideration impressed by Co-Attention method, which is the best (or among the best) algorithm for now. Additionally, we use bi-directional LSTMs, which have a better capability to remain more information from the question and image, to replace the old unit so that we can capture information from both past and future sentences to be used. Then we rebuild the hierarchical architecture for not only question attention but also visual attention. What's more, we accelerate the algorithm via a new technic called Batch Normalization which helps the network converge more quickly than other algorithms. The experimental result shows that our model improves the state of the art on the large COCO-QA dataset, compared with other methods.

  19. Chapter 9: Questions from CNEN specific exams

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    NONE

    2018-04-01

    The following are real questions from CNEN specific exams for obtaining the certification of RSO for gamma irradiators. These are questions that require essay answers, that are interpretative ones and therefore that may accept more than one interpretation, therefore more than one answer. For this reason, suggestions of answers will be presented in the second part of this chapter.

  20. Chapter 9: Questions from CNEN specific exams

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    2018-01-01

    The following are real questions from CNEN specific exams for obtaining the certification of RSO for gamma irradiators. These are questions that require essay answers, that are interpretative ones and therefore that may accept more than one interpretation, therefore more than one answer. For this reason, suggestions of answers will be presented in the second part of this chapter

  1. Fulltext PDF

    Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

    PRAKASH KUMAR

    This extraordinary flexibility of object perception is a key unresolved question in vision ... the poor success of computer vision systems in approaching levels of performance ... In a recent study published in Science, Li and DiCarlo (2008) investigated ... experiments with human subjects have shown that exposure to similarly ...

  2. Communicative and Linguistic Development in Preterm Children: A Longitudinal Study from 12 to 24 Months

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cattani, Allegra; Bonifacio, Serena; Fertz, Mariacristina; Iverson, Jana M.; Zocconi, Elisabetta; Caselli, M. Cristina

    2010-01-01

    Background: Research conducted on preterm children's linguistic skills has provided varying pictures, and the question of whether and to what extent preterm children are delayed in early language acquisition remains largely unresolved. Aims: To examine communicative and linguistic development during the second year in a group of Italian children…

  3. Comparison of Integrated Testlet and Constructed-Response Question Formats

    Science.gov (United States)

    Slepkov, Aaron D.; Shiell, Ralph C.

    2014-01-01

    Constructed-response (CR) questions are a mainstay of introductory physics textbooks and exams. However, because of the time, cost, and scoring reliability constraints associated with this format, CR questions are being increasingly replaced by multiple-choice (MC) questions in formal exams. The integrated testlet (IT) is a recently developed…

  4. Intention-to-treat. What is the question?

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Feinman Richard D

    2009-01-01

    Full Text Available Abstract It has become commonplace for Randomized Controlled Trials (RCTs to be analyzed according to Intention-to-Treat (ITT principles in which data from all subjects are used regardless of the subjects' adherence to protocol. While ITT analyses can provide useful information in some cases, they do not answer the question that motivates many RCTs, namely, whether the treatments differ in efficacy. ITT tends to reduce information by combining two questions, whether the intervention is effective and whether, as implemented, it has good compliance. Because these questions may be separate there is a risk of misuse. Two examples are presented that demonstrate this potential for abuse: a study on the effectiveness of vitamin E in reducing cardiovascular risk and comparisons of low fat and low carbohydrate diets. In the first case, a treatment that is demonstrably effective is described as without merit. In the second, ITT describes as the same, two diets that actually have different outcomes. These misuses of ITT are not atypical and are not technical problems in statistics but have real consequences for scientific principles and health recommendations. ITT analyses may answer the question of what happens when treatments are recommended but are inappropriate where separate information on adherence and performance is available. It is proposed that results of RCTs, or any experimental study, be reported, not in terms of the analyses that were performed, but rather in terms of the questions that the analyses can answer properly.

  5. Protein Supplement Usage Among Male University Students: Comparisons Between Current and Previous Users.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sung, Youngmo; Choi, Jinkyung

    2018-02-01

    Interest in specialized dietary supplements is leading market growth, and protein supplements are popular for increasing muscle mass among young males. Therefore, this study investigated the attitudes toward and satisfaction with protein supplements to identify detailed consumer behaviors related to the consumption of protein supplements. The study sample includes male university students in their 20s in South Korea. In total, 223 responses were entered for analysis. Questions related to attitudes, satisfaction, and future behavioral intentions were asked using 5-point Likert scales. The responses were divided into two groups, current and previous users, to identify significant differences in terms of attitudes, satisfaction, and future behavioral intentions. A descriptive analysis, analysis of variance (ANOVA), and multiple regression were run. The majority of respondents prefer the powdered form of supplements in bulk with a price range between 30,000 won and 60,000 won. Online shopping was preferred, while word of mouth and friends/family were considered credible information sources. The most common side effects experienced were problems with digestion and hives, although more than 78% did not experience side effects. In comparison between current and previous users in terms of attitudes and satisfaction, the following areas showed significances. Regarding attitudes, the importance of brand, preference for products from overseas, the search for nutritional facts, and reading carefully all product information were significant, while regarding satisfaction, price, effectiveness, and ease of consumption were significant. All significances showed that current users had more positive attitudes and greater satisfaction. Overall, consumers' satisfaction regarding ease of consumption influenced future behavioral intentions. The market for protein supplements has been growing, so measuring consumers' attitudes and satisfaction would help attract potential consumers. In

  6. Explicit Knowledge-based Reasoning for Visual Question Answering

    OpenAIRE

    Wang, Peng; Wu, Qi; Shen, Chunhua; Hengel, Anton van den; Dick, Anthony

    2015-01-01

    We describe a method for visual question answering which is capable of reasoning about contents of an image on the basis of information extracted from a large-scale knowledge base. The method not only answers natural language questions using concepts not contained in the image, but can provide an explanation of the reasoning by which it developed its answer. The method is capable of answering far more complex questions than the predominant long short-term memory-based approach, and outperform...

  7. Questioning the Universe concepts in physics

    CERN Document Server

    Sadoff, Ahren

    2008-01-01

    UNITS AND POWERS OF TEN PHYSICS AND ITS METHODOLOGY  What Is Physics? Methodology The First Scientist Why Do You Believe? Back to the Questions How Do We Answer theQuestions? The Need to BeQuantitative Theories Models AestheticJudgments  MOTION Relating the Variables of Motion Graphs of One-Dimensional Motion Constant Speed Constant Acceleration Two-Dimensional Motion FORCES The Fundamental Forces A Specific Force Law: Newtonian Gravity Weight How Does Force Affect Motion? Newton's SecondLaw Newton, the Apple, and the Moon Combining Two Laws The Mass of the Earth Newton's Firs

  8. Molecular biology in marine science: Scientific questions, technological approaches, and practical implications

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    NONE

    1994-12-31

    This report describes molecular techniques that could be invaluable in addressing process-oriented problems in the ocean sciences that have perplexed oceanographers for decades, such as understanding the basis for biogeochemical processes, recruitment processes, upper-ocean dynamics, biological impacts of global warming, and ecological impacts of human activities. The coupling of highly sophisticated methods, such as satellite remote sensing, which permits synoptic monitoring of chemical, physical, and biological parameters over large areas, with the power of modern molecular tools for ``ground truthing`` at small scales could allow scientists to address questions about marine organisms and the ocean in which they live that could not be answered previously. Clearly, the marine sciences are on the threshold of an exciting new frontier of scientific discovery and economic opportunity.

  9. Telling stories: opportunities for word-of-mouth communication.

    OpenAIRE

    Cownie, Fiona

    2017-01-01

    Word-of-mouth is an important aspect of marketing communications and can be conceived as the story-telling of everyday life. This working paper suggests that marketing communicators’ understanding of word-of-mouth might usefully be enhanced by the consideration of the tools of the screenwriter, in particular the premise and the active question. The jeopardy of the premise and unresolved nature of the active questions the premise generates may contribute to the potency of word-of-mouth message...

  10. The Role of Teacher Questions in the Chemistry Classroom

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dohrn, Sofie Weiss; Dohn, Niels Bonderup

    2018-01-01

    The purpose of this study was to investigate how a chemistry teacher's questions influence the classroom discourse. It presents a fine-grained analysis of the rich variety of one teacher's questions and the roles they play in an upper secondary chemistry classroom. The study identifies six different functions for the teacher's questions:…

  11. Interview Questions with Bentham Scientific

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mather, John C.

    2013-01-01

    John Mather answers questions for an interview for the Bentham Science Newsletter. He covers topics ranging from his childhood, his professional career and his thoughts on research, technology and today's scientists and engineers.

  12. Ontologies and adaptivity in dialogue for question answering

    CERN Document Server

    Sonntag, D

    2010-01-01

    Question answering (QA) has become one of the fastest growing topics in computational linguistics and information access. To advance research in the area of dialogue-based question answering, we propose a combination of methods from different scientific fields (i.e., Information Retrieval, Dialogue Systems, Semantic Web, and Machine Learning). This book sheds light on adaptable dialogue-based question answering. We demonstrate the technical and computational feasibility of the proposed ideas, the introspective methods in particular, by beginning with an extensive introduction to the dialogical

  13. Fostering Effective Studying and Study Planning with Study Questions

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wilhelm, Pascal; Pieters, Jules M.

    2007-01-01

    In a course on biological psychology and neuropsychology, study questions were provided that also appeared as test questions in the course exam. This method was introduced to support students in active processing and reproduction of the study texts, and study planning. Data were gathered to test the hypothesis that study question use would be…

  14. Climate Leadership Awards Frequent Questions

    Science.gov (United States)

    Provides answers to frequently asked questions regarding the Climate Leadership Awards, sponsored by EPA's Center for Corporate Climate Leadership with co-sponsorship from the Center for Climate and Energy Solutions and The Climate Registry.

  15. Question Inventory on Tobacco (QIT)

    Data.gov (United States)

    U.S. Department of Health & Human Services — 1965, 1966, 1970, 1974-2017. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Office on Smoking and Health (OSH). Tobacco-Related Survey Questions. The QIT is a...

  16. The use of categorization information in language models for question retrieval

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Cao, Xin; Cong, Gao; Cui, Bin

    2009-01-01

    Community Question Answering (CQA) has emerged as a popular type of service meeting a wide range of information needs. Such services enable users to ask and answer questions and to access existing question-answer pairs. CQA archives contain very large volumes of valuable user-generated content...... and have become important information resources on the Web. To make the body of knowledge accumulated in CQA archives accessible, effective and efficient question search is required. Question search in a CQA archive aims to retrieve historical questions that are relevant to new questions posed by users...

  17. Key Questions in Marine Megafauna Movement Ecology

    KAUST Repository

    Hays, Graeme C.; Ferreira, Luciana C.; Sequeira, Ana M.M.; Meekan, Mark G.; Duarte, Carlos M.; Bailey, Helen; Bailleul, Fred; Bowen, W. Don; Caley, M. Julian; Costa, Daniel P.; Eguí luz, Victor M.; Fossette, Sabrina; Friedlaender, Ari S.; Gales, Nick; Gleiss, Adrian C.; Gunn, John; Harcourt, Rob; Hazen, Elliott L.; Heithaus, Michael R.; Heupel, Michelle; Holland, Kim; Horning, Markus; Jonsen, Ian; Kooyman, Gerald L.; Lowe, Christopher G.; Madsen, Peter T.; Marsh, Helene; Phillips, Richard A.; Righton, David; Ropert-Coudert, Yan; Sato, Katsufumi; Shaffer, Scott A.; Simpfendorfer, Colin A.; Sims, David W.; Skomal, Gregory; Takahashi, Akinori; Trathan, Philip N.; Wikelski, Martin; Womble, Jamie N.; Thums, Michele

    2016-01-01

    It is a golden age for animal movement studies and so an opportune time to assess priorities for future work. We assembled 40 experts to identify key questions in this field, focussing on marine megafauna, which include a broad range of birds, mammals, reptiles, and fish. Research on these taxa has both underpinned many of the recent technical developments and led to fundamental discoveries in the field. We show that the questions have broad applicability to other taxa, including terrestrial animals, flying insects, and swimming invertebrates, and, as such, this exercise provides a useful roadmap for targeted deployments and data syntheses that should advance the field of movement ecology. Technical advances make this an exciting time for animal movement studies, with a range of small, reliable data-loggers and transmitters that can record horizontal and vertical movements as well as aspects of physiology and reproductive biology.Forty experts identified key questions in the field of movement ecology.Questions have broad applicability across species, habitats, and spatial scales, and apply to animals in both marine and terrestrial habitats as well as both vertebrates and invertebrates, including birds, mammals, reptiles, fish, insects, and plankton. © 2016 Elsevier Ltd.

  18. Key Questions in Marine Megafauna Movement Ecology

    KAUST Repository

    Hays, Graeme C.

    2016-03-12

    It is a golden age for animal movement studies and so an opportune time to assess priorities for future work. We assembled 40 experts to identify key questions in this field, focussing on marine megafauna, which include a broad range of birds, mammals, reptiles, and fish. Research on these taxa has both underpinned many of the recent technical developments and led to fundamental discoveries in the field. We show that the questions have broad applicability to other taxa, including terrestrial animals, flying insects, and swimming invertebrates, and, as such, this exercise provides a useful roadmap for targeted deployments and data syntheses that should advance the field of movement ecology. Technical advances make this an exciting time for animal movement studies, with a range of small, reliable data-loggers and transmitters that can record horizontal and vertical movements as well as aspects of physiology and reproductive biology.Forty experts identified key questions in the field of movement ecology.Questions have broad applicability across species, habitats, and spatial scales, and apply to animals in both marine and terrestrial habitats as well as both vertebrates and invertebrates, including birds, mammals, reptiles, fish, insects, and plankton. © 2016 Elsevier Ltd.

  19. Assessing the psychometric questioner for students rating teachers

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Razaghi Reza Sharif

    2016-07-01

    Full Text Available Educational institutions use different ways to evaluate their teachers. Asking students to rate their teachers is common practice. The purpose of this research was to examine the reliability of the instruments used to evaluate the instructors in a college of medicine. This cross-sectional descriptive research used questioners that evaluated instructors. The questioner was targeting different dimensions of instructors. Item analysis in addition to exploratory factor analysis was performed on 1040questioners answered by the students of the College of Medicine of Kashan University of Medical Sciences. SPSS software was used to perform the analysis. The psychometric properties of questionnaires including Cronbach alpha was determined. The result of exploratory factor analysis and item analysis indicated that three of the subscales of the questioner showed sufficient reliability to evaluate the instructors and two subscales needed further examination. This type of evaluations is necessary to ensure quality of instructors working in an institution as well as providing reliable feedback to the instructors. The result showed that while some subscales of the questioner seems to target the concept of interest; a re-evaluation of the instrument would be valuable to increase its reliability for the administrators in the colleges.

  20. Will a Black Hole Eventually Swallow Earth?” Fifth Graders' Interest in Questions from a Textbook, an Open Educational Resource and Other Students' Questions

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Hani Swirski

    2015-12-01

    Full Text Available Can questions sent to Open-Educational-Resource (OER websites such as Ask-An-Expert serve as indicators for students’ interest in science? This issue was examined using an online questionnaire which included an equal number of questions about the topics “space” and “nutrition” randomly selected from three different sources: a 5th-grade science textbook, the “Ask-An-Expert” website, and questions collected from other students in the same age group. A sample of 113 5th-graders from two elementary schools were asked to rate their interest level in finding out the answer to these questions without knowledge of their source. Significant differences in students’ interest level were found between questions: textbook questions were ranked lowest for both subjects, and questions from the open-resource were ranked high. This finding suggests that questions sent to an open-resource could be used as an indicator of students’ interest in science. In addition, the high correlation of interests expressed by students from the two schools may point to a potential generalization of the findings. This study contributes by highlighting OER as a new and promising indicator of student interest, which may help bring “student voices” into mainstream science teaching to increase student interest in science.

  1. Neocortical arealization: evolution, mechanisms, and open questions.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Alfano, Christian; Studer, Michèle

    2013-06-01

    The mammalian neocortex is a structure with no equals in the vertebrates and is the seat of the highest cerebral functions, such as thoughts and consciousness. It is radially organized into six layers and tangentially subdivided into functional areas deputed to the elaboration of sensory information, association between different stimuli, and selection and triggering of voluntary movements. The process subdividing the neocortical field into several functional areas is called "arealization". Each area has its own cytoarchitecture, connectivity, and peculiar functions. In the last century, several neuroscientists have investigated areal structure and the mechanisms that have led during evolution to the rising of the neocortex and its organization. The extreme conservation in the positioning and wiring of neocortical areas among different mammalian families suggests a conserved genetic program orchestrating neocortical patterning. However, the impressive plasticity of the neocortex, which is able to rewire and reorganize areal structures and connectivity after impairments of sensory pathways, argues for a more complex scenario. Indeed, even if genetics and molecular biology helped in identifying several genes involved in the arealization process, the logic underlying the neocortical bauplan is still beyond our comprehension. In this review, we will introduce the present knowledge and hypotheses on the ontogenesis and evolution of neocortical areas. Then, we will focus our attention on some open issues, which are still unresolved, and discuss some recent studies that might open new directions to be explored in the next few years. Copyright © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

  2. Pacific-wide contrast highlights resistance of reef calcifiers to ocean acidification.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Comeau, S; Carpenter, R C; Nojiri, Y; Putnam, H M; Sakai, K; Edmunds, P J

    2014-09-07

    Ocean acidification (OA) and its associated decline in calcium carbonate saturation states is one of the major threats that tropical coral reefs face this century. Previous studies of the effect of OA on coral reef calcifiers have described a wide variety of outcomes for studies using comparable partial pressure of CO2 (pCO2) ranges, suggesting that key questions remain unresolved. One unresolved hypothesis posits that heterogeneity in the response of reef calcifiers to high pCO2 is a result of regional-scale variation in the responses to OA. To test this hypothesis, we incubated two coral taxa (Pocillopora damicornis and massive Porites) and two calcified algae (Porolithon onkodes and Halimeda macroloba) under 400, 700 and 1000 μatm pCO2 levels in experiments in Moorea (French Polynesia), Hawaii (USA) and Okinawa (Japan), where environmental conditions differ. Both corals and H. macroloba were insensitive to OA at all three locations, while the effects of OA on P. onkodes were location-specific. In Moorea and Hawaii, calcification of P. onkodes was depressed by high pCO2, but for specimens in Okinawa, there was no effect of OA. Using a study of large geographical scale, we show that resistance to OA of some reef species is a constitutive character expressed across the Pacific. © 2014 The Author(s) Published by the Royal Society. All rights reserved.

  3. Discussion: How different can perspectives on L2 development be?

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Hulstijn, J.H.

    2015-01-01

    In this article I discuss the contributions to this special issue of Language Learning on orders and sequences in second language (L2) development. Using a list of questions, I attempt to characterize what I see as the strengths, limitations, and unresolved issues in the approaches to L2 development

  4. Differentiating Three Conceptualisations of the Relationship between Positive Development and Psychopathology during the Transition to Adulthood

    Science.gov (United States)

    O'Connor, Meredith; Sanson, Ann; Hawkins, Mary T.; Toumbourou, John W.; Letcher, Primrose; Frydenberg, Erica

    2011-01-01

    The transition to adulthood is characterised by both great potential for positive change and a relatively high incidence of problem outcomes. A multidimensional model of positive development during the transition to adulthood (at 19-20 years) has recently been proposed. However, an unresolved question regarding the nature of positive development…

  5. Exports, capital formation and economic growth in South Africa ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    In South Africa the export sector is frequently accorded a special role in encouraging faster economic growth. Nonetheless, a question that remains unresolved is whether higher export growth indeed leads to higher economic growth and what particular role exports may play within the overall economic growth process of the ...

  6. Threatened biodiversity, the nema eia regulations and cultivation of ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Until such listing, unresolved legal questions that inhibited the effective consideration of biodiversity in agricultural decision-making prior to the promulgation of the NEMA EIA regulations are likely to persist—to the detriment of a globally imperilled biodiversity. This contribution sets out to identify some of the key issues that ...

  7. Questions related to Bitcoin and other Informational Money

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Bergstra, J.A.; de Leeuw, K.

    2013-01-01

    A collection of questions about Bitcoin and its hypothetical relatives Bitguilder and Bitpenny is formulated. These questions concern technical issues about protocols, security issues, issues about the formalizations of informational monies in various contexts, and issues about forms of use and

  8. Questions for the nuclear installations inspectorate

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Conroy, C.; Flood, M.; MacRory, R.; Patterson, W.C.

    1976-01-01

    The responsibilities of the Nuclear Installations Inspectorate are considered, and the responsibilities of other bodies for (a) reprocessing and enrichment, and (b) security. Questions for the Nuclear Installations Inspectorate are then set out under the following heads: general (on such topics as vandalism, sabotage, threats, security, reactor incidents); magnox reactors; corrosion; advanced gas-cooled reactor; steam generating heavy water reactor; fast breeder reactor; reproces-sing and waste. Most of the questions are concerned with technical problems that have been reported or might possibly arise during construction or operation, affecting the safety of the reactor or process. (U.K.)

  9. WITHDRAWAL OF PREVIOUS COMPLAINT. A COMPARISON OF THE OLD AND THE NEW CRIMINAL CODE. PROBLEMS OF COMPARATIVE LAW

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Alin Sorin NICOLESCU

    2015-07-01

    Full Text Available In criminal law previous complaint has a double legal valence, material and procedural in nature, constituting a condition for criminal liability, but also a functional condition in cases expressly and limitatively provided by law, a consequence of criminal sanction condition. For certain offenses criminal law determines the initiation of the criminal complaint by the introduction of previous complaint by the injured party, without its absence being a question of removing criminal liability. From the perspective of criminal material law conditioning of the existence of previous complaint ,its lack and withdrawal, are regulated by art. 157 and 158 of the New Penal Code, with significant changes in relation to the old regulation of the institution . In terms of procedural aspect , previous complaint is regulated in art. 295-298 of the New Code of Criminal Procedure. Regarding the withdrawal of the previuos complaint, in the case of offenses for which the initiation of criminal proceedings is subject to the existence of such a complaint, we note that in the current Criminal Code this legal institution is regulated separately, representing both a cause for removal of criminal liability and a cause that preclude criminal action. This unilateral act of the will of the injured party - the withdrawal of the previous complaint, may be exercised only under certain conditions, namely: it can only be promoted in the case of the offenses for which the initiation of criminal proceedings is subject to the introduction of a previous complaint; it is made exclusively by the rightholder, by legal representatives or with the consent of the persons required by law for persons lacking legal capacity or having limited legal capacity;it must intervene until giving final judgment and it must represent an express and explicit manifestation. A novelty isrepresented by the possibility of withdrawing previous complaint if the prosecution was driven ex officio, although for

  10. On the comprehensibility and perceived privacy protection of indirect questioning techniques.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hoffmann, Adrian; Waubert de Puiseau, Berenike; Schmidt, Alexander F; Musch, Jochen

    2017-08-01

    On surveys that assess sensitive personal attributes, indirect questioning aims at increasing respondents' willingness to answer truthfully by protecting confidentiality. However, the assumption that subjects understand questioning procedures fully and trust them to protect their privacy is rarely tested. In a scenario-based design, we compared four indirect questioning procedures in terms of their comprehensibility and perceived privacy protection. All indirect questioning techniques were found to be less comprehensible by respondents than a conventional direct question used for comparison. Less-educated respondents experienced more difficulties when confronted with any indirect questioning technique. Regardless of education, the crosswise model was found to be the most comprehensible among the four indirect methods. Indirect questioning in general was perceived to increase privacy protection in comparison to a direct question. Unexpectedly, comprehension and perceived privacy protection did not correlate. We recommend assessing these factors separately in future evaluations of indirect questioning.

  11. RESULTS OF THE QUALITATIVE QUESTIONS

    International Development Research Centre (IDRC) Digital Library (Canada)

    Adam Graham

    In April of 2005, Governance, Equity and Health (GEH) held an all-partners' ... data collected – six respondents left a blank response for the question addressing level of ... Meeting participants were organized into five thematic working groups:.

  12. A Flexible Question-and-Answer Task for Measuring Speech Understanding

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Virginia Best

    2016-11-01

    Full Text Available This report introduces a new speech task based on simple questions and answers. The task differs from a traditional sentence recall task in that it involves an element of comprehension and can be implemented in an ongoing fashion. It also contains two target items (the question and the answer that may be associated with different voices and locations to create dynamic listening scenarios. A set of 227 questions was created, covering six broad categories (days of the week, months of the year, numbers, colors, opposites, and sizes. All questions and their one-word answers were spoken by 11 female and 11 male talkers. In this study, listeners were presented with question-answer pairs and asked to indicate whether the answer was true or false. Responses were given as simple button or key presses, which are quick to make and easy to score. Two preliminary experiments are presented that illustrate different ways of implementing the basic task. In the first experiment, question-answer pairs were presented in speech-shaped noise, and performance was compared across subjects, question categories, and time, to examine the different sources of variability. In the second experiment, sequences of question-answer pairs were presented amidst competing conversations in an ongoing, spatially dynamic listening scenario. Overall, the question-and-answer task appears to be feasible and could be implemented flexibly in a number of different ways.

  13. IMPROVISATION OF SEEKER SATISFACTION IN YAHOO! COMMUNITY QUESTION ANSWERING PORTAL

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    K. Latha

    2011-01-01

    Full Text Available One popular Community question answering (CQA site, Yahoo! Answers, had attracted 120 million users worldwide, and had 400 million answers to questions available. A typical characteristic of such sites is that they allow anyone to post or answer any questions on any subject. Question Answering Community has emerged as popular, and often effective, means of information seeking on the web. By posting questions, for other participants to answer, information seekers can obtain specific answers to their questions. However, CQA is not always effective: in some cases, a user may obtain a perfect answer within minutes, and in others it may require hours and sometimes days until a satisfactory answer is contributed. We investigate the problem of predicting information seeker satisfaction in yahoo collaborative question answering communities, where we attempt to predict whether a question author will be satisfied with the answers submitted by the community participants. Our experimental results, obtained from a large scale evaluation over thousands of real questions and user ratings, demonstrate the feasibility of modeling and predicting asker satisfaction. We complement our results with a thorough investigation of the interactions and information seeking patterns in question answering communities that correlate with information seeker satisfaction. We also explore automatic ranking, creating abstract from retrieved answers, and history updation, which aims to provide users with what they want or need without explicitly ask them for user satisfaction. Our system could be useful for a variety of applications, such as answer selection, user feedback analysis, and ranking.

  14. Education effects on authoritarian-libertarian values: a question of socialization.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Stubager, Rune

    2008-06-01

    Over the past decades an authoritarian-libertarian value dimension has become increasingly important to electoral behaviour across western countries. Previous analyses have shown that education is the most important social antecedent of individuals' positions on this value dimension; high education groups tend towards the libertarian pole and low education groups tend towards the authoritarian pole. It remains an open question, however, what aspects of education cause this relationship. The article examines a range of explanatory models: a psychodynamic, a cognitive, a socialization, and an allocation effects model. The results strongly favour the socialization model in which the relationship between education and authoritarian-libertarian values is explained as a result of differences in the value sets transferred to students in different educational milieus. The value differences between the educational groups should thus not be seen as reflecting economic differences between the groups but rather as the result of a more fundamental value conflict.

  15. Present situation and problems of nuclear-security-related legislation in Japan

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Irie, Kazutomo

    2013-01-01

    This paper shows surveys of current Japanese regulations relevant to nuclear security, including regulations for nuclear damage compensation. It also shows the regulatory issues still left unresolved, particularly the question of whether existing laws are broad enough, or whether new legislation will be needed. The largest unresolved issue is how to establish a system of physical protection of nuclear materials for broader nuclear security purposes within a system that was originally introduced only to control nuclear proliferation. Such a system will necessitate a radical revision of the relevant law. Moreover, the current regulations have left unresolved the physical protection of radioactive materials used in research, medical, and non-nuclear-power-related industrial operations. Japanese legislation has already authorized an integrated Nuclear Regulatory Commission. Its mandate should include introduction of a physical protection system for currently unregulated radioactive materials. This will also necessitate a radical revision of the relevant law. Comprehensive consideration should also be given to transportation of nuclear materials away from the site of nuclear material processing businesses. Current regulation also leaves this issue unresolved. There is a possibility that consistent protective measures may not be possible across transportation modes even under the recent legislation that authorized reorganization of nuclear regulatory authorities. (author)

  16. Is the polarization of NGC1068 evidence for a non-thermal source

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    McLean, I.S.; Aspin, C.; Heathcote, S.R.; McCaughrean, M.J.

    1983-01-01

    NGC1068 is one of the brightest galaxies included by Seyfert in his list of extragalactic objects having compact, luminous nuclei within which broad, high-excitation emission lines occur. It has been the subject of intensive studies at UV, optical, IR and radio wavelengths. Unresolved questions concern the nature and relationship of the sources of the excess flux seen in the UV and IR, their connection with the collimated jets apparent in high-resolution radio maps and their association with the extended region responsible for the broad emission lines. A further question is the location of any dust and its role in modifying the optical and UV spectrum. Observations are reported with two high-resolution optical spectro-polarimeters which throw new light on these questions. From detailed structure found in the linear polarization spectrum of the nucleus it is concluded that dilution by starlight modifies the polarization to an extent not previously appreciated. In fact the polarization of the non-stellar flux in the optical and near IR is approximately independent of wavelength (as expected for synchrotron emission or electron scattering) with a direction orthogonal to that of the radio jets; such an arrangement is reminiscent of certain quasars and radio galaxies. (author)

  17. Wh-interrogative formats used for questioning and beyond

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Egbert, Maria; Vöge, Monika

    2008-01-01

    This paper contributes to a critical discussion of how ‘question' and ‘questioning' may be defined in terms of form and function by analyzing the interactional usage of two apparently synonymous ‘question' words, German warum (why) and wieso (why) and their common English translation why. Warum...... of German warum and wieso with English why (Schegloff 1984, Clayman and Heritage 2002a, Koshik 2003) shows that why allows for ambiguity, whereas warum and wieso are unambiguous. While there is a core usage of these lexical items, they are also employed differently with an orientation to institutionality...

  18. Hybridization among distantly related species: Examples from the polyploid genus Curcuma (Zingiberaceae).

    Science.gov (United States)

    Záveská, Eliška; Fér, Tomáš; Šída, Otakar; Marhold, Karol; Leong-Škorničková, Jana

    2016-07-01

    Discerning relationships among species evolved by reticulate and/or polyploid evolution is not an easy task, although it is widely discussed. The economically important genus Curcuma (ca. 120 spp.; Zingiberaceae), broadly distributed in tropical SE Asia, is a particularly interesting example of a group of palaeopolyploid origin whose evolution is driven mainly by hybridization and polyploidization. Although a phylogeny and a new infrageneric classification of Curcuma, based on commonly used molecular markers (ITS and cpDNA), have recently been proposed, significant evolutionary questions remain unresolved. We applied a multilocus approach and a combination of modern analytical methods to this genus to distinguish causes of gene tree incongruence and to identify hybrids and their parental species. Five independent regions of nuclear DNA (DCS, GAPDH, GLOBOSA3, LEAFY, ITS) and four non-coding cpDNA regions (trnL-trnF, trnT-trnL, psbA-trnH and matK), analysed as a single locus, were employed to construct a species tree and hybrid species trees using (*)BEAST and STEM-hy. Detection of hybridogenous species in the dataset was also conducted using the posterior predictive checking approach as implemented in JML. The resulting species tree outlines the relationships among major evolutionary lineages within Curcuma, which were previously unresolved or which conflicted depending upon whether they were based on ITS or cpDNA markers. Moreover, by using the additional markers in tests of plausible topologies of hybrid species trees for C. vamana, C. candida, C. roscoeana and C. myanmarensis suggested by previous molecular and morphological evidence, we found strong evidence that all the species except C. candida are of subgeneric hybrid origin. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  19. Trick questions: cosmopolitan hospitality

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Eleanor Byrne

    2013-08-01

    Full Text Available Byrne’s paper consists of two parallel texts. The first explores the limits of cosmopolitanism in practice, taking as its subject the Life in the UK Citizenship Test, inaugurated under the Labour Government in 2005. It argues that the test exemplifies the predicament of all attempts at cosmopolitan hospitality as unconditional welcoming, through a discussion of the relation between questioning and welcoming the stranger. Establishing the relationship between cosmopolitanism and hospitality as envisaged in Derrida’s reading of Kant it asks what kind of cosmopolitan hospitality is either possible or desirable by exploring what Derrida calls the ‘perversions’ inherent in the structures of hospitality. It focuses on the concept of the ‘trick questions’ that the state asks the foreigner observed by Derrida in his reading of The Apology of Socrates; questions that seem to invite answers but foreclose the possibilities of a free response. The second text asks how this logic that Derrida identifies can be pushed or coaxed into new ways of addressing the perceived threats of ‘unconditional’ hospitality through a reading of ‘unconditional hospitality’ as queer in the work of Tove Jansson.

  20. Continuing the Conversation: Questions about the Framework

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Megan E. Dempsey

    2015-12-01

    Full Text Available Given the prevalence of the Information Literacy Competency Standards in the library profession for the past 15 years, and the heated debate that took place regarding whether or not the Framework for Information Literacy and the Standards could harmoniously co-exist, the article raises questions about the future of information literacy in higher education. We do not necessarily have answers to these questions, but offer our own perspectives, some insight into how the Standards have served New Jersey academic librarians in the past, and how we envision using the Framework and the Standards together to further information literacy instruction at our institutions. Discussions of these questions have led us to the conclusion that the Framework and the Standards serve different purposes and have different intended audiences and are thus both valuable to the library profession.

  1. The use of questions as problem-solving strategies during early childhood.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Legare, Cristine H; Mills, Candice M; Souza, André L; Plummer, Leigh E; Yasskin, Rebecca

    2013-01-01

    This study examined the strategic use of questions to solve problems across early childhood. Participants (N=54, 4-, 5-, and 6-year-olds) engaged in two tasks: a novel problem-solving question task that required asking questions to an informant to determine which card in an array was located in a box and a cognitive flexibility task that required classifying stimuli by multiple dimensions. The results from the question task indicated that there were age differences in the types of questions asked, with 6-year-olds asking more constraint-seeking questions than 4- and 5-year-olds. The number of constraint-seeking questions asked was the only significant predictor of accuracy. Performance on the cognitive flexibility task correlated with both constraint-seeking strategy use and accuracy in the question task. In sum, our results provide evidence that the capacity to use questions to generate relevant information develops before the capacity to apply this information successfully and consistently to solve complex problems. We propose that the process of using questions as strategic tools is an ideal context for examining how children come to gain active and intentional control over problem solving. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  2. Automatic Generation System of Multiple-Choice Cloze Questions and its Evaluation

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Takuya Goto

    2010-09-01

    Full Text Available Since English expressions vary according to the genres, it is important for students to study questions that are generated from sentences of the target genre. Although various questions are prepared, it is still not enough to satisfy various genres which students want to learn. On the other hand, when producing English questions, sufficient grammatical knowledge and vocabulary are needed, so it is difficult for non-expert to prepare English questions by themselves. In this paper, we propose an automatic generation system of multiple-choice cloze questions from English texts. Empirical knowledge is necessary to produce appropriate questions, so machine learning is introduced to acquire knowledge from existing questions. To generate the questions from texts automatically, the system (1 extracts appropriate sentences for questions from texts based on Preference Learning, (2 estimates a blank part based on Conditional Random Field, and (3 generates distracters based on statistical patterns of existing questions. Experimental results show our method is workable for selecting appropriate sentences and blank part. Moreover, our method is appropriate to generate the available distracters, especially for the sentence that does not contain the proper noun.

  3. Can Questions Facilitate Learning from Illustrated Science Texts?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Iding, Marie K.

    1997-01-01

    Examines the effectiveness of using questions to facilitate processing of diagrams in science texts. Investigates three different elements in experiments on college students. Finds that questions about illustrations do not facilitate learning. Discusses findings with reference to cognitive load theory, the dual coding perspective, and the…

  4. Open Questions Limiting the Practice of Interorganizational Development.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Schermerhorn, John R., Jr.

    1981-01-01

    Summarizes the open questions that must be answered by researchers if practioners of interorganizational development are to have adequate planning-and-action guidelines. Suggests the questions should help practitioners become more sensitive to potential action considerations that may require special thought and attention until a firmer knowledge…

  5. Multiple choice questions in electronics and electrical engineering

    CERN Document Server

    DAVIES, T J

    2013-01-01

    A unique compendium of over 2000 multiple choice questions for students of electronics and electrical engineering. This book is designed for the following City and Guilds courses: 2010, 2240, 2320, 2360. It can also be used as a resource for practice questions for any vocational course.

  6. Do older adults change their eyewitness reports when re-questioned?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Henkel, Linda A

    2014-05-01

    This study examined how older adults responded to different types of pressure to change their responses when questioned a second time about their memory for a crime. After watching a video of a crime and answering questions about remembered details, younger (18-22 years) and older adults (64-91 years) were either given negative feedback about their memory performance, were told that most people their age did poorly on the memory test (stereotype threat), or were simply asked to answer the questions again. This was done regardless of their actual accuracy, and the questions were then repeated. Results showed that both younger and older adults changed significantly more responses following negative feedback and changed more responses on misleading than on nonleading questions. Among older adults, as age increased, accuracy decreased and rate of response change increased. People were moderately confident overall about both their correct and incorrect responses. These results highlight the dangers of repeatedly questioning older witnesses with misleading questions and suggest that the responses that are changed may come to be remembered confidently-regardless of whether they are correct or incorrect.

  7. On the intonation of German intonation questions

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Petrone, Caterina; Niebuhr, Oliver

    2014-01-01

    German questions and statements are distinguished not only by lexical and syntactic but also by intonational means. This study revisits, for Northern Standard German, how questions are signalled intonationally in utterances that have neither lexical nor syntactic cues. Starting from natural......, but represents a separate attitudinal meaning dimension. Moreover, the findings support that both prenuclear and nuclear fundamental frequency (F0) patterns must be taken into account in the analysis of tune meaning....

  8. Is ADHD Diagnosed in Accord with Diagnostic Criteria? Overdiagnosis and Influence of Client Gender on Diagnosis

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bruchmuller, Katrin; Margraf, Jurgen; Schneider, Silvia

    2012-01-01

    Objective: Unresolved questions exist concerning diagnosis of ADHD. First, some studies suggest a potential overdiagnosis. Second, compared with the male-female ratio in the general population (3:1), many more boys receive ADHD treatment compared with girls (6-9:1). We hypothesized that this occurs because therapists do not adhere to "Diagnostic…

  9. Collaborative Reasoning: Language-Rich Discussions for English Learners

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhang, Jie; Dougherty Stahl, Katherine A.

    2012-01-01

    Collaborative Reasoning (CR) is a peer-led, small group discussion approach that aims to promote intellectual and personal engagement in elementary school classrooms. In CR, students read a text that raises an unresolved issue with multiple and competing points of view. Students are expected to take positions on a big question, support the…

  10. Some open questions in 'wave chaos'

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Nonnenmacher, Stéphane

    2008-01-01

    The subject area referred to as 'wave chaos', 'quantum chaos' or 'quantum chaology' has been investigated mostly by the theoretical physics community in the last 30 years. The questions it raises have more recently also attracted the attention of mathematicians and mathematical physicists, due to connections with number theory, graph theory, Riemannian, hyperbolic or complex geometry, classical dynamical systems, probability, etc. After giving a rough account on 'what is quantum chaos?', I intend to list some pending questions, some of them having been raised a long time ago, some others more recent. The choice of problems (and of references) is of course partial and personal. (open problem)

  11. An Examination of Music Teacher Job Interview Questions

    Science.gov (United States)

    Juchniewicz, Jay

    2016-01-01

    The purpose of this study was to examine which interview questions principals consider most important when interviewing prospective music teachers. Additionally, data were examined to determine any differences between school grade level, school setting, or years of experience as a principal in preferences for specific interview questions.…

  12. Questions answers renewable energies (02/08/99); Questions reponses energies renouvelables (02/08/99)

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    NONE

    2001-07-01

    This document collected some questions about the use of renewable energies sources in the domain of the financial and technical assistance of the customer by EDF (photovoltaic cells or wind turbines for residential houses) and for electrification of independent sites which are not connected to EDF power grid. (A.L.B.)

  13. Student questions in urban middle school science communities of practice

    Science.gov (United States)

    Groome, Meghan

    This dissertation examines student questions within three Communities of Practice (CoP), all urban middle school science environments. The study analyzed student questions from a sociocultural perspective and used ethnographic research techniques to detail how the CoP's shaped questions in the classroom. In the first study, two case study girls attempted to navigate questioning events that required them to negotiation participation. Their access to participation was blocked by participation frameworks that elevated some students as "gatekeepers" while suppressing the participation of others. The next two studies detail the introduction of written questioning opportunities, one into a public middle school classroom and the other into an informal classroom. In both studies, students responded to the interventions differently, most notable the adoption of the opportunity by female students who do not participate orally. Dissertation-wide findings indicate all students were able to ask questions, but varied in level of cognitive complexity, and the diagnostic interventions were able to identify students who were not known to be "target students", students who asked a high number of questions and were considered "interested in science". Some students' roles were as "gatekeepers" to participation of their peers. Two out of three teachers in the studies reported major shifts in their teaching practice due to the focus on questions and the methods used here have been found to be effective in producing educational research as well as supporting high-need classrooms in prior research. In conclusion, these studies indicate that social factors, including participation frameworks, gender dynamics, and the availability of alternative participation methods, play an important role in how students ask science-related questions. It is recommended that researchers continue to examine social factors that reduce student questions and modify their teaching strategies to facilitate

  14. The effect of different levels of constructive teaching practices on teacher question asking behaviors

    Science.gov (United States)

    Erdogan, Ibrahim

    student ideas stimulated by questions and then allowing students to build their understandings that are affected by the discussion. "Competent" teachers, on the other hand, exhibit a more transmissive approach that lead students to an end that has been previously determined. Such teaching does little to persuade students to use their own thinking.

  15. A High-yield Fall Risk and Adverse Events Screening Questions From the Stopping Elderly Accidents, Death, and Injuries (STEADI) Guideline for Older Emergency Department Fall Patients.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sri-On, Jiraporn; Tirrell, Gregory Philip; Kamsom, Anucha; Marill, Keith A; Shankar, Kalpana Narayan; Liu, Shan W

    2018-03-25

    The objectives were to examine whether responses to the Stopping Elderly Accidents, Death, and Injuries (STEADI) questions responses predicted adverse events after an older adult emergency department (ED) fall visits and to identify factors associated with such recurrent fall. We conducted a prospective study at two urban, teaching hospitals. We included patients aged ≥ 65 years who presented to the ED for an accidental fall. Data were gathered for fall-relevant comorbidities, high-risk medications for falls, and the responses to 12 questions from the STEADI guideline recommendation. Our outcomes were the number of 6-month adverse events that were defined as mortality, ED revisit, subsequent hospitalization, recurrent falls, and a composite outcome. There were 548 (86.3%) patients who completed follow-up and 243 (44.3%) patients experienced an adverse event after a fall within 6 months. In multivariate analysis, seven questions from the STEADI guideline predicted various outcomes. The question "Had previous fall" predicted recurrent falls (odds ratio [OR] = 2.45, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 1.52 to 3.97), the question "Feels unsteady when walking sometimes" (OR = 2.34, 95% CI = 1.44 to 3.81), and "Lost some feeling in their feet" predicted recurrent falls. In addition to recurrent falls risk, the supplemental questions "Use or have been advised to use a cane or walker," "Take medication that sometimes makes them feel light-headed or more tired than usual," "Take medication to help sleep or improve mood," and "Have to rush to a toilet" predicted other outcomes. A STEADI score of ≥4 did not predict adverse outcomes although seven individual questions from the STEADI guidelines were associated with increased adverse outcomes within 6 months. These may be organized into three categories (previous falls, physical activity, and high-risk medications) and may assist emergency physicians to evaluate and refer high-risk fall patients for a comprehensive

  16. The Importance of Asking Questions – in Different Ways! Most ...

    Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

    IAS Admin

    student tries to consult as many question banks from as many ... papers. In addition to standard questions, I usually have a question in which I produce a drawing (relevant to ... to pass on to all the teachers is that they should encourage their.

  17. 49 CFR 173.23 - Previously authorized packaging.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-10-01

    ... 49 Transportation 2 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false Previously authorized packaging. 173.23 Section... REQUIREMENTS FOR SHIPMENTS AND PACKAGINGS Preparation of Hazardous Materials for Transportation § 173.23 Previously authorized packaging. (a) When the regulations specify a packaging with a specification marking...

  18. Enhancing Science Kits with the Driving Question Board

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nordine, Jeff; Torres, Ruben

    2013-01-01

    This article describes the driving question board (DQB), a visual organizer that supports inquiry-based instruction through the use of guiding questions. The DQB is a teaching aid designed to increase student engagement alongside science kits. Information is provided on its application to a lesson on buoyancy, highlighting how it improved…

  19. Discourse Integration Guided by the "Question under Discussion"

    Science.gov (United States)

    Clifton, Charles, Jr.; Frazier, Lyn

    2012-01-01

    What makes a discourse coherent? One potential factor has been discussed in the linguistic literature in terms of a Question under Discussion (QUD). This approach claims that discourse proceeds by continually raising explicit or implicit questions, viewed as sets of alternatives, or competing descriptions of the world. If the interlocutor accepts…

  20. Some Big Questions about Design in Educational Technology

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gibbons, Andrew S.

    2016-01-01

    This article asks five questions that lead us to the foundations of design practice in educational technology. Design processes structure time, space, place, activity, role, goal, and resource. For educational technology to advance in its understanding of design practice, it must question whether we have clear conceptions of how abstract…