468 research outputs found
Confucian Principles: A Study of Chinese Americans’ Interpersonal Relationships in Selected Children’s Picturebooks
[[abstract]]There has not been enough critical analysis of children’s literature by and about Chinese Americans, especially when compared to other minority groups in the United States. In particular, Chinese American historical books lack extensive analysis. It is important to reflect cultural accuracy in literature and to help children develop clear concepts of self and others by providing precise cultural and physical characteristics of people. While cultural authenticity allows children the opportunity to see a reflection of real experiences within a book instead of seeing stereotypes or misrepresentations, obtaining correct information about a certain time period can help children to see images of immigration accurately represented in literature. Using the Confucian delineation of interpersonal relationships as the major criterion of cultural authenticity, this article examines three currently available children’s picturebooks set in the historical period between 1848 and 1885. In addition to exploring how Chinese Americans’ interpersonal relationships are portrayed in these children’s historical books, this article argues for more proactive inclusion of the diversity in selection of picturebooks.[[notice]]補正完
Effects of adding Tiotropium or Aclidinium as triple therapy using impulse oscillometry in COPD
INTRODUCTION: Long-acting muscarinic antagonists confer improvements in spirometry when used in addition to inhaled corticosteroids and long-acting beta-agonists (ICS/LABA) in COPD. The dual objectives of this proof of concept study were to evaluate trough effects of tiotropium (TIO) or aclidinium (ACL) when used as triple therapy and to assess if impulse oscillometry (IOS) might be more sensitive than spirometry in detecting subtle differences in bronchodilator response. METHODS: Patients with moderate to severe COPD already taking ICS/LABA were randomized to receive add-on therapy in cross-over fashion with either TIO 18 µg od or ACL 322 µg bid for 2–3 weeks each. Measurements of IOS, spirometry, 6-min walk test, St George’s Respiratory Questionnaire (SGRQ) and Baseline/Transition Dyspnoea Index (TDI) were made at baseline and after chronic dosing at trough (12 h for ACL and 24 h for TIO), in addition to domiciliary diurnal spirometry. RESULTS: 13 patients were completed: mean age 69 years, FEV(1) 52 % predicted, FEV(1)/FVC 0.48, and R5 202 % predicted. There were no differences in any visit-based trough IOS or spirometry outcomes comparing TIO versus ACL. Resonant frequency but not total airway resistance at 5 Hz (R5) significantly improved from baseline with both treatments while peripheral airway resistance (R5–R20) significantly improved with ACL. Visit-based FEV(1), and forced and relaxed vital capacity were also significantly improved from baseline with both treatments. There were no significant differences in diurnal FEV(1) and FEV(6) profiles between treatments. 6-min walk distance and post-walk fatigue significantly improved from baseline with ACL, while post-walk dyspnea improved with TIO. SGRQ symptom score significantly improved to a similar degree with both treatments. TDI significantly improved with ACL versus TIO by 1.54 units. CONCLUSION: We observed comparable bronchodilator efficacy at trough with TIO and ACL when used as triple therapy in COPD, while IOS was no more sensitive than spirometry
Measurement of the inclusive and dijet cross-sections of b-jets in pp collisions at sqrt(s) = 7 TeV with the ATLAS detector
The inclusive and dijet production cross-sections have been measured for jets
containing b-hadrons (b-jets) in proton-proton collisions at a centre-of-mass
energy of sqrt(s) = 7 TeV, using the ATLAS detector at the LHC. The
measurements use data corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 34 pb^-1.
The b-jets are identified using either a lifetime-based method, where secondary
decay vertices of b-hadrons in jets are reconstructed using information from
the tracking detectors, or a muon-based method where the presence of a muon is
used to identify semileptonic decays of b-hadrons inside jets. The inclusive
b-jet cross-section is measured as a function of transverse momentum in the
range 20 < pT < 400 GeV and rapidity in the range |y| < 2.1. The bbbar-dijet
cross-section is measured as a function of the dijet invariant mass in the
range 110 < m_jj < 760 GeV, the azimuthal angle difference between the two jets
and the angular variable chi in two dijet mass regions. The results are
compared with next-to-leading-order QCD predictions. Good agreement is observed
between the measured cross-sections and the predictions obtained using POWHEG +
Pythia. MC@NLO + Herwig shows good agreement with the measured bbbar-dijet
cross-section. However, it does not reproduce the measured inclusive
cross-section well, particularly for central b-jets with large transverse
momenta.Comment: 10 pages plus author list (21 pages total), 8 figures, 1 table, final
version published in European Physical Journal
A Long Baseline Neutrino Oscillation Experiment Using J-PARC Neutrino Beam and Hyper-Kamiokande
Document submitted to 18th J-PARC PAC meeting in May 2014. 50 pages, 41 figuresDocument submitted to 18th J-PARC PAC meeting in May 2014. 50 pages, 41 figuresDocument submitted to 18th J-PARC PAC meeting in May 2014. 50 pages, 41 figuresHyper-Kamiokande will be a next generation underground water Cherenkov detector with a total (fiducial) mass of 0.99 (0.56) million metric tons, approximately 20 (25) times larger than that of Super-Kamiokande. One of the main goals of Hyper-Kamiokande is the study of asymmetry in the lepton sector using accelerator neutrino and anti-neutrino beams. In this document, the physics potential of a long baseline neutrino experiment using the Hyper-Kamiokande detector and a neutrino beam from the J-PARC proton synchrotron is presented. The analysis has been updated from the previous Letter of Intent [K. Abe et al., arXiv:1109.3262 [hep-ex]], based on the experience gained from the ongoing T2K experiment. With a total exposure of 7.5 MW 10 sec integrated proton beam power (corresponding to protons on target with a 30 GeV proton beam) to a -degree off-axis neutrino beam produced by the J-PARC proton synchrotron, it is expected that the phase can be determined to better than 19 degrees for all possible values of , and violation can be established with a statistical significance of more than () for () of the parameter space
Review of small rural health services in Victoria: how does the nursing-medical division of labour affect access to emergency care?
Aims This paper is based on a review of the Australian and International literature relating to the nursing-medical division of labour. It also explores how the division of labour affects patient access to emergency care in small rural health services in Victoria, Australia. Background The paper describes the future Australian health workforce and the implications for rural Victoria. The concept of division of labour and how it relates to nursing and medicine is critically reviewed. Two forms of division of labour emerge – traditional and negotiated division of labour. Key themes are drawn from the literature that describes the impact of a traditional form of division of labour in a rural context. Methods This paper is based on a review of the Australian and international literature, including grey literature, on the subject of rural emergency services, professional boundaries and roles, division of labour, professional relationships and power and the Australian health workforce. Results In Australia, the contracting workforce means that traditional divisions of labour between health professionals cannot be sustained without reducing access to emergency care in rural Victoria. A traditional division of labour results in rural health services that are vulnerable to slight shifts in the medical workforce, unsafe services and recruitment and retention problems. A negotiated form of division of labour provides a practical alternative. Conclusion A division of labour that is negotiated between doctors and nurses and supported by a legal and clinical governance framework, is needed to support rural emergency services. The published evidence suggests that this situation currently does not exist in Victoria. Strategies are offered for creating and supporting a negotiated division of labour
Sensitivity of the T2K accelerator-based neutrino experiment with an Extended run to POT
18 pages, 4 figures18 pages, 4 figures18 pages, 4 figures18 pages, 4 figures18 pages, 4 figuresRecent measurements at the T2K experiment indicate that CP violation in neutrino mixing may be observed in the future by long-baseline neutrino oscillation experiments. We explore the physics program of an extension to the currently approved T2K running of protons-on-target to protons-on-target,aiming at initial observation of CP violation with 3 or higher significance for the case of maximum CP violation. With accelerator and beam line upgrades, as well as analysis improvements, this program would occur before the next generation of long-baseline neutrino oscillation experiments that are expected to start operation in 2026.We acknowledge the support of MEXT, Japan; NSERC (Grant No. SAPPJ-2014-00031), NRC and CFI, Canada; CEA and CNRS/IN2P3, France; DFG, Germany; INFN, Italy; National Science Centre (NCN), Poland; RSF, RFBR and MES, Russia; MINECO and ERDF funds, Spain; SNSF and SERI, Switzerland; STFC, UK; and DOE, USA. We also thank CERN for the UA1/NOMAD magnet, DESY for the HERA-B magnet mover system, NII for SINET4, the WestGrid and SciNet consortia in Compute Canada, and GridPP in the United Kingdom. In addition, participation of individual researchers and institutions has been further supported by funds from ERC (FP7), H2020 Grant No. RISE-GA644294-JENNIFER, EU; JSPS, Japan; Royal Society, UK; and the DOE Early Career program, USA. CNRS/IN2P3: Centre National de la Recherche ScientifiqueInstitut National de Physique Nucleaire et de Physique des Particules RSF: Russian Science Foundation MES: Ministry of Education and Science, Russia ERDF: European Regional Development Fund SNSF: Swiss National Science Foundation SER (should be SERI): State Secretariat for Education, Research and Innovatio
Primary Health Centre disaster preparedness after the earthquake in Padang Pariaman, West Sumatra, Indonesia
<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>The West Sumatra earthquake that occurred on September 30, 2009, caused severe damage in some districts, including Padang Pariaman. As Padang Pariaman is an earthquake-prone area, disaster and emergency management is necessary. Due to the limited health facilities, the health services completely rely on Puskesmas (Primary Health Centres, PHCs). This study is aimed at assessing the preparedness of PHCs to response to potential disasters in their surrounding area.</p> <p>Findings</p> <p>Padang Pariaman district was used in a case study setting to assess the readiness and preparedness of the PHCs there to face disasters. Self-administered questionnaire, key informant interview, and direct observation were used to obtain the data on human resources, facilities preparedness, and the procedures. The investigation focused on measuring four aspects, i.e. human resources, facilities preparedness, standard operating procedure (SOP), and policy. Due to the limited co-operation of the head of the PHCs, three PHCs were directly observed as a subsample. The evaluation was performed six months after the impact phase of the earthquake and three months after the PHCs' health staff training on improving the primary health care services. The number and quality of health staff in Padang Pariaman was far below ideal. Fewer than half of the PHCs had emergency facilities and only one considered the need for triage and fire management, whereas the transportation mode was still limited. An SOP and policy for facing disasters were not available in any of the PHCs. Therefore, promoting disaster preparedness, technical provision, including health staff training, is necessary.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Padang Pariaman district has not yet prepared its PHCs to face disaster, so it is apparent that PHCs' disaster preparedness in Padang Pariaman and also other earthquake-prone areas in Indonesia should be promoted. This should include increasing the number of doctors, providing training for health staff, and developing a comprehensive approach as well as coordination among government, hospitals, PHCs, and NGO's for disaster preparedness.</p
The cost-effectiveness of the WINGS intervention: a program to prevent HIV and sexually transmitted diseases among high-risk urban women
BACKGROUND: We evaluated the cost-effectiveness of the WINGS project, an intervention to prevent HIV and other sexually transmitted diseases among urban women at high risk for sexual acquisition of HIV. METHODS: We used standard methods of cost-effectiveness analysis. We conducted a retrospective analysis of the intervention's cost and we used a simplified model of HIV transmission to estimate the number of HIV infections averted by the intervention. We calculated cost-effectiveness ratios for the complete intervention and for the condom use skills component of the intervention. RESULTS: Under base case assumptions, the intervention prevented an estimated 0.2195 new cases of HIV at a cost of 357,690 per case of HIV averted and 97,404 per case of HIV averted and $8,674 per QALY saved. CONCLUSIONS: The WINGS intervention, particularly the two sessions of the intervention which focussed on condom use skills, could be cost-effective in preventing HIV among women
Physics Potentials with the Second Hyper-Kamiokande Detector in Korea
We have conducted sensitivity studies on an alternative configuration of the Hyper-Kamiokande experiment by locating the 2nd Hyper-Kamiokande detector in Korea at 11001300 km baseline. Having two detectors at different baselines improves sensitivity to leptonic CP violation, neutrino mass ordering as well as nonstandard neutrino interactions. There are several candidate sites in Korea with greater than 1 km high mountains ranged at an 13 degree off-axis angle. Thanks to larger overburden of the candidate sites in Korea, low energy physics, such as solar and supernova neutrino physics as well as dark matter search, is expected to be improved. In this paper sensitivity studies on the CP violation phase and neutrino mass ordering are performed using current T2K systematic uncertainties in most cases. We plan to improve our sensitivity studies in the near future with better estimation of our systematic uncertainties
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