1,427 research outputs found
Novel approaches for vaccination against HPV-induced cancers
No full textTo date, more than 5 % of all cancers are as a result of human papillomavirus (HPV) infection, and this incidence is increasing. Early recognition of disease is associated with good survival, but late presentation results in devastating consequences. Prevention is better than cure, and there are now successful prophylactic vaccination programmes in place. We discuss these and the prospect of therapeutic vaccinations in the near future to address a growing need for improved therapeutic options
Catching waves: the historical geography of the general practitioner fundholding initiative in England and Wales
No full textGeneral practitioner fundholding is often represented as one of the more successful elements of the 1989/90 Conservative reforms of the UK National Health Service (NHS). Successive annual ‘waves’ of fundholding practices were approved from 1990 through to 1997 and, over time, the initiative came to involve some 50% of UK general practitioners. Fundholding is known to have had a strong regional geography that changed with evolving fundholding eligibility criteria. Further, there have been persistent allegations that fundholding tended to occur disproportionately in areas of higher social status. Past studies of fundholding have tended to consider single waves or the overall impact of the initiative rather than its development over time. They have also tended to work at a single geographic scale or through single-region case studies when exploring the statistical regularities underlying the uptake of fundholding. Using multilevel analysis, this paper seeks to enhance understanding of fundholding through an examination of the interaction of district health authority and practice characteristics across all implemented waves for all general medical practices in England and Wales. We conclude that wave mattered on a national scale, that deprivation was relatively unimportant and that there were certain types of area that exhibited persistent but unexpected high uptake
Productivity in Higher Education/ Kevin Stange, Kevin Strange, Caroline M. Hoxby.
No full textIn English.How do the benefits of higher education compare with its costs, and how does this comparison vary across individuals and institutions? These questions are fundamental to quantifying the productivity of the education sector. The studies in Productivity in Higher Education use rich and novel administrative data, modern econometric methods, and careful institutional analysis to explore productivity issues. The authors examine the returns to undergraduate education, differences in costs by major, the productivity of for-profit schools, the productivity of various types of faculty and of outcomes, the effects of online education on the higher education market, and the ways in which the productivity of different institutions responds to market forces. The analyses recognize five key challenges to assessing productivity in higher education: the potential for multiple student outcomes in terms of skills, earnings, invention, and employment; the fact that colleges and universities are "multiproduct" firms that conduct varied activities across many domains; the fact that students select which school to attend based in part on their aptitude; the difficulty of attributing outcomes to individual institutions when students attend more than one; and the possibility that some of the benefits of higher education may arise from the system as a whole rather than from a single institution. The findings and the approaches illustrated can facilitate decision-making processes in higher education.Hoxby, Caroline M. / Stange, Kevin -- Staiger, Douglas -- Hoxby, Caroline M. -- Minaya, Veronica / Scott-Clayton, Judith -- Riehl, Evan / Saavedra, Juan E. / Urquiola, Miguel -- Altonji, Joseph G. / Zimmerman, Seth D. -- Courant, Paul N. / Turner, Sarah -- Vlieger, Pieter De / Jacob, Brian / Stange, Kevin -- Deming, David J. / Lovenheim, Michael / Patterson, Richard -- Carrell, Scott E. / Kurlaender, Michal -- Frontmatter -- Contents -- Acknowledgments -- Introduction / 1. What Health Care Teaches Us about Measuring Productivity in Higher Education / 2. The Productivity of US Postsecondary Institutions / 3. Labor Market Outcomes and Postsecondary Accountability: Are Imperfect Metrics Better Than None? / 4. Learning and Earning: An Approximation to College Value Added in Two Dimensions / 5. The Costs of and Net Returns to College Major / 6. Faculty Deployment in Research Universities / 7. Measuring Instructor Effectiveness in Higher Education / 8. The Competitive Effects of Online Education / 9. Estimating the Productivity of Community Colleges in Paving the Road to Four- Year College Success / Contributors -- Author Index -- Subject Index1 online resource (392 p.)
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The effects of temperature and predator densities on the consumption of walleye pollock (Gadus chalcogrammus) by three groundfish in the Gulf of Alaska
No full textMany multispecies models have assumed that prey density determines per-capita predator consumption rates, following a functional response relationship. However, empirical evidence suggests that a predator’s diet can also be influenced by a variety of environmental factors, including interactions with other predators. We used diet and abundance data from National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) bottom trawl surveys for three groundfish predators (Pacific cod (Gadus macrocephalus), Pacific halibut (Hippoglossus stenolepis), and sablefish (Anoplopoma fimbria)) in the Gulf of Alaska (GOA) to determine whether temperature or other species influence the consumption of walleye pollock (Gadus chalcogrammus). Using an information-theoretic approach, we tested for relationships between walleye pollock observed in predator stomachs and predator length, bottom temperature, prey availability (walleye pollock catch per unit effort (CPUE) scaled by observed prey lengths), and CPUE of the three predators and arrowtooth flounder (Atheresthes stomias). Predator length was positively related to walleye pollock presence and proportion of total diet mass in all predators. Increased temperatures negatively affected consumption of walleye pollock by Pacific halibut, but not the other predators. We found evidence for a number of interpredator effects of co-occurring predators, both positive (facultative) and negative (competitive). Surprisingly, observed prey density was not statistically significant with respect to consumption for these predators, suggesting that trawls sample the environment far differently than walleye pollock predators or species interactions are more complex than those used in previous multispecies models. These factors should be considered for future models contributing to ecosystem-based management
Diphtheria-like disease caused by Toxigenic Corynebacterium ulcerans strain
No full textToxigenic Corynebacterium ulcerans is an increasingly reported cause of diphtheria in the United Kingdom and is often associated with a zoonotic origin (1,2). Here, we report a case of diphtheria caused by toxigenic C. ulcerans in a woman, 51 years of age, from Scotland, UK, who was admitted to a hospital in August 2013 with a swollen, sore throat and a gray-white membrane over the pharyngeal surface. The patient had returned from a 2-week family holiday in the state of Florida, United States, before the admission and also reported recent treatment of a pet dog for pharyngitis. The patient was believed to have been vaccinated against diphtheria during childhood. She was immediately admitted to an isolation ward and treated with a combination of clindamycin, penicillin, and metronidazole
Music for classical guitar by South African composers : a historical survey, notes on selected works and a general catalogue
No full textIncludes abstract.Includes bibliographical references (leaves 296-309).This is the first comprehensive investigation of music for, or including, the classical guitar by South African composers. The focus of this research has been, firstly, to uncover as much of the repertoire as possible, and, secondly, to collate, study, catalogue and report on the information. A brief historical survey of the guitar in South Africa provides the context within which this study was conducted. The primary sources of quantitative data collection were through the archival catalogues of the South African Music Rights Organisation and through personal contact with guitarists, composers and guitar teachers. Other sources consulted were publishers, broadcasting corporations, recording companies, libraries and the internet. The body of the dissertation comprises biographical sketches, background notes, analyses and technical notes on 17 selected solo and chamber works dating from 1947 to 2007 by some of South Africa's most prominent composers and guitaristcomposers. The repertoire ranges in style from the traditional and ethnically inspired to the experimental and abstract. As this is an empirical survey, each selected entry includes details on instrumentation, duration, level of difficulty, number of pages, scordatura, commissions or requests, sources or publishers, premières and recordings. A biography of each composer is provided as well as background notes which offer an overview of the selected work. The notes discuss historical, cultural, musical and extra-musical influences, and frequently include references to interview material. The commentaries on the selected works, with musical examples, include an analytical component describing structure, form, stylistic and compositional elements, while the technical observations include performance suggestions and a grading for each work
Continuous metadata flows for distributed multimedia
No full textThe practical use of temporal multimedia has increased markedly in recent years as enabling technologies for the distribution and streaming of media have become available. As a part of this trend, hypermedia systems and models have adapted accordingly to incorporate such distributed multimedia for presentation. Structured interpretation of information has long been a fundamental feature of both open hypermedia systems and knowledge systems. Metadata, in its many forms, has become the cornerstone for providing this structured knowledge above and beyond basic data and information. This thesis presents the rationale and requirements for continuous metadata, which supports the metadata accompanying distributed multimedia throughout the lifecycle of streamed media, from generation, through distribution, to presentation. Throughout this process it is the temporal and continuous nature of the metadata which is paramount. A conceptual framework for continuous metadata is proposed to encapsulate these principles and ideas. Continuous metadata and the associated framework enable the development, in particular, of real-time, collaborative, semantically enriched distributed multimedia applications. Experience building one such system using continuous metadata is evaluated within the framework. An ontology is developed for the system to enable the collation, distribution, and presentation of structure aiding navigation of multimedia, and it is shown how continuous metadata utilising the ontology can be distributed using multicas
Overcoming barriers in HPV vaccination and screening programs.
No full textThe Human Papillomavirus Prevention and Control Board brought together experts to discuss optimizing HPV vaccination and screening programs. Board members reviewed the safety profile of licensed HPV vaccines based on clinical and post-marketing data, reaching a consensus that current safety data is reassuring. Successful vaccination programs used well-coordinated communication campaigns, integrating (social) media to spread awareness. Communication of evidence supporting vaccine effectiveness had beneficial effects on the perception of the vaccine. However, anti-vaccination campaigns have threatened existing programs in many countries. Measurement and monitoring of HPV vaccine confidence over time could help understand the nature and scale of waning confidence, define issues and intervene appropriately using context-specific evidence-based strategies. Finally, a broad group of stakeholders, such as teachers, health care providers and the media should also be provided with accurate information and training to help support prevention efforts through enhanced understanding of the risks and benefits of vaccination. Similarly, while cervical cancer screening through population-based programs is highly effective, barriers to screening exist: awareness in countries with population-based screening programs, access for vulnerable populations, and access and affordability in low- and middle-income countries. Integration of primary and secondary prevention has the potential to accelerate the decrease in cervical cancer incidence
Caribbean museums and national identity / edited by Alissandra Cummins, Kevin Farmer, and Roslyn Russell.
No full textHaitian anthropologist Michel-Rolph Trouillot, in his discussion on how the current global Westernized hegemony treats specific historical events, events chosen for their relevance to the text of Western dominance, has addressed absences (or silences as 'inherent in the creation of sources, the first moment of historical production' (Trouillot, 1995, p. 51). People and places that are designated 'Third World' often find their history has (or has been)
'disappeared'. He references complex historiographical occurrences of this process of historical production, whereby black and poor societies were not just physically ostracized, but in a sense mentally too as they basically
'disappeared' from the historical text. He states: 'History reveals itself only through the production of specific narratives. What matters most are the process and conditions of such narratives .
... Only through that overlap can we
discover the differential exercise of power that makes some narratives possible and silences others.Common GroundTable of content–Acknowledgements ix–Foreword ix –List of Illustrations xiv–
Introduction 1 –Chapter 1: Natural History = National History: Early Origins and
Organizing Principles of Museums in the English-speaking
Caribbean , Alissandra Cummins 11 –
Chapter 2: Haiti, Museums and Public Collections: Their History and Development after 1804
, Marie-Lucie Vendryes 47 –
Chapter 3: The History and Evolution of Cuban Museums
José Linares 57 – Chapter 4: The Natural History Collections of the University of the West Indies (UWI), Mike G. Rutherford 69 – Chapter 5: The National Gallery of Jamaica: A Critical History ,Veerle Poupeye 83 –Chapter 6: The Creation of the National Museum of Bermuda,
1974-2011,Edward Cecil Harris 109 –,Chapter 7: Recapturing History: Suriname Museum in Fort Zeelandia.,Hilde Neus 123 – Chapter 8: Museography and Places of Remembrance of Slavery in Martinique or the Gaps in a Memory Difficult to Express , Christine Chivallon137
– Chapter 9: New Perspectives in Heritage Presentations in Suriname and Curaçao: From Dutch Colonial Museums to Diversifying Representations of Enslavement
, Valika Smeulders 153 – Chapter 10: New Museums on the Block Creation of Identity in the Post-Independence Caribbean, Kevin Farmer 160 – Chapter 11: Framing Identity, Encouraging Diversity: Recent Museum Developments in Barbados, Roslyn Russell –Chapter 12: The Memorial Museum of the Dominican Resistance:Its Composition and Role in Society,
Luisa De Peña Diaz 195 –Chapter 13: Children Get Your Culture: Museums, Individualism, and Nationalism in Jamaica,Rebecca Tortello 205. – Chapter 14: Outreach or Out of Reach? Seeking New Audiences: The Turks and Caicos National Museum Children's Club,Nigel Sadler 221 –Chapter 15: Museums and the Challenge for Heritage Organizations in Saint Lucia,Winston F. Phulgence 233 –Chapter 16: Destroying while Preserving Junkanoo: The Junkanoo Museum in the Bahamas,Krista Thompson 241 –Author Biographies 245 –
Index 255
A set of software tools to build an author assessment package on Moodle: Implementing the AEEA proposal
No full textA set of new types of assessment is required for
learning management systems (LMSs), and there is a need for
a way to assess lifelong adaptive competencies. Proposed
solutions to these problems need to preserve the
interoperability, reusability, efficiency and abstract modeling
already present in LMSs. This paper introduces a set of
software tools for an author assessment package on the LMS
Moodle being developed as part of adaptive e-learning engine
architecture (AEEA). The principal features of this set are: 1)
The set avoid editing items for a 360-degree feedback
evaluation, 2) Whole items and tests are linked to levels of
competencies acquisition, 3) The competency-based eassessment
data model are based on e-learning specification
and complemented with XML data on the appraised
competencies, 4) Items and tests are storage in repositories,
and 5) The tools are integrated within Moodle to facilitate the
design of an assessment plan.Florián G, Beatriz E-84371c44-6a8c-4bd9-b54b-50fc5d883944-600Baldiris, Silvia Margarita-d9551129-6f42-41aa-867f-ee5f4634b3f3-600Fabregat, Ramón-6248a392-bfb2-4771-90ec-4bf955386683-600De La Hoz Manotas, Alexis Kevin-8c2e7635-6db0-49a2-bb3b-b7131e3bad0f-60
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