University Research Team Research Articles

Il “Diario di bordo condiviso” come cura di sé nel vissuto di malattia oncologica delle persone assistite e percepito dell’utilità da parte degli operatori

Background: Hematologic cancer diagnoses represents a traumatic event for patients because of its impact on both their physical as well as psychological health. The Autobiographic Narrative approach has been developed in clinical settings, to support patients in expressing and sharing their experience. The aim of this study is to analyze the experiences of patients and professionals following the introduction of the Patient Journal in a Hematology-Oncology ward in an urban Hospital in Turin (Italy). Methods: Qualitative study and action-research approach. The Patient Journal Tool was created by a team of professionals and university researchers. Qualitative interviews with patients and focus groups with ward personnel were carried out in order to evaluate the Diaries’ perceived benefits. Results: Two main subjects emerged from the analysis of the interviews: the usefulness of the Journal as a mean to express as well as to share emotions with other patients, and the trauma of the illness. One main subject emerged from the focus groups: it’s the efficacy for the healthcare professionals in order to use the patients’ experience to improve nursing care. The issue of how to introducing the Journal as a practice to the patient was analyzed. Conclusions: The patient’s Journal tool in this specific experience as revealed to have two important effects. First, it offers the opportunity to share the illness experience with other patients as well as healthcare professionals. Secondly, it is a way to ease expressing emotions. It has been an opportunity for the team order to understand and improve the patients’ experience in the ward. The diffusion of this tool within clinical settings needs further discussion.

New catalyst puts CO2 to good use

A Columbia University research team has prepared a magnesium catalyst that can efficiently convert carbon dioxide to precursors for commodity chemicals such as formaldehyde. Carbon dioxide is usually thought of as an essential molecule for photosynthesis and as a greenhouse gas that helps control Earth’s climate. But because CO2 is abundant and cheap, it also offers much potential as a renewable carbon source for synthesizing chemicals and fuels. The catch is that the gas is not very reactive until it overreacts, so chemists need to come up with catalysts that selectively functionalize CO2 to produce targeted products. One approach is hydrosilylation, but control of the product distribution by high-priced precious-metal catalysts at the hot temperatures they require is challenging and may result in complete reduction of CO2 to methane. The new catalysts prepared by Columbia’s Michael Rauch and Gerard Parkin instead use less costly zinc or magnesium and work selectively

Why to employ foreign academics in Poland? Perspective of heads of university research teams

Why to employ foreign academics in Poland? Perspective of heads of university research teams

Excessive levitation for the efficient loading of large-volume optical dipole traps**Project supported by the National Key Research and Development Program of China (Grant No. 2017YFA0304203), the Changjiang Scholars and Innovative Research Team in University of Ministry of Education of China (Grant No. IRT13076), the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant Nos. 91436108, 61378014, 61675121, 11434007, 61705123, and 61722507), the

We study the excessive levitation effect in the magnetically levitated loading process of ultracold Cs atoms into a large-volume crossed optical dipole trap. We analyze the motion of atoms with a non-zero combined gravito-magnetic force during the loading, where the magnetically levitated force catches up with and surpasses the gravity. We present the theoretical variations of both acceleration and velocity with levitation time and magnetic field gradient. We measure the evolution of the number of trapped atoms with the excessive levitation time at different magnetic field gradients. The dependence of the number of atoms on the magnetic field gradient is also measured for different excessive levitation times. The theoretical analysis shows reasonable agreement with the experimental results. Our investigation illustrates that the excessive levitation can be used to reduce the heating effect of atoms in the magnetically levitated loading process, and to improve the loading rate of a large-volume optical dipole trap.

Transforming Pervasive into Collaborative: Engaging Youth as Leaders with GIS through a Framework that Integrates Technologies, Storytelling, and Action

This paper presents the methods and preliminary results gained in geographic information systems (GIS)-based participatory activities designed to engage youth in urban planning. We describe our engagement framework that integrates such pervasive IT tools as GIS, online serious games, agent-based modeling, and mobile participatory GIS into engagement strategies that tap into what we see as the storytelling capabilities of these tools. We show how these methods help citizens, in our case youth, assume leadership roles and take positive, tangible actions in their communities. This paper summarizes the elements of our framework and the initial results of a program called “Community Growers” that we created between our Iowa State University research team and a chapter of the Boys & Girls Club of Central Iowa. Participants included middle school-age youth from three resource-vulnerable neighborhoods in Des Moines, the capital city of Iowa, USA. We conclude the paper with a discussion and further research directions.

Parents\u2019 perceptions of reasons for excess weight loss in obese children: a peer researcher approach

BackgroundThis study reports on the process of conducting participatory research by training peer researchers to conduct interviews and analyse data collected with parents of overweight children. The methodology was chosen as a means of (a) encouraging participation among a hard-to-engage group (i.e., parents of overweight children), and (b) generating novel insights and challenging academic/health professional assumptions through the involvement of parents in the interpretation of findings.MethodsFour parents (all female) were recruited as peer researchers and trained in research processes, ethics, and interview skills over three half-day workshops. The intended interviewees were parents of children identified as obese through the National Child Measurement Programme (NCMP) at the start of primary school (age 4–5) but who had lost their excess weight by age 10–11; little is currently known about how this excess weight loss is achieved. Interviews were conducted by peer researchers, transcribed verbatim and analysed thematically by both peer- and university-based investigators.ResultsThe peer researchers felt confident to conduct interviews after three training sessions. Recruitment of interviewees was challenging, resulting in only four volunteers (all mothers) over a 5-month period; thus peer researchers were only able to conduct one interview each. All interviews were considered good quality in comparison to those conducted by Masters-level research assistants. The process of co-analysis resulted in a change in emphasis from that initially generated by the university research team; the role of health professionals in weight management was de-emphasised, and the importance of ‘not singling out’ overweight children accentuated. Given the limited number of interviews, the results of the study are only provisional but resulted in three themes: Whole Family Action, Support (and lack of support), and Protecting Childhood.ConclusionsTraining peer researchers to conduct and analyse interviews was feasible within a short period of training. Peer researchers found the experience interesting, informative and worthwhile. Two of the four volunteered to be involved in a related study 12 months later. The different perspective brought through co-analysis suggests that this approach to conducting participatory research may be a useful means of working with the public to generate new ideas to tackle intransigent issues.

Community Power Structure Analysis and the Ethical Considerations of "Studying Up".

This narrative outlines our challenges in studying power and power structures within an individual-level ethical framework. Taking a social ethics perspective, we share the story of our "sticky situation" (Campbell, ) that transpired during a multi-year community partnership. We were asked, by our community partners, to help collect interview data without informed consent. As a team of community-engaged university researchers, we were faced with a seemingly easy ethical situation (no consent, no research) that had unexpectedly complicated and long-lasting consequences. This experience revealed to us how community-engaged research and action, under a traditional ethics framework, can often work to protect those in positions of power and offer little to disrupt the status quo. Reflecting on the tension between individual and social ethics, we discuss the limitations of an individual-level framework, including the definitions for respect for persons, justice, and beneficence, on our ability as a field to understand, critique, and contribute to the dismantling of oppressive power structures.

Rotational Population Measurement of Ultracold 85Rb133Cs Molecules in the Lowest Vibrational Ground State**Supported by the National Key Research and Development Program of China under Grant No 2017YFA0304203, the National Natural Science Foundation of China under Grant Nos 61675120, 11434007 and 61378015, the Program for Changjiang Scholars and Innovative Research Team in University under Grant No IRT13076, and the Applied Basic

We measure the rotational populations of ultracold 85Rb133Cs molecules in the lowest vibrational ground state by a depletion spectroscopy and quantify the molecular production rate based on the measurement of single ion signal area. The 85Rb133Cs molecules in the are formed from the short-range molecular state. A home-made external-cavity diode laser is used as the depletion laser to measure the rotational populations of the formed molecules. Based on the determination of single ion signal, the production rates of molecules in the J = 0 and J = 2 rotational levels are derived to be 4800 mole/s and 7200 mole/s, respectively. The resolution and quantification of molecules in rotational states are facilitative for the manipulation of rotational quantum state of ultracold molecules.

Impact of the Global Food Safety Initiative on Food Safety Worldwide: Statistical Analysis of a Survey of International Food Processors

In 2000, the Consumer Goods Forum established the Global Food Safety Initiative (GFSI) to increase the safety of the world's food supply and to harmonize food safety regulations worldwide. In 2013, a university research team in conjunction with Diversey Consulting (Sealed Air), the Consumer Goods Forum, and officers of GFSI solicited input from more than 15,000 GFSI-certified food producers worldwide to determine whether GFSI certification had lived up to these expectations. A total of 828 usable questionnaires were analyzed, representing about 2,300 food manufacturing facilities and food suppliers in 21 countries, mainly across Western Europe, Australia, New Zealand, and North America. Nearly 90% of these certified suppliers perceived GFSI as being beneficial for addressing their food safety concerns, and respondents were eight times more likely to repeat the certification process knowing what it entailed. Nearly three-quarters (74%) of these food manufacturers would choose to go through the certification process again even if certification were not required by one of their current retail customers. Important drivers for becoming GFSI certified included continuing to do business with an existing customer, starting to do business with new customer, reducing the number of third-party food safety audits, and continuing improvement of their food safety program. Although 50% or fewer respondents stated that they saw actual increases in sales, customers, suppliers, or employees, significantly more companies agreed than disagreed that there was an increase in these key performance indicators in the year following GFSI certification. A majority of respondents (81%) agreed that there was a substantial investment in staff time since certification, and 50% agreed there was a significant capital investment. This survey is the largest and most representative of global food manufacturers conducted to date.

Organizational Construction of a New Type of University Scientific Research Team Based on Jingyou Thought

To optimize the organization and management of scientific research team in university, this paper designs a new form of organization which takes into account of the common development of scientific research team (SRT) and team members. The study of this paper offers a new type of scientific research team which is based on Jingyou thought, and analyses the Jingyou SRT’s characteristics, including the human-oriented scientific organization system, sincere, frank and truth pursuing code of practice, initiative and passionate working atmosphere, strategic behavior results in harmony. The last part of this paper presents the design of the basic operational mechanism, benefit distribution and harmonious development mechanism of the Jingyou SRT based on the individual advantage recognition method.

Building Capacity Among Laity: A Faith-Based Health Ministry Initiative.

A systematic review of topic-specific faith-based health programs determined that health outcomes can be improved though faith-based health interventions. A university research team, in partnership with the Kansas United Methodist Church and a United Methodist philanthropy, facilitated planning and development of a statewide initiative to increase the capacity of laity-led health ministry teams. The purpose of this paper is to describe the processes utilized to design and implement an initiative to increase capacity for laity-led comprehensive health ministry among Kansas United Methodist Church congregations and to share the key elements of the initiative.

Bubble acoustical scattering cross section under multi-frequency acoustic excitation**Project supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant No. 11674074) and the Program for Changjiang Scholars and Innovative Research Team in University, China (Grant No. IRT1228).

The acoustical scattering cross section is usually employed to evaluate the scattering ability of the bubbles when they are excited by the incident acoustic waves. This parameter is strongly related to many important applications of performance prediction for search sonar or underwater telemetry, acoustical oceanography, acoustic cavitation, volcanology, and medical and industrial ultrasound. In the present paper, both the analytical and numerical analysis results of the acoustical scattering cross section of a single bubble under multi-frequency excitation are obtained. The nonlinear characteristics (e.g., harmonics, subharmonics, and ultraharmonics) of the scattering cross section curve under multi-frequency excitation are investigated compared with single-frequency excitation. The influence of several paramount parameters (e.g., bubble equilibrium radius, acoustic pressure amplitude, and acoustic frequencies) in the multi-frequency system on the predictions of scattering cross section is discussed. It is shown that the combination resonances become significant in the multi-frequency system when the acoustic power is big enough, and the acoustical scattering cross section is promoted significantly within a much broader range of bubble sizes and acoustic frequencies due to the generation of more resonances.

Crystal structures and electronic properties of solid fluorine under high pressure**Project supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant Nos. 51632002, 51572108, 11634004, and 11174102), Program for Changjiang Scholars and Innovative Research Team in University, China (Grant No. IRT 15R23), the National Fund for Fostering Talents of Basic Science, China (Grant No. J1103202), and the Development Program of

As the previously proposed structures of C2/m and C2/c possess similar enthalpies and x-ray diffraction patterns, the space group of fluorine at ambient pressure is in controversy. We successfully obtain its thermodynamically stable low-pressure phase, which shares the same structure as the earlier known C2/c. Further investigations on phonon spectra reveal the instability of the C2/m structure with imaginary frequency in the Brillouin zone and confirm the dynamically stable property of the C2/c structure at the same time. Compressing fluorine up to 8 GPa, the C2/c phase is found to undergo a phase transition to a new structure with a space group of Cmca. Electronic energy band structures indicate the insulating feature of C2/c and Cmca with no bands across the Fermi level. The infrared (IR) and Raman spectra of C2/c and Cmca at selected pressures are calculated to provide useful information to future experiments.

Scaling of Yb-doped photonic crystal fiber to 200 μm core diameter for high beam quality laser output**Project supported by the Program for Changjiang Scholars and Innovative Research Team in University, China (Grant No. PCSIRT: 1212), the Key Grant Science and Technology Planning Project of Beijing, China (Grant Nos. PXM2013 014224 000077 and PXM2012 014224 000019), and the Science and Technology

The rare earth-doped active fibers not only have ten thousands of square-micron core-area but also deliver a laser with near-diffraction-limited beam quality. However, they have been studied little. In this paper, we design a 200-μm-core-diameter Yb3+-doped photonic crystal fiber with a large pitch in the air-hole cladding region. Simulations demonstrate that only fundamental mode (FM) with a mode field area (MFA) of ∼ 28000 μm2 can be amplified and propagated at the gain saturation, and the beam quality is about 1.5. It is predicted that almost 105 mJ single-pulse energy is available from such a 1.5-meter-length fiber.

Adjustable quantum coherence effects in a hybrid optomechanical system**Project supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant Nos. 11574092, 61378012, 91121023, and 60978009), the National BasicResearch Program of China (Grant No. 2013CB921804), and the Innovative Research Team in University, China (Grant No. IRT1243).

We propose a system for achieving some adjustable quantum coherence effects, including the normal-mode splitting (NMS), the optomechanically induced transparency (OMIT), and the optomechanically induced absorption (OMIA). In this system, two tunnel-coupled optomechanical cavities are each driven by a coupling field and coupled to an atomic ensemble. Besides, one of the cavities is also injected with a probe field. When the system works under different conditions, we can obtain the NMS, the OMIT, and the OMIA, respectively. These effects can be flexibly adjusted by the tunnel coupling between the two cavities, the power of the coupling lasers, and the coupling strength between the atomic ensembles and the cavity fields. Furthermore, we can realize the OMIT even if the oscillating mirrors have relatively larger decay rates.

Modeling and analysis for the image mapping spectrometer**Project supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant Nos. 61635002 and 61307020) and the Changjiang Scholars and Innovative Research Team in University (PCSIRT) Program, China.

The snapshot image mapping spectrometer (IMS) has advantages such as high temporal resolution, high throughput, compact structure and simple reconstructed algorithm. In recent years, it has been utilized in biomedicine, remote sensing, etc. However, the system errors and various factors can cause cross talk, image degradation and spectral distortion in the system. In this research, a theoretical model is presented along with the point response function (PRF) for the IMS, and the influence of the mirror tilt angle error of the image mapper and the prism apex angle error are analyzed based on the model. The results indicate that the tilt angle error causes loss of light throughput and the prism apex angle error causes spectral mixing between adjacent sub-images. The light intensity on the image plane is reduced to 95% when the mirror tilt angle error is increased to (). The prism apex error should be controlled within the range of 0–36 (0.01 ) to ensure the designed number of spectral bands, and avoid spectral mixing between adjacent images.

The Importance of Context: Assessing the Benefits and Limitations of Participatory Mapping for Empowering Indigenous Communities in the Comarca Ngäbe-Buglé, Panama

Indigenous communities have been involved in participatory mapping projects to protect their territories and manage their resources for decades. However, while tremendous advances have been achieved in many settings, the use of maps by indigenous peoples is very uneven. Here we present the case of a team of university researchers, indigenous students, and local investigators who used a participatory approach to map cultural landscapes and mature forest cover in the Comarca Ngäbe-Buglé of Panama. This article examines the success and limitations of efforts to empower indigenous people in the region to use mapping tools for conservation and resource management. The project, while it provides a useful example of how to build a participatory research team to produce maps that better reflect indigenous points of view, fell short of empowering indigenous authorities to use geographic tools to manage their territories. This is due mainly to the lack of administrative capacity needed to make use of geospatial information. We argue that cartographers involved in participatory projects, while typically attentive to the problems of marginalization, need to pay more attention to the broader socioeconomic contexts of their work and to redouble their efforts to respond to the challenges of the digital divide, which is a symptom of broader socioeconomic and political inequalities stemming from the legacies of colonialism.

Turning in or tuning out? Listening to silences in education for critical political consciousness

What happens when a team of university education researchers initiates a social justice learning project in a local high school, and – despite the overall project’s considerable successes in cultivating students’ critical political ‘voice’ – is confounded by the periodic, apparent ‘silences’ of some of its young female students? Drawing on eight years of fieldwork in a groundbreaking high school social justice education classroom, this article examines the presumptions inherent in certain forms of social justice pedagogy, and the ways in which ensuing classroom disjunctures may, in fact, lead to deeper insights about education for youth critical social consciousness. The article focuses on two, interrelated issues: the unsettling and sometimes confounding ‘silences’ of female students and the correlation between such silences and social justice educators’ attenuated ability to recognize and support the myriad ways in which minority female students may encounter, negotiate, and articulate their own particular forms of Freirian conscientización.

Local microstructural analysis for Y2O3/Eu3+/Mg2+ nanorods by Raman and photoluminescence spectra under high pressure**Project supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant Nos. 11304380, 11404241, 11275138, 11604240, and 51320105007) and the Program for Changjiang Scholars and Innovative Research Team in University, China (Grant No. IRT1132).

In this paper, we investigate the Raman and photoluminescence spectra of Y2O3/Eu3+ and Y2O3/Eu3+/Mg2+ nanorods under high pressures using 514-nm and 532-nm laser light excitation. We observe transitions from the initial cubic phase to amorphous at pressures higher than 24 GPa for both Y2O3/Eu3+ and Y2O3/Eu3+/Mg2+ nanorods. In addition, Y2O3/Eu3+ and Y2O3/Eu3+/Mg2+ nanorods exhibit different distorted states after the pressure has been raised to 8 GPa. The analyses of intensity ratios, I0−2/I0−1 from 5D0–7F2 to 5D0–7F1 and I0−2A/B of 5D0–7F2 transitions indicate that Y2O3/Eu3+/Mg2+ nanorods exhibit stronger local micro-surrounding characteristics for Eu3+ ions in a pressure-modulated crystal field. The doped Mg2+ ion results in reducing the crystal ionicity in the distorted lattice state under high pressures. The use of doped ions as an ion modifier can be applied to the study of small local microstructural changes through Eu3+ luminescence.

Delphi Research Methodology Applied to Place-Based Watershed Education

This research focuses on the results of the Flathead Watershed Delphi survey, a consensus-building methodology used to establish foundational knowledge, skills and dispositions for the Flathead Watershed Educators Guide, a place-based watershed curriculum for middle school grades based on the Flathead Watershed Sourcebook. Survey participants (n = 33) were chosen based on their expertise as educators, resource managers and scientists living and practicing in the Flathead Watershed in northwestern Montana, USA. Participants’ responses were gathered through a three-round survey conducted by the Montana State University (MSU) research team using MSU’s online course management system, Desire 2 Learn (D2L), an anonymous, asynchronous platform with distance accessibility. Round One responses gathered through the D2L discussion tool allowed participants to read responses and reply if desired. Round One discussion responses were reformatted into statements, which were then rated through two successive rounds using a 1–5 Likert scale. Of the initial 142 statements, 91 statements were retained in the final round. Final statements were cross-referenced with the Flathead Watershed Sourcebook to identify learning objectives for the Flathead Watershed Educators Guide. Final statements identified the knowledge, skills, and dispositions deemed most important for students in the Flathead Watershed to learn. Statements supported the need for place-based watershed education in fostering positive attitudes toward conservation and protection of the natural environment.