Teachers' risk perception and needs in addressing infectious disease outbreak

The outbreak of the Influenza A (H1N1) virus has led to numerous precautionary school closures in several countries. No research is available on the school teachers’ perceptions as a health protective resource in controlling communicable disease outbreaks. The purposes of this study were to examine the risk perception, the perceived understanding of preventive measures and contingency plans, and the needs of school teachers before the imminent outbreak of H1N1. This survey was conducted with 1,169 Hong Kong school teachers before school closures due to the H1N1 outbreak. The results showed that the teachers were well aware of H1N1 but were still worried about the spread of H1N1 infection. The teachers’ worries depended on their psychological reaction, the adequacy of the control measures, government support in providing infectious disease knowledge, perceived understanding of preventive measures and contingency plans, students and parents’ awareness, and the need for support from health professionals.

Study on the visual performance of a vernacular dwelling in Egypt

Vernacular dwelling buildings located in hot arid regions are well known for their sensitive architecture response to the region’s climatic conditions and the socio-cultural norms. The architectural value of these buildings is not only limited to their historical merit, but also to the human conscious adaptation to its context and the optimum utilisation of natural resources creating both a pleasant and a functional environment. The majority of these traditional dwellings are well recognised for their unique perforated fenestration system and courtyard arrangement that evolved to control the harsh solar, climatic conditions without compromising the quality of space and occupants’ wellbeing. However, the successful design of these features and solutions cannot be fully appreciated without understanding the nature of daylight and solar radiation in which these buildings are revealed. This paper investigates the impact of the characteristic of the dense narrow streets of medieval cities on the visual performance of a typical courtyard house in Cairo.The paper examines the daylight  behaviour of one of the well-known historic alleys and of a courtyard house in Cairo. The paper analyzes and measures the variability in the visual perception and comfort for a typical pedestrian street and the occupants of the house using a simulation modelling tool (Integrated Environmental Solutions (IES) software). The paper gives an insight into the overall visual performance of the urban fabric that shapes of the microclimate, which is an important ingredient of the overall identity of the place.

Mechanisms involved in the renal responses to intravenous and renal artery infusions of noradrenaline in conscious dogs

1. The renal haemodynamic and glomerular filtration rate (G.F.R.) responses to intravenous and intrarenal infusions of noradrenaline were studied in conscious dogs, either with or without prior blockade of angiotensin II formation with teprotide.

2. Infusion noradrenaline by either route resulted in dose-related rises in plasma renin activity.

3. Pretreatment with teprotide reduced the rise in mean arterial pressure and abolished the rise in G.F.R. seen during intravenous infusions of noradrenaline (0.1, 0.2 and 0.4 microgram/kg . min). Noradrenaline also reduced filtration fraction more after teprotide pretreatment.

4. Renal blood flow rose and renal vascular resistance fell in response to I.V. noradrenaline infusions. This renal vasodilatation was unaffected by pretreatment of the dogs with teprotide, indomethacin or DL-propranolol. However after pentolinium pretreatment, I.V. noradrenaline infusion caused a dose-related renal vasoconstriction.

5. Infusion of noradrenaline into the renal artery (0.02, 0.05 and 0.1 microgram/kg . min) resulted in rises in mean arterial pressure and G.F.R. which were abolished by teprotide pretreatment. Filtration fraction rose when noradrenaline was administered alone but fell when it was infused after teprotide treatment.

6. Thus angiotensin II formed as the result of increased renin release acted to maintain G.F.R. and filtration fraction during noradrenaline infusion. In addition, I.V. noradrenaline infusions in conscious dogs caused reflex vasodilatation of the renal vasculature.

Comparison of aspirin and indomethacin pre-treatments on the responses to reduced renal artery pressure in conscious dogs

To examine the role of prostaglandins in physiologically induced renin release, we reduced renal artery pressure within the autoregulatory range in chronically instrumented conscious dogs with aspirin, indomethacin or no pre-treatment. In untreated dogs, reduction of renal artery pressure to 60 mmHg for 90 min produced rises in plasma renin activity (+ 5.4 +/- 1.0 ng ml.-1 hr-1) and mean arterial pressure (+ 17 +/- 2 mmHg) without significant effect on renal blood flow (n = 13). Aspirin pre-treatment (2 X 25-40 mg kg-1 orally) had no effect on the renin, arterial pressure or renal blood flow responses to renal artery pressure reduction (n = 7). In contrast, indomethacin pre-treatment (2 X 2-3 mg kg-1 orally) significantly lessened the increase in plasma renin activity during reduced renal artery pressure (+ 2.0 +/- 0.3 ng ml.-1 hr-1, n = 11). The relative effectiveness of aspirin and indomethacin in inhibiting prostaglandin production in the kidney was then tested in separate experiments by measuring the renal blood flow responses to renal artery injections of arachidonate (5-200 micrograms kg-1). In the doses used above, aspirin markedly attenuated the blood flow response to arachidonate but indomethacin had almost no effect. Both aspirin and indomethacin abolished the hypotensive effect of intravenous arachidonate (0.5 mg kg-1). These results tentatively suggest that indomethacin may not effectively inhibit renal prostaglandin production in conscious dogs at the doses used in these experiments. Thus the reduced renin release in response to lowered renal artery pressure in indomethacin pre-treated dogs may have been due to another, non-prostaglandin action of indomethacin. The results from the aspirin pre-treated dogs suggest that prostaglandins are not involved in the release of renin in response to reduced renal artery pressure in conscious dogs.

Renal responses to angiotensin II in conscious dogs : effects of aspirin and indomethacin

1. Angiotensin II was infused into the renal artery of unanaesthetized dogs at 0.4 and 2.0 ng/kg per min for 40 min each.

2. Indomethacin (3 mg/kg, and 1 mg/kg per h infusion i.v.) accentuated the angiotensin II-induced falls in glomerular filtration rate, renal blood flow and urine flow rate. Indomethacin did not alter the effects of angiotensin II on Na+ or K+ excretions.

3. Aspirin (35 mg/kg p.o. 2.5 h and 0.5 h prior to experiment) did not significantly change the renal effects of angiotensin II.

4. Both aspirin and indomethacin accentuated renal vasoconstriction during briefer (5 min) angiotensin II infusion.

5. Thus indomethacin and aspirin had markedly different effects on the actions of angiotensin II in the kidney. This suggests that at least one of these drugs has actions which affect angiotensin II-mediated vasoconstriction other than via cyclooxygenase inhibition.

Constructing the conditions of and environments for interdisciplinary research on perception and action

This paper suggests ways in which art processes may contribute to the interdisciplinary study of perception and action and the relationships between body, person, and environment. Artists-turned-architects Arakawa and Gins serve as the most advanced example of an interdisciplinary research project in terms of coordinating material processes with contemporary findings, methods, and orientations from across the arts, humanities, and hard and soft sciences. In the first section of the paper, I discuss Arakawa and Gins's Reversible Destiny Lofts at Mitaka as an example of their procedural approach to long-term sustainable experimental environments. In the second section, the tactics through which Arakawa and Gins have repositioned art for the nonart purposes and common research goals are posited. Finally, I briefly outline the disciplinary positions and research values needed in order to move toward a more inclusive and interdisciplinary research practice.

Student perception of learning approach and teamwork benefits in accounting : a qualitative study

Accounting academics have heeded the call to incorporate team learning activities into the curricula, yet little is known of student perception of teamwork and whether they view it as beneficial to them. This study addresses the gap by utilising qualitative techniques to examine student perception of the benefits of teamwork and what aspects of the teamwork will contribute to their future professional work. Results indicate that students perceive teamwork enables the use of deep learning and, further, that teamwork at the undergraduate level contributes to their future abilities in the profession. The paper ends by presenting implications for accounting educators.

Reducing sodium in foods ; the effect on flavour and consumers' perception

As the majority of people's sodium intake is via processed foods, the effective sodium reduction strategy is to reduce the sodium levels in processed foods.  The aims of the thesis were to determine the flavor characteristics of reduced sodium foods and to investigate how food lables affect consumers' expectation and liking.

Shifting ground in some Australian photography

This is a report of a practice-as-research project. The chapter outlines McArdle's discoveries of means by which the pre-conscious processes of binocular vision and steropsis can be made visible in an effect which with one-eyed vision renders the scene 3-dimensional.

In the book's introduction editor Mehigan writes "[The] will to creation is only assayable once we estimate the role of the observer in the construction of space. McArdle's contribution, in engaging with the question of the animating presence of the observer focuses not just on what is caught in the lens of the photographer at the moment of depiction, but how the photographer's movement through space is the 'force field' that insinuates itself into the landscape and enters into a reciprocal relationship with it. The schematism of Euclidean geometry, for this reason, cannot account for the truth of the photographer's images; McArdle's metaphors are singularly non-Euclidean in their description of how objects are held together in the imaginative space of mental awareness."

General anaesthesia or conscious sedation for painful procedures in childhood cancer: the family's perspective

Background: Until recently, midazolam sedation was routinely used in our institution for bone marrow aspirates and lumbar punctures in children with cancer. It has been perceived by many doctors and nurses as being well tolerated by children and their families.

Aim: To compare the efficacy of inhalational general anaesthesia and midazolam sedation for these procedures.

Methods: A total of 96 children with neoplastic disorders, who received either inhalational general anaesthesia with sevoflurane, nitrous oxide, and oxygen (GA) or sedation with oral or nasal midazolam (SED) as part of their routine preparation for procedures were studied. The experiences of these childen were examined during their current procedure and during their first ever procedure. Main outcome measures were the degree of physical restraint used on the child, and the levels of distress and pain experienced by the child during the current procedure and during the first procedure. The family‘s preference for future procedures was also determined.

Results: During 102 procedures under GA, restraint was needed on four occasions (4%) when the anaesthetic mask was first applied, minimal pain was reported, and children were reported as distressed about 25% of the time. During 80 SED procedures, restraint was required in 94%, firm restraint was required in 66%, the child could not be restrained in 14%, median pain score was 6 (scale 0 (no pain) to 6 (maximum pain)), and 90% of the parents reported distress in their child. Ninety per cent of families wanted GA for future procedures. Many families reported dissatisfaction with the sedation regime and raised concerns about the restraint used on their child.

Conclusions: This general anaesthetic regime minimised the need for restraint and was associated with low levels of pain and distress. The sedation regime, by contrast, was much less effective. There was a significant disparity between the perceptions of health professionals and those of families with respect to how children coped with painful procedures.