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Selected AbstractsWhy Games Will Be the Preeminent Art Form of the 21stCenturyCOMPUTER GRAPHICS FORUM, Issue 3 2001Chris Hecker Computer games share many artistic and technical characteristics with films of the early 1900s. Games' artistic evolution is hampered by the lack of artistic respect from society at large, and the lack of technical standards that would allow artistic innovation. The same problems affected cinema during its birth. During the early 20th century, film managed to find its way from popular diversion to highly respected art form. Will games follow the same course, or will they be stuck forever in the ghetto of pop culture? What technological and artistic changes need to occur in the medium for games to evolve beyond merely shooting aliens and into an art form worthy of association with painting, music, writing, and film? This talk will pose some of those questions, if not attempt to answer them. [source] Effects of oral electrolyte supplementation on endurance horses competing in 80 km ridesEQUINE VETERINARY JOURNAL, Issue S36 2006F. SAMPIERI Summary Reasons for performing study: There is no evidence that use of oral electrolyte pastes enhances performance in competing endurance horses. Objective: To ascertain whether oral administration of a high dose (HD) of sodium chloride (NaCl) and potassium chloride (KCl) to endurance horses would differentially increase water intake, attenuate bodyweight (bwt) loss and improve performance when compared to a low dose (LD). Methods: A randomised, blinded, crossover study was conducted on 8 horses participating in two 80 km rides (same course, 28 days apart). Thirty minutes before and at 40 km of the first ride 4, horses received orally 0.2 g NaCl/kg bwt and 0.07 g KCl/kg bwt. The other 4 received 0.07 g NaCl/kg bwt and 0.02 g KCl/kg bwt. Horses received the alternate treatment in the second ride. Data were analysed with 2-way ANOVA for repeated measures (P<0.05). Results: Estimated water intake was significantly greater with HD both at the 40 km mark and as total water intake; however, differences in bwt loss and speed between HD and LD were not found. Treatment significantly affected serum Na+, Cl,, HCO3, pH and water intake, but not serum K+ or bwt. Serum Na+ and Cl, were significantly higher at 80 km when horses received HD, but no differences were found in early recovery. Venous HCO3 and pH were significantly lower throughout the ride and in early recovery when horses received HD. Conclusions and potential relevance: Other than enhancing water intake, supplementing endurance horses with high doses of NaCl and KCl did not provide any detectable competitive advantage in 80 km rides. Further, the elevated serum electrolyte concentrations induced with HD might not be appropriate for endurance horses. [source] The workload of riding-school horses during jumpingEQUINE VETERINARY JOURNAL, Issue S36 2006M. M. SLOET Van OLDRUITENBORGH-OOSTERBAAN Summary Reasons for performing the study: As there are no reports on the real workload of horses that jump fences, this study was undertaken in riding-school horses. Objective: To compare the workload of horses jumping a course of fences with that of horses cantering over the same course at the same average speed without jumping fences. The workload variables included heart rate (HR), packed cell volume (PCV), acid-base balance (venous pH, pCO2, HCO3,) and blood lactate (LA), glucose, total protein and electrolyte concentrations. Methods: Eight healthy riding-school horses performed test A (a course of approximately 700 m with 12 jumps from 0.8-1.0 m high at an average speed of approximately 350 m/min) and test B (same course at the same speed, but without the rails) in a crossover study with at least 4 h between the 2 tests. Before each test the horses were fitted with a heart rate meter (Polar Electro)1. Blood samples were taken from the jugular vein at rest prior to the test, after warm-up before starting the course, immediately after the course and after recovery. All samples were analysed immediately. Results: The mean ± s.d maximal HR (beats/min) during the course (184 ± 17 and 156 ± 21, respectively) and the mean HR after recovery (75 ± 6 and 63 ± 7, respectively) were significantly higher in test A compared to test B (P=0.001 and P=0.007 respectively). The mean LA concentrations after the course and after recovery (mmol/1) were significantly higher in test A (3.6 ± 2.7 and 1.0 ± 0.9, respectively) compared to test B (0.9 ± 0.5 and 0.3 ± 0.1, respectively), (P=0.016 and P = 0.048 respectively). The mean PCV (1/1) after the course and after recovery was also significantly different between tests A (0.48 ± 0.04 and 0.39 ± 0.03, respectively) and B (0.42 ± 0.04 and 0.36 ± 0.03, respectively) (P<0.01). The mean pH and the mean HCO3, (mmol/1) after the course were significantly lower in test A (7.40 ± 0.04 and 28.9 ± 1.4, respectively) compared to test B (7.45 ± 0.03 and 30.4 ± 2.3, respectively) (P<0.05). Conclusions: This study indicates that in riding-school horses jumping fences, even at a low level competition, provokes a significant workload compared to cantering the same distance and speed without fences. Potential relevance: This study makes it clear that the extra workload of jumping fences should be taken into account in the training programmes of jumping horses. Further research with more experienced horses jumping higher fences will reveal the workload for top-level jumping horses. [source] Learning gains associated with annotation and communication software designed for large undergraduate classesJOURNAL OF COMPUTER ASSISTED LEARNING, Issue 1 2007T. L. Wentling Abstract The purpose of this study was to explore the potential of annotation and communication software (eFuzion) developed for the improvement of students' learning and to determine the effectiveness of the software. eFuzion is designed to be useful in a significantly large classroom by allowing instructors and teaching assistants to provide immediate responses to students' questions and to provide a broader array of options for the lucid presentation of complex concepts. To determine the effectiveness of the software, two groups that took the same course were compared in terms of their learning scores, one group having used the software, the other having not used it. In the three measures of learning, the students who used the software showed significantly higher learning scores than students who did not use it. In addition, students indicated that they felt closer to the instructor and that their understanding of the lecture material was increased by using the software. The results imply that the software has great potential for improving students' learning when it is appropriately used and free of technical difficulties. [source] Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease in the absence of chronic bronchitis in ChinaRESPIROLOGY, Issue 7 2010Ming LU ABSTRACT Background and objective: COPD has a variable natural history and not all individuals follow the same course. The aim of this study was to assess the prevalence of COPD in the absence of chronic bronchitis (CB) based on a population survey in China, and to identify the determinants of CB in patients with COPD. Methods: A multi-stage cluster sampling strategy was used to survey a population from seven different provinces/cities of China. All residents over 40 years of age were interviewed using a standardized questionnaire and spirometry was measured. A post-bronchodilator FEV1/FVC < 70% was defined as the diagnostic criterion for COPD. All COPD patients who were screened were divided into two groups according to the presence or absence of CB. Results: Of the population of 20 245 that was surveyed, 70% of the 1668 patients who were diagnosed with COPD reported no history of CB. The ages, BMI and comorbidities of COPD patients with or without CB were similar. Male gender, residence in a rural area, having a lower level of education, exposure to tobacco smoke or biomass fuels, poor ventilation in the kitchen and a family history of respiratory disease were all associated with a higher risk of COPD with CB. Patients without CB had less difficulty in walking and higher FEV1/FVC values than patients with CB, but were more likely to be underdiagnosed. The strongest predictors of CB were male gender, current smoking and severity of dyspnoea. Conclusions: This survey confirmed that there is a high prevalence of COPD in the absence of CB in China. It appears that CB is not essential to the diagnosis of COPD. [source] Comparing Web, Correspondence and Lecture versions of a second-year non-major Biology courseBRITISH JOURNAL OF EDUCATIONAL TECHNOLOGY, Issue 1 2000Michael Collins A comparison of correspondence and Web versions of the same course indicated that, although the students were very satisfied with the Web version, the correspondence section achieved the higher mean final scores in three of the four semesters while the Web course achieved the higher mean score in only one semester. A literature search indicated that there are very few studies which compare the relative successes of Web-based courses and traditional (lecture) courses as this present study does. In addition most of these other comparative studies are based on only one offering of the Web-based course, whereas the present study evaluates the Web-based course over four different semesters. [source] Comparison of Adverse Events during Procedural Sedation between Specially Trained Pediatric Residents and Pediatric Emergency Physicians in IsraelACADEMIC EMERGENCY MEDICINE, Issue 7 2008Itai Shavit MD Abstract Objectives:, The aim was to compare the rate of procedural sedation,related adverse events of pediatric residents with specific training in "patient safety during sedation" and pediatric emergency physicians (PEPs) who completed the same course or were teaching faculty for it. Methods:, This prospective single-blinded, nonrandomized study was conducted in two university-affiliated pediatric emergency departments (PEDs) in Israel. Pediatric residents who were authorized to perform unsupervised sedations had previously completed a course in patient safety during sedation. Unsupervised sedations by residents were defined as sedations where the entire procedure was performed independently. Study subjects had autonomy in choosing medications for sedation. Adverse events were defined as transient hypoxia (oxygen saturation , 90%) or apnea. Adverse outcomes were situations where intubation or hospitalization directly related to sedation complications would occur. Sedations over 12 consecutive months were recorded, and rates of adverse events in each group were compared. Results:, A total of 984 eligible sedations were recorded, 635 by unsupervised residents and 349 by PEPs. A total of 512 (80.6%) sedations were performed by residents when attending physicians were not in the ED. The total adverse event rate was 24/984 (2.44%). When the two groups used a similar type drugs, residents had 8/635 (1.26%) events, compared to 11/328 (3.35%) by PEPs. There was no statistically significant difference in the rates of hypoxia or apnea between the two groups (p = 0.29 and p = 0.18, respectively). Adverse outcomes did not occur. Conclusions:, Unsupervised pediatric residents with training in patient safety during sedation performed procedural sedations with a rate of adverse events similar to that of PEPs. [source] | |||||||||||||