114 research outputs found
THE COMPARATIVE REGULATION OF INTENSIVE LIVESTOCK OPERATIONS IN NORTH AMERICA
Livestock Production/Industries,
Using e-learning to deliver professional development training to teachers, in the area of ICT within design and technology
This paper discusses the action research that was carried out
to deliver continuing professional development materials to
design and technology teachers, through e-learning. The
focus is the governmentâs New Opportunities Fund âICT
for Teachersâ initiative, which aims to train teachers to use
information and communications technology (ICT) within
their subject area.
Staffordshire ICT for Teachers (SIfT), an approved
training provider to the scheme, has delivered materials via
the Internet, using a virtual learning environment. Such a
delivery necessitated research into the instructional design
model to be used, the associated pedagogical issues, the ICT
software for teachers to access, the design and technology
subject materials to be created and the necessary support
mechanisms which needed to be put in place, in order to
deliver such e-learning. This paper reflects the innovative
design and technology training that SIfT offers
(incorporating a wide range of materials into a coordinated
system) and the lessons learned, providing
suggestions for the way forward with e-learning, in the area
of teacher professional development
An algorithm for Monte-Carlo time-dependent radiation transfer
A new Monte-Carlo algorithm for calculating time-dependent radiative-transfer
under the assumption of LTE is presented. Unlike flux-limited diffusion the
method is polychromatic, includes scattering, and is able to treat the
optically thick and free-streaming regimes simultaneously. The algorithm is
tested on a variety of 1-d and 2-d problems, and good agreement with benchmark
solutions is found. The method is used to calculate the time-varying spectral
energy distribution from a circumstellar disc illuminated by a protostar whose
accretion luminosity is varying. It is shown that the time lag between the
optical variability and the infrared variability results from a combination of
the photon travel time and the thermal response in the disc, and that the lag
is an approximately linear function of wavelength.Comment: 10 pages, 10 figures, accepted for publication by MNRA
Movement of a secondary immiscible liquid in a suspension using a non-invasive technique
In this paper, the movement of a secondary immiscible liquid when added to a suspension of hydrophilic particles in a continuous hydrophobic phase is investigated. This was achieved through an approach using high speed camera and X-ray computer tomography. These non-invasive approaches allowed the secondary liquid displacement within the suspension to be monitored on the surface level and within the suspension through a time lapse of scans.
The addition of a small amount of secondary liquid to suspensions, can lead to a transition from a fluid-like to paste-like structure. The kinetics taking place and responsible for this, during both short and long term storage were investigated to better understand the mechanisms taking place. Water was added as the secondary immiscible liquid to suspensions composed of sucrose (icing sugar) and sunflower oil. Different volumes of secondary liquid were added to the suspensions. The rate of movement as well as the spreading of the secondary liquid into the suspension was calculated from the scans taken. The surface area to volume ratio was proposed as a reason for the spreading of the liquid for the smaller volume droplet being greater in comparison to the larger volume droplet
Subduction or sagduction? Ambiguity in constraining the origin of ultramaficâmafic bodies in the Archean crust of NW Scotland
The Lewisian Complex of NW Scotland is a fragment of the North Atlantic Craton. It comprises mostly Archean tonaliteâtrondhjemiteâgranodiorite (TTG) orthogneisses that were variably metamorphosed and reworked in the late Neoarchean to Paleoproterozoic. Within the granulite facies central region of the mainland Lewisian Complex, discontinuous belts composed of ultramaficâmafic rocks and structurally overlying garnetâbiotite gneiss (brown gneiss) are spatially associated with steeply-inclined amphibolite facies shear zones that have been interpreted as terrane boundaries. Interpretation of the primary chemical composition of these rocks is complicated by partial melting and melt loss during granulite facies metamorphism, and contamination with melts derived from the adjacent migmatitic TTG host rocks. Notwithstanding, the composition of the layered ultramaficâmafic rocks is suggestive of a protolith formed by differentiation of tholeiitic magma, where the ultramafic portions of these bodies represent the metamorphosed cumulates and the mafic portions the metamorphosed fractionated liquids. Although the composition of the brown gneiss does not clearly discriminate the protolith, it most likely represents a metamorphosed sedimentary or volcano-sedimentary sequence. For Archean rocks, particularly those metamorphosed to granulite facies, the geochemical characteristics typically used for discrimination of paleotectonic environments are neither strictly appropriate nor clearly diagnostic. Many of the rocks in the Lewisian Complex have âarc-likeâ trace element signatures. These signatures are interpreted to reflect derivation from hydrated enriched mantle and, in the case of the TTG gneisses, partial melting of amphibolite source rocks containing garnet and a Ti-rich phase, probably rutile. However, it is becoming increasingly recognised that in Archean rocks such signatures may not be unique to a subduction environment but may relate to processes such as delamination and dripping. Consequently, it is unclear whether the Lewisian ultramaficâmafic rocks and brown gneisses represent products of plate margin or intraplate magmatism. Although a subduction-related origin is possible, we propose that an intraplate origin is equally plausible. If the second alternative is correct, the ultramaficâmafic rocks and brown gneisses may represent the remnants of intracratonic greenstone belts that sank into the deep crust due to their density contrast with the underlying partially molten low viscosity TTG orthogneisses
Phenotypic and genetic spectrum of epilepsy with myoclonic atonic seizures
Objective: We aimed to describe the extent of neurodevelopmental impairments andidentify the genetic etiologies in a large cohort of patients with epilepsy with myoclonicatonic seizures (MAE).Methods: We deeply phenotyped MAE patients for epilepsy features, intellectualdisability, autism spectrum disorder, and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorderusing standardized neuropsychological instruments. We performed exome analysis(whole exome sequencing) filtered on epilepsy and neuropsychiatric gene sets toidentify genetic etiologies.Results: We analyzed 101 patients with MAE (70% male). The median age of seizureonset was 34 months (range = 6-72 months). The main seizure types were myoclonicatonic or atonic in 100%, generalized tonic-clonic in 72%, myoclonic in 69%, absencein 60%, and tonic seizures in 19% of patients. We observed intellectual disability in62% of patients, with extremely low adaptive behavioral scores in 69%. In addition,24% exhibited symptoms of autism and 37% exhibited attention-deficit/hyperactivitysymptoms. We discovered pathogenic variants in 12 (14%) of 85 patients, includingfive previously published patients. These were pathogenic genetic variants inSYNGAP1 (n = 3), KIAA2022 (n = 2), and SLC6A1 (n = 2), as well as KCNA2,SCN2A, STX1B, KCNB1, and MECP2 (n = 1 each). We also identified three newcandidate genes, ASH1L, CHD4, and SMARCA2 in one patient each.Significance: MAE is associated with significant neurodevelopmental impairment.MAE is genetically heterogeneous, and we identified a pathogenic genetic etiologyin 14% of this cohort by exome analysis. These findings suggest that MAE is a manifestationof several etiologies rather than a discrete syndromic entity
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