Near surface properties of mixtures of propylammonium nitrate with n-alkanols 1. Nanostructure

In situ amplitude modulated-atomic force microscopy (AM-AFM) has been used to probe the nanostructure of mixtures of propylammonium nitrate (PAN) with n-alkanols near a mica surface. PAN is a protic ionic liquid (IL) which has a bicontinuous sponge-like nanostructure of polar and apolar domains in the bulk, which becomes flatter near a solid surface. Mixtures of PAN with 1-butanol, 1-octanol, and 1-dodecanol at 10–70 vol% n-alkanol have been examined, along with each pure n-alkanol, to reveal the effect of composition and n-alkanol chain length. At low concentrations the butanol simply swells the PAN near-surface nanostructure, but at higher concentrations the nanostructure fragments. Octanol and dodecanol first lower the preferred curvature of the PAN near-surface nanostructure because, unlike n-butanol, their alkyl chains are too long to be accommodated alongside the PAN cations. At higher concentrations, octanol and dodecanol self-assemble into n-alkanol rich aggregates in a PAN rich matrix. The concentration at which aggregation first becomes apparent decreases with n-alkanol chain length

Are Consensus Ratings of Functional Job Analysis Scales More Reliable than Ratings Made by Independent Raters?

This study addresses an open research question in regard to a well-established and widely-used job analysis system, Functional Job Analysis (FJA): Are consensus ratings of the FJA scales more reliable than the independent scale ratings that are the norm in job analysis application and the related research literature? In our experimental study, we found that this is not the case: no significant difference is found between consensus and independent ratings of the FJA scales. The reasons for this finding are explored as well as its relevance to the validity of the FJA system. Implications for other work and job analysis systems are discussed

Production, purification and characterization of celullase-free xylanase from Aspergillus terreus UL 4209

Aspergillus terreus, UL 4209 strain, isolated from the soil in South Africa was used to produce an extracellular cellulase-free xylanase in shake flask cultures containing oat spelt and/or birchwoodxylans. Maximum xylanase activity (35 U/ml) was observed after 96 h at 35ºC and pH 6 in 1% oat spelt xylan. The xylanase was purified to homogeneity by gel filtration on Sephacryl S-200. This enzyme wasfound to be a single subunit protein of 22 kDa showing optimal activity at 35ºC and pH 6. The enzyme retained 95% activity at 35 - 40ºC after 4 h incubation at pH 6 and at 50ºC the half-life was 5.8 h. Theapparent Km and Vmax values were 3.57 mg/ml and 55.5 mol/min per mg protein, respectively. MALDITOF and LC mass spectroscopy gave 8 peptide ions whose sequence alignments showed that thexylanase produced by this strain has homology with those of other Aspergillus strains such as A. terreus and A. versicolor. These observations showed that our strain produced a low molecular weight,acidophilic, and thermostable xylanase that may be considered for processes operated at moderate temperatures and pH such as preparation of baked cereal food, clarification of fruit juices andsaccharification of agro-residues

Mothers doing doctorates part-time – why do we make it harder than it needs to be?

If universities really want mature students with families to succeed they’ll need to completely rethink the traditional image of the “doctoral student”. Widening access isn’t enough, say Sue Cronshaw, Peter Stokes, and Alistair McCulloch. Doing a PhD is hard. It’s hard even when everything goes right with your research project and it’s hard even when everything is set up to support you through three years of full-time study. Put simply, it’s hard because it involves an intensive period of what has been called the ‘highest learning’ and because it involves mastering the advanced knowledge and skills necessary to be welcomed into the relevant disciplinary community. It’s hard because learning and managing a long term-project is hard. But doing a PhD is even harder if study is undertaken on a part-time basis (completion rates for part-time PhD students are woefully low), and if there are social and personal barriers that have to be overcome in addition to the requirements of high-level research learning and research writing. Because public and institutional policy and institutional process are designed largely on the basis of the stereotypical “traditional” student (young, full-time, and without dependents), studying as a “non-traditional” student may not be easy

Reimagining decent work through engaged scholarship: dynamics and boundaries of inclusive relationality

‘Decent Work’ is part of a United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goal and psychological construct associated with ‘good’ employment conditions (e.g. stability, security, fair pay, social protection, equality of opportunity and treatment for all). Despite a 30-year history, minority ethnic students and graduates remain some of the most excluded from employment. This session draws from a major study in Vietnam which positions Appreciative Inquiry as a form of engaged scholarship where minority ethnic groups collaborated with influential policy-makers, employers, and university seniors, to re-vision Decent Work and the pathways towards it. The session provides an experiential experiment which invites participants to imagine the application of the approach in their own context and reflect on the implications of the extant power structures and differentials in their own sociocultural settings. The frameworks and strategies for inclusion that emerged in Vietnam are shared as prompts to inspire dialogue around inclusive relationalities in engaged scholarship