Piezomorphic materials

The development of stress-induced morphing materials which are described as piezomorphic materials is reported. The development of a piezomorphic material is achieved by introducing spatial dependency into the compliance matrix describing the elastic response of a material capable of undergoing large strain deformation. In other words, it is necessary to produce an elastically gradient material. This is achieved through modification of the microstructure of the compliant material to display gradient topology. Examples of polymeric (polyurethane) foam and microporous polymer (expanded polytetrafluoroethylene) piezomorphic materials are presented here. These materials open up new morphing applications where dramatic shape changes can be triggered by mechanical stress

Metal Behavior in Acid Sulfate Soils of Thailand.

Metal availability and uptake by rice in flooded acid sulfate soils from the Central Plains region of Thailand were evaluated under field, growth chamber and greenhouse conditions. The results found in this study indicated that Fe\sp{2+} activities are seldom in equilibrium with pure Fe solid phases in these soils. This was believed to be due to (1) transient redox conditions, (2) the presence of ill-defined ferric oxides, and/or (3) cation exchange reactions. Equilibria calculations also indicated that these soils were undersaturated with respect to most Ca, Mg, and Mn solid phases, and their activities were believed to be controlled by cation exchange. The Al\sp{3+} activities were very pH dependent and appeared to be controlled by jurbanite at low pH and amorphous Al(OH)\sb 3 at high pH. Zinc activities were also negatively correlated with pH, with many of the soil solutions supersaturated with respect to franklinite. Cupric copper (Cu\sp{2+}) activities were positively correlated with pe, with cuprous ferrite indicated as the stable solid phase. Molybdate (MoO\sb 4\sp {2-}) activities were positively correlated with pH and appeared to be controlled by wulfenite. Borate (B(OH)\sb 3\sp\circ) activities were highly correlated with ionic strength. Leaf analysis indicated that Fe uptake was correlated with Fe\sp{2+} activity, however, a better relationship was found between uptake and E\sp\prime-Fe (the divalent charge fraction in solution due to Fe\sp{2+}). Calcium, Mg and Mn uptake was also found to be more closely related with E\sp\prime-Ca, E\sp\prime-Mg, and E\sp\prime-Mn than with the activities of these ions. Although Al uptake was not correlated with Al\sp{3+} activity, P uptake was, possibly due to variscite precipitation. Copper and Mo uptake was significantly correlated with the activities of Cu\sp{2+} and MoO\sb 4\sp{2-}, however, Zn uptake was not related with Zn\sp{2+} activity. The results of this study also indicated that Fe and Al toxicities and Ca, Mg, and Si deficiencies may occur on these soils. Multiple correlation between soil parameters and growth indices indicated that the two most important variables affecting rice growth on these soils were E\sp\prime-Fe and pH. While E\sp\prime-Fe was considered to be a measure of Fe stress (Fe toxicity combined with basic cation deficiencies), pH measurements reflected the availability of many nutrients and toxins, such as P and Al

Social enterprise as a model for change: mapping a global cross-disciplinary framework

Since the outbreak of COVID-19, social enterprise has experienced a renaissance. In public policy circles, entrepreneurship and innovation are perceived as economic development tools, and in many parts of the world, as catalysts for change that can have a real impact by increasing employment in communities as well as environmental challenges. At a local level, entrepreneurship and innovation enable communities to stay vibrant due to social enterprise organisations offering much-needed goods and services. Social enterprise has been acknowledged as a solution to social inequality and environmental issues in society as it develops new areas of empowerment in local communities. Central to the success of social enterprise is education, training, and the engagement of the higher education sector. Traditionally, entrepreneurship and innovation have fundamentally been entrenched within the business subject area, but have now emerged within other disciplines such as criminology, health and social care, geography, sociology, and politics. The aim of this paper is to map out a new, global, cross-disciplinary framework from a teaching and learning perspective. The authors of this paper call for global empowerment of entrepreneurship education in the higher education sector, using examples from different countries across the world, specifically Ghana, India, and the UK. This paper sets out the vital importance of entrepreneurship in teaching and learning, by showcasing what can be achieved. In this paper, the authors develop and propose a new pedagogical social enterprise model that incorporates and emphasises the ethos of ‘think globally, act locally’ in a sustainability context

Processing of Self versus Non-Self in Alzheimer’s Disease

Despite considerable evidence for abnormalities of self-awareness in Alzheimer’s disease (AD), the cognitive mechanisms of altered self-processing in AD have not been fully defined. Here we addressed this issue in a detailed analysis of self/non-self-processing in three patients with AD. We designed a novel neuropsychological battery comprising tests of tactile body schema coding, attribution of tactile events to self versus external agents, and memory for self- versus non-self-generated vocal information, administered in conjunction with a daily life measure of self/non-self-processing (the Interpersonal Reactivity Index). Three male AD patients (aged 54–68 years; one with a pathogenic mutation in the Presenilin 1 gene, one with a pathogenic mutation in the Amyloid Precursor Protein gene, and one with a CSF protein profile supporting underlying AD pathology) were studied in relation to a group of eight healthy older male individuals (aged 58–74 years). Compared to healthy controls, all patients had relatively intact tactile body schema processing. In contrast, all patients showed impaired memory for words previously presented using the patient’s own voice whereas memory for words presented in other voices was less consistently affected. Two patients showed increased levels of emotional contagion and reduced perspective taking on the Interpersonal Reactivity Index. Our findings suggest that AD may be associated with deficient self/non-self differentiation over time despite a relatively intact body image: this profile of altered self-processing contrasts with the deficit of tactile body schema previously described in frontotemporal dementia associated with C9orf72 mutations. We present these findings as a preliminary rationale to direct future systematic study in larger patient cohorts

Developing and evaluating communication strategies to support informed decisions and practice based on evidence (DECIDE) : protocol and preliminary results

Abstract Background Healthcare decision makers face challenges when using guidelines, including understanding the quality of the evidence or the values and preferences upon which recommendations are made, which are often not clear. Methods GRADE is a systematic approach towards assessing the quality of evidence and the strength of recommendations in healthcare. GRADE also gives advice on how to go from evidence to decisions. It has been developed to address the weaknesses of other grading systems and is now widely used internationally. The Developing and Evaluating Communication Strategies to Support Informed Decisions and Practice Based on Evidence (DECIDE) consortium (http://www.decide-collaboration.eu/), which includes members of the GRADE Working Group and other partners, will explore methods to ensure effective communication of evidence-based recommendations targeted at key stakeholders: healthcare professionals, policymakers, and managers, as well as patients and the general public. Surveys and interviews with guideline producers and other stakeholders will explore how presentation of the evidence could be improved to better meet their information needs. We will collect further stakeholder input from advisory groups, via consultations and user testing; this will be done across a wide range of healthcare systems in Europe, North America, and other countries. Targeted communication strategies will be developed, evaluated in randomized trials, refined, and assessed during the development of real guidelines. Discussion Results of the DECIDE project will improve the communication of evidence-based healthcare recommendations. Building on the work of the GRADE Working Group, DECIDE will develop and evaluate methods that address communication needs of guideline users. The project will produce strategies for communicating recommendations that have been rigorously evaluated in diverse settings, and it will support the transfer of research into practice in healthcare systems globally

The pedunculopontine tegmental nucleus and the nucleus basalis magnocellularis: Do both have a role in sustained attention?

It is well established that nucleus basalis magnocellularis (NbM) lesions impair performance on tests of sustained attention. Previous work from this laboratory has also demonstrated that pedunculopontine tegmental nucleus (PPTg) lesioned rats make more omissions on a test of sustained attention, suggesting that it might also play a role in mediating this function. However, the results of the PPTg study were open to alternative interpretation. We aimed to resolve this by conducting a detailed analysis of the effects of damage to each brain region in the same sustained attention task used in our previous work. Rats were trained in the task before surgery and post-surgical testing examined performance in response to unpredictable light signals of 1500 ms and 4000 ms duration. Data for PPTg lesioned rats were compared to control rats, and rats with 192 IgG saporin infusions centred on the NbM. In addition to operant data, video data of rats' performance during the task were also analysed