The impact of maths support tutorials on mathematics confidence and academic performance in a cohort of HE Animal Science students

Students embarking on a bioscience degree course, such as Animal Science, often do not have sufficient experience in mathematics. However, mathematics forms an essential and integral part of any bioscience degree and is essential to enhance employability. This paper presents the findings of a project looking at the effect of mathematics tutorials on a cohort of first year animal science and management students. The results of a questionnaire, focus group discussions and academic performance analysis indicate that small group tutorials enhance students’ confidence in maths and improve students’ academic performance. Furthermore, student feedback on the tutorial programme provides a deeper insight into student experiences and the value students assign to the tutorials

Prevalence of respiratory pathogens in nasal swabs from horses with acute respiratory disease in Belgium

Contagious respiratory infections are an important cause of respiratory disease in horses, resulting in impaired pulmonary function, poor performance and sometimes severe illness. Although bacterial infections are often suspected to be involved, viruses are frequently overlooked and are an underestimated cause of respiratory disease outbreaks in horses. In this study, nasal swabs of 103 horses with acute symptoms of respiratory disease were analyzed for the presence of 13 different respiratory pathogens. Gamma herpesviruses were the most commonly detected, with 60% of the samples being positive, followed by streptococcus equi subsp. zooepidemicus infection (30%). Rhinovirus B, streptococcus equi subsp. equi, adenovirus 1 and EHV-4 were more rarely detected. Further research is necessary to correctly interpret the importance of gamma herpesviruses in horses, for example by screening a healthy control population. National surveillance of respiratory viruses in horses by PCR analysis on nasal swabs might be a useful, early warning system for viral epidemics

Fuzzy Piecewise Linear Regression

International audienceFuzzy regression using possibilistic concepts allows the identification of models from uncertain data sets. However, some limitations still exist about the possible evolution of the output spread with respect to inputs. We present here a modified form of fuzzy linear model whose output can have any kind of output spread tendency. The formulation of the linear program used to identify the model introduces a modified criterion that assesses the model fuzziness independently of the collected data. These concepts are used in a global identification process in charge of building a piecewise model able to represent every kind of output evolution

Cardiovascular, respiratory, gastrointestinal and behavioral effects of intravenous lidocaine in healthy, conscious horses and evaluation of the relationship with lidocaine and monoethylglycinexylidide serum concentrations

This study aimed to evaluate the relationship between the serum concentrations of lidocaine/ monoethylglycinexylidide (MEGX) and their effects on several systems in horses. Five healthy, conscious horses received a two-hour placebo intravenous infusion followed by a two-hour lidocaine infusion (bolus of 1.3 mg/kg over ten minutes followed by a continuous rate infusion of 0.05 mg/kg/min). Lidocaine and MEGX serum concentrations were sampled every ten to fifteen minutes during the experiment, and the presence of muscle fasciculations and loss of balance as well as the respiratory, digestive and cardiovascular systems of the five horses were evaluated by means of different non-invasive methods. During the lidocaine infusion, the mean (f SD) lidocaine and MEGX concentrations were respectively 768.88 +/- 93.32ng/ml and 163.08 +/- 108.98 ng/ml. The infusion of lidocaine significantly influenced the presence of fasciculations, caused a statistically but non-clinically significant decrease of systolic and diastolic blood pressures, which were both correlated with lidocaine and MEGX serum concentrations, and it increased the duodenal contractions frequency, which was correlated with the serum lidocaine concentration. In this study, mild hypotensive and prokinetic effects of short-term lidocaine infusion were observed

A comparison of methodological frameworks for digital learning game design

Methodological frameworks guide the design of digital learning game based on well founded learning theories and instructional strategies. This study presents a comparison of five methodological frameworks for digital learning game design, highlighting their similarities and differences. The objective is to support the choice of an adequate framework, aiming to promote them as a way to foster principled digital learning games design. This paper concludes that: (i) interactivity, engagement and increasing complexity of challenges are fundamental factors to digital learning game design; (ii) the pedagogical base, the target, the possibility of doing game assessment and the presence of practical guidelines are the selection criteria that influence most the choice of a methodological framework, and (iii) the development of digital learning games - preferably by different research teams - is needed to provide empirical evidence of the utility of framework-based design

Statistical study of the equatorial F2 layer critical frequency at Ouagadougou during solar cycles 20, 21 and 22, using Legrand and Simon's classification of geomagnetic activity

International audienceThis paper presents the statistical analysis of the diurnal variations of the F layer at the equatorial station of Ouagadougou (Lat: 12.4 N; Long: 358.5 E; dip: 5.9 ) from 1966 to 1998 (=> ~11 680 days). We consider three main factors of variability: (1) the season (spring, summer, autumn and winter), (2) the phase of the sunspot cycle (ascending, maximum, descending and minimum) and (3) the geomagnetic activity classified by Legrand and Simon in four groups: slow solar wind, high solar wind streams, fluctuating solar wind and shock activity. We easily identify the influence of the solar wind speed and shock activity on the diurnal pattern of the F layer. Shock and recurrent activities tend to enhance or diminish the morning or afternoon maximum of the F2 layer critical frequency. The difference of the diurnal foF2 variation during the increasing and decreasing phases of the sunspot solar cycle is explained by different solar wind regimes. The slow solar wind dominates during the increasing phase of the sunspot cycle and the fluctuating solar wind dominates during the decreasing phase of the sunspot cycle. This paper demonstrates that it is possible using a large database, to bring up significant morphologies of the diurnal variation of the foF2 critical frequency as a function of (1) different solar events such as quiet solar wind, fluctuating wind, recurrent high stream wind and Coronal Mass Ejections (CMEs); (2) solar cycle phases and (3) seasons. It is an approach directly connecting the critical frequency of the F2 layer to the solar parameters