Name Games: Literacy and Play in the Prekindergarten Classroom

Teachers and researchers have found that having writing materials in all play centers in early childhood classrooms makes it easy for children to experience and work with print as they play with names. Children’s interest in their own names can be used as a tool for increasing their awareness of and experiences with print awareness and writing

AIDS and architecture : the study of an interaction : architectural responses to the development of the HIV/AIDS epidemic in KwaZulu-Natal.

Thesis (M.Arch.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, 2008.AIDS has established itself over more than three decades as a major international pandemic3. While initial cases of the disease were documented in 1981 in the USA and Europe, cases in Africa became known at around the same time. It is however probable that the disease existed in Africa long before this time (Pratt, 1986:17). Due to the prominence of the AIDS epidemic and its related opportunistic diseases in South Africa and most acutely in KwaZulu-Natal (Smith, 2002 and South African Department of Health Report 2006) , the associated impact of the need for care of those living with and those affected by the virus has been brought to the fore. The accommodation of these persons occurs in a variety of building forms and types, and may vary depending on the stage within the individual’s health cycle related to the impact of the virus. With the advent of medication, termed anti-retroviral therapy, designed to retard the development of the virus, life expectancy has been extended, but with no confirmed cure and viral resistances, death is inevitable. While those living with the virus may continue to live productive lives for some time, the infirm largely seek care within medical facilities. Should access to formal health services be difficult due to remoteness or a lack of transport, such people are often cared for within the homes of surviving family members – often by children - or by their community. With the largest impact on the population being found within the 20 – 29 age bracket in the late 1990's (Smith, 1999: HIV Positive Results, June 1998), shifting to the 25 – 34 age bracket from 2003 onwards (South African Department of Health Report 2006), tertiary education institutions, through their clinics, have increasingly dealt with the management of student and staff health. Other building types affected by the AIDS epidemic4 include prisons and mortuaries, while care for those remaining behind after the death of family members to AIDS is usually within children’s homes or street shelters. The impact of AIDS on the built environment professions will permeate its way to all involved. Through selected case studies one will observe the impact of the epidemic on existing facilities and examine current methods employed to accommodate the problem. Architects, through the modification of existing structures or through the design of new facilities, are assisting in the struggle. New methods of dealing with the care of patients are being considered as well as alternative and innovative design approaches. This includes the need for flexibility of building layouts and universal design. Most proposals in the researched context require cost effective and workable solutions. Hope for the future lies with the management of the virus through medication, enabling the extension of life expectancies. Architects need to adapt to the incumbent problem while medical researchers develop a workable vaccine to confine HIV/ AIDS to the history books with the likes of Bubonic Plague, Smallpox and Typhus. It is through good architectural design and detailing that Architects can assist in the AIDS fight. This can be achieved firstly through research – gaining an understanding of the AIDS Brief – then designing for the specific needs for the infected and affected. These needs will include comfort, accessibility, anthropometrics, ease of maintenance, affordability, ventilation and illumination conducive to good health, and sustainability. Architects therefore have a major role to play within this epidemic

An Introduction to MacAnova

1 online resource (PDF, 30 pages

An enhanced virtual power plant for flexibility services into a local area (including EV's)

Aggregation by Virtual Power Plants to provide flexibility to distribution and transmission networks is seen as an important element in the transition to Net-zero. This paper presents work carried out in the SIES 2022 ERA-Net project, which is investigating in detail the possible provision of flexibility by different technologies, including EVs, but thorough a lens of different business models. Thus, presented work relies on the real use cases. The focus of this work is on the construction of grid representations to guide bidding in potential flexibility markets. It shows that without an appropriate level of detail on the wider grid connections, these bidding strategies, and therefore associated asset optimization schedules, could lead to errors. A methodology that derives EV price response curves is highlighted, with an aim to use such curves in sophisticated optimization scheduling module for further work in management of EV integration

An enhanced virtual power plant for flexibility services into a local area (including EVs)

Aggregation by Virtual Power Plants to provide flexibility to distribution and transmission networks is seen as an important element in the transition to Net-zero. This paper presents work carried out in the SIES 2022 ERA-Net project, which is investigating in detail the possible provision of flexibility by different technologies, including EVs, but thorough a lens of different business models. Thus, presented work relies on the real use cases. The focus of this work is on the construction of grid representations to guide bidding in potential flexibility markets. It shows that without an appropriate level of detail on the wider grid connections, these bidding strategies, and therefore associated asset optimization schedules, could lead to errors. A methodology that derives EV price response curves is highlighted, with an aim to use such curves in sophisticated optimization scheduling module for further work in management of EV integration

TP53 mutations detected in circulating tumor cells present in the blood of metastatic triple negative breast cancer patients.

INTRODUCTION: Circulating tumor cells (CTCs) are tumor cells shed from either primary tumors or its metastases that circulate in the peripheral blood of patients with metastatic cancers. The molecular characterization of the CTCs is critical to identifying the key drivers of cancer metastasis and devising therapeutic approaches. However, the molecular characterization of CTCs is difficult to achieve because their isolation is a major technological challenge. METHODS: CTCs from two triple negative breast cancer patients were enriched using CellSearch and single cells selected by DEPArray™. A TP53 R110 fs*13 mutation identified by next generation sequencing in the breast and chest skin biopsies of both patients was studied in single CTCs. RESULTS: From 6 single CTC isolated from one patient, 1 CTC had TP53 R110 delC, 1 CTC showed the TP53 R110 delG mutation, and the remaining 4 single CTCs showed the wild type p53 sequence; a pool of 14 CTCs isolated from the same patient also showed TP53 R110 delC mutation. In the tumor breast tissue of this patient, only the TP53 R110 delG mutation was detected. In the second patient a TP53 R110 delC mutation was detected in the chest wall skin biopsy; from the peripheral blood of this patient, 5 single CTC and 6 clusters of 2 to 6 CTCs were isolated; 3 of the 5 single CTCs showed the TP53 R110 delC mutation and 2 CTCs showed the wild type TP53 allele; from the clusters, 5 showed the TP53 R110 delC mutation, and 1 cluster the wild type TP53 allele. Single white blood cells isolated as controls from both patients only showed the wild type TP53 allele. CONCLUSIONS: We are able to isolate uncontaminated CTCs and achieve single cell molecular analysis. Our studies showed the presence of different CTC sub-clones in patients with metastatic breast cancer. Some CTCs had the same TP53 mutation as their matching tumor samples although others showed either a different TP53 mutation or the wild type allele. Our results indicate that CTCs could represent a non-invasive source of cancer cells from which to determine genetic markers of the disease progression and potential therapeutic targets

Enhanced virtual power plant design and implementation lessons

Aggregation by Virtual Power Plants to provide flexibility to distribution and transmission networks is seen as an important element in the transition to Net-zero. This paper presents work carried out in the SIES 2022 ERA-Net project, which is investigating in detail the possible provision of flexibility by different technologies but thorough a lens of different business models. Thus, presented work relies on the real use cases. The focus of this work is on the overall architecture (hardware and software) of the demonstrator plant in East Kilbride Scotland and the integration of assets. The paper highlights challenges and lessons learned, during this process

Business models for virtual power plants and their impact on economic operation [poster & e-slides]

Aggregation by Virtual Power Plants to provide flexibility to distribution and transmission networks is seen as an important element in the transition to Net-zero. This paper presents work carried out in the SIES 2022 ERA-Net project, which is investigating in detail the possible provision of flexibility by different technologies but thorough a lens of different business models. Thus, presented work relies on the real use cases and associated data. The focus of this work is on the value of different business models associated with a demonstrator plant in East Kilbride Scotland. Using an adapted business model structure with three strategic dimensions, along with a risk/reward portfolio framework, an illustrative case study is used to highlight the business model choices available to a small VPP owner

The impact of forecasting accuracy on the economic performance of flexibility provision

Aggregation by Virtual Power Plants (VPP) to provide flexibility to distribution and transmission networks is seen as an important element in the transition to Net-zero. This paper presents work carried out in the SIES 2022 ERA-Net project, which is investigating in detail the possible provision of flexibility by different technologies but thorough a lens of different business models. Forecasting is an important element of a VPP’s functionality and to its commercial success. Forecasting errors are reviewed using real project data and used to simulate an optimisation of project assets using both actual and forecast data, allowing a quantification of the effects of forecasting errors on VPP performance

The impact of forecasting accuracy on the economic performance of flexibility provision [poster & e-slides]

Aggregation by Virtual Power Plants (VPP) to provide flexibility to distribution and transmission networks is seen as an important element in the transition to Net-zero. This paper presents work carried out in the SIES 2022 ERA-Net project, which is investigating in detail the possible provision of flexibility by different technologies but thorough a lens of different business models. Forecasting is an important element of a VPP’s functionality and to its commercial success. Forecasting errors are reviewed using real project data and used to simulate an optimisation of project assets using both actual and forecast data, allowing a quantification of the effects of forecasting errors on VPP performance