Evaluation and development of traffic control devices

"This project was established to provide a means of conducting small-scale research activities on an as needed basis so that the results could be available within months of starting the specific research. This report summarizes the small-scale research activities that were conducted between September 2008 and August 2009.

Glycemic, Gastrointestinal, Hormonal and Appetitive Responses to Pearl Millet or Oats Porridge Breakfasts: a Randomized, Crossover Trial in Healthy Humans

Whole grain cereal breakfast consumption has been associated with beneficial effects on glucose and insulin metabolism as well as satiety. Pearl millet is a popular ancient grain variety that can be grown in hot, dry regions. However, little is known about its health effects. This study investigated the effect of a pearl millet porridge (PMP) compared with a well-known Scottish oats porridge (SOP) on glycaemic, gastrointestinal, hormonal and appetitive responses. In a randomized, two way crossover trial, 26 healthy participants consumed two iso-energetic/volumetric PMP or SOP breakfast meals, served with a drink of water. Blood samples for glucose, insulin, GLP-1, GIP and PYY, gastric volumes and appetite ratings were collected for two hours postprandially, followed by an ad libitum meal and food intake records for the remainder of the day. The incremental area under the curve (iAUC2h) for blood glucose was not significantly different between the porridges (p ˃ 0.05). The iAUC2h gastric volume was larger for PMP compared with SOP (p = 0.045). The iAUC2h GIP concentration was significantly lower for PMP compared with SOP (p = 0.001). Other hormones and appetite responses were similar between meals. In conclusion, this study reports, for the first time, data on glycaemic and physiological responses to a pearl millet breakfast, showing that this ancient grain could represent a sustainable, alternative, with health-promoting characteristics comparable to oats. GIP is an incretin hormone linked to triacylglycerol absorption in adipose tissue, therefore the lower GIP response for PMP may be an added health benefit

What triggers students’ interest during higher education lectures? Personal and situational variables associated with situational interest

Lecturing is often touted as a means to inspire students’ interest, despite evidence that most lectures fail to do so. This study examines triggers of students’ situational interest during lectures. Students (N=706) in 12 different individual one hour first year lectures in a UK university were surveyed at the end of the lecture. They described the moment they were most interested; rated a series of 5 point Likert scale items on their situational and individual interest, and features of the content, presentation and teacher’s behaviour during that moment; and provided demographic characteristics. Simultaneous regression analyses showed that novelty, cognitive activation, cognitive incongruity, and utility value all positively predicted situational interest. Students’ level of individual interest and perceptions of their teacher’s enthusiasm, approachability and knowledge were the strongest predictor of situational interest. Overchallenge was negatively associated with situational interest

Psychological and demographic predictors of undergraduate non-attendance at university lectures and seminars

Absenteeism from university teaching sessions is increasingly becoming a common phenomenon and remains a major concern to universities. Poor attendance has significant and detrimental effects on students themselves, their peers and teaching staff. There is, however, a lack of previous research investigating demographic and psychological predictors of non-attendance alongside salient reasons students offer for their absence; it is this ‘gap’ that the present study attempts to fill. We approached 618 undergraduate university students from a single UK university studying various courses to complete a bespoke questionnaire assessing their estimated percentage attendance at lectures and seminars over the academic year. Students answered demographic questions, completed psychometric tests of perceived confidence (Perceived Confidence for Learning) and university belongingness (Psychological Sense of School Membership), and rated the degree to which possible reasons for non-attendance applied to themselves. Multiple regression analyses were carried out separately for estimated attendance at lectures and seminars. Results demonstrated that significant predictors of poorer attendance for both scenarios were experiencing a lower sense of belongingness to university; working more hours in paid employment; having more social life commitments; facing coursework deadlines; and experiencing mental health issues. Improving a sense of belonging to university and targeting interventions at students working in paid employment may be effective means of increasing attendance. Providing support for students with mental health issues, structuring courses around coursework deadlines and helping students to organise their attendance around social activities could also be advantageous

Three versus seven day circuit changes of humidified oxygen circuitry : Pilot study to test the feasibility of conducting a randomised controlled trial

Aim: To compare the rate of humidifier-acquired pneumonia between patients in whom circuitry is changed every three days (current practice) with patients in whom circuitry is changed every 7 days. Background: Published guidelines for the prevention of nosocomial pneumonia state that ventilator circuitry should be changed no more frequently than every 48 hours, there are no recommendations for the optimal length of time humidified oxygen circuits should be used. Design: Prospective randomised controlled trial. Methods: Patients receiving humidified oxygen in surgical, medical and infectious diseases units in a 942 bed general teaching hospital in Queensland, Australia were eligible. Those consenting were randomly allocated to either 3-day (control) or 7-day (intervention) circuit changes. The primary outcome measure was rate of nosocomial pneumonia. Results: Of the 51 eligible patients, 32 were included in the study (17 patients were randomized to the control group and 15 patients to the intervention group; recruitment rate 63%). During the study, four cases of nosocomial pneumonia occurred; two in the intervention group (13.3%) and two in the control group (11.8%)(χ21 = 0.018, p = 0.894). No patients died during the study period . Conclusion: Conducting a large-scale randomised controlled trial in this area would be feasible. Relevance to clinical practice: This study is a first attempt to provide evidence on which to base practice guidelines for the management of humidified oxygen in a hospital setting

Three versus seven day circuit changes of humidified oxygen circuitry: A feasibility study

Free to read on publisher's site. Objective: The study compared the rate of humidifier acquired pneumonia between patients in whom humidifier circuitry is changed every three days with patients in whom circuitry is changed every 7 days in order to assess the feasibility of conducting a large scale randomised controlled trial to test the safety of extending the period between humidified circuit changes from three to seven days. Design: The study was a randomised controlled trial. Setting: The setting for the study was a 942 bed general teaching hospital in Queensland, Australia. Subjects: The subjects of the study were patients receiving humidified oxygen in surgical, medical and infectious diseases units of the hospital. Interventions: Consenting subjects were randomly allocated to either 3-day (control) or 7-day (intervention) circuit changes. Main outcome measures: The primary outcome measure was nosocomial pneumonia and the secondary outcome measures were death and length of humidification therapy. Results: Of the 51 eligible patients, 32 were included in the study (17 patients were randomised to the control group and 15 patients to the intervention group; recruitment rate 63%). During the study, four cases of nosocomial pneumonia occurred; two in the intervention group (13.3%) and two in the control group (11.8%) (χ2 = 0.018, p = 0.894). No patients died during the study period. Conclusion: No high quality evidence exists to assist nurses to make a decision about how frequently to change humidifier circuitry. Potential cost savings involved in extending the time frame between humidifier circuitry changes indicate that a large scale randomised controlled trial is both feasible and important

Centrifugal separering av 1-metylnaftalen

In this report, modifications and experimental tests with an early stage test rig intended for producing a commercial solution to fractionating pyrolysis oil are described. The idea is to use centrifugal force to separate the formed aerosols from condensible gases with a lower volatility. A stacked disc centrifuge prototype built to work at high temperature was used. The experiment was done with a single component, 1-Methylnaphtalene (1-MN) to evaluate the functionality of the test rig. No separation was achieved, concluding that further work need to be done at different operating parameters with 1-Methylnaphtalene prior to including more components. The reason for the negative separation result is probably due to that the saturation ratio was to low resulting in that no aerosol was formed during the experiments. Further work includes improving the stability of the inlet stream to the centrifuge. Perform more experiments with other process parameters, recommendation is to decreasing the temperature at the inlet to the centrifuge to increase the saturation ratio. It is also suggested that an optical in situ measuring devise is added to the test rig to facilitate operation