The evolving role of the school library and information centre in education in digital Europe.

The purpose of the research is to study the evolving role of the school library and information centre (SLIC) in primary and secondary education in digital Europe, not only in countries where schools have reached an advanced stage of usage of digital technology in education, but also in less advanced schools. This international research provides a bridge between two different disciplines – Comparative Education (Sociology) and Library and Information Science (LIS) – and attempts to provide information to both the educational and library communities throughout Europe regarding the role which SLICs play in the emerging educational global landscape and to determine whether or not these traditional, digital or virtual SLICs, and the work of the school librarian and information specialist, influence the quality of education and improve children’s learning outcomes at different levels. First of all, the study examines a sub-matrix known as the KILM (Kalsbeek Information Literacy Matrix), which was developed as part of an educational matrix between 1997 and 2008 at the Kalsbeek College in Woerden, the Netherlands. The educational matrix attempts to introduce and implement educational reforms, ICT (Information and Communication Technologies) usage, educational technology and new forms of learning throughout the school in a orderly fashion while maintaining a high level of educational quality. This sub-matrix (KILM) identifies the role of the SLIC during the application of the educational matrix. The study then looks at success criteria which became apparent during the application of the sub-matrix and asks whether or not it would be possible to apply similar strategies to other schools libraries and information centres, firstly at Dutch national level and then in school libraries throughout Europe. The staffing, facilities and conditions in school libraries and information centres which were studied vary greatly, however, thanks to the willingness of teachers, school librarians and (school) library associations to share information and data, it has become possible to identify common problems and present some solutions

Extension of a discontinuous Galerkin finite element method to viscous rotor flow simulations

Heavy vibratory loading of rotorcraft is relevant for many operational aspects of helicopters, such as the structural life span of (rotating) components, operational availability, the pilot's comfort, and the effectiveness of weapon targeting systems. A precise understanding of the source of these vibrational loads has important consequences in these application areas. Moreover, in order to exploit the full potential offered by new vibration reduction technologies, current analysis tools need to be improved with respect to the level of physical modeling of flow phenomena which contribute to the vibratory loads. In this paper, a computational fluid dynamics tool for rotorcraft simulations based on first-principles flow physics is extended to enable the simulation of viscous flows. Viscous effects play a significant role in the aerodynamics of helicopter rotors in high-speed flight. The new model is applied to three-dimensional vortex flow and laminar dynamic stall. The applications clearly demonstrate the capability of the new model to perform on deforming and adaptive meshes. This capability is essential for rotor simulations to accomodate the blade motions and to enhance vortex resolution

Extension of the discontinuous Galerkin finite element method to viscous rotor flow simulations

Heavy vibratory loading of rotorcraft is relevant for many operational aspects of helicopters, such as the structural life span of (rotating) components, op- erational availability, the pilot’s comfort, and the ef- fectiveness of weapon targeting systems. A precise understanding of the source of these vibrational loads has important consequences in these application ar- eas. Moreover, in order to exploit the full poten- tial offered by new vibration reduction technologies, current analysis tools need to be improved with re- spect to the level of physical modeling of flow phe- nomena which contribute to the vibratory loads. In this paper, a computational fluid dynamics tool for rotorcraft simulations based on first-principles flow physics is extended to enable the simulation of vis- cous flows. Viscous effects play a significant role in the aerodynamics of helicopter rotors in high-speed flight. The new model is applied to three-dimensional vortex flow and laminar dynamic stall. The applica- tions clearly demonstrate the capability of the new model to perform on deforming and adaptive meshes. This capability is essential for rotor simulations to accomodate the blade motions and to enhance vor- tex resolution

Adolescents' Views on Seeking Help for Emotional and Behavioral Problems: A Focus Group Study

This study aimed to get insight into adolescents' views on help-seeking for emotional and behavioral problems. Fourteen focus groups were conducted. Two vignettes, depicting one healthy adolescent with few issues and one adolescent with severe psychosocial problems, were used to structure the focus groups. The focus groups were framed within a youth help-seeking model. Adolescents (mean age of 15.0 years) generally reported seeking help from friends or the internet for mild issues and from a person they trust like a parent or school mentor, for more severe problems. Adolescents correctly recognized the issues in vignette one as surmountable and the problems in vignette two as severe. A bond of trust with a help source was regarded as the main facilitator for the decision to seek help. Adolescents reported a preference for help sources who clearly displayed their expertise for the issue at hand and for informal help-sources, particularly friends

Microarray amplification bias: loss of 30% differentially expressed genes due to long probe – poly(A)-tail distances

BACKGROUND: Laser microdissection microscopy has become a rising tool to assess gene expression profiles of pure cell populations. Given the low yield of RNA, a second round of amplification is usually mandatory to yield sufficient amplified-RNA for microarray approaches. Since amplification induces truncation of RNA molecules, we studied the impact of a second round of amplification on identification of differentially expressed genes in relation to the probe - poly(A)-tail distances. RESULTS: Disagreement was observed between gene expression profiles acquired after a second round of amplification compared to a single round. Thirty percent of the differentially expressed genes identified after one round of amplification were not detected after two rounds. These inconsistent genes have a significant longer probe - poly(A)-tail distance. qRT-PCR on unamplified RNA confirmed differential expression of genes with a probe - poly(A)-tail distance >500 nucleotides appearing only after one round of amplification. CONCLUSION: Our data demonstrate a marked loss of 30% of truly differentially expressed genes after a second round of amplification. Therefore, we strongly recommend improvement of amplification procedures and importance of microarray probe design to allow detection of all differentially expressed genes in case of limited amounts of RNA

Preeclampsia is Associated with lower Percentages of Regulatory T Cells in Maternal Blood

Objective: Immunological mechanisms are involved in the pathophysiology of preeclampsia. During pregnancy there is an increase in regulatory T (Treg) cells, which has an important role in regulating tolerance to the immunologically distinct fetus. We hypothesised that percentages of Treg cells are decreased in preeclamptic patients. Methods: Peripheral blood was obtained from 26 healthy pregnant controls and 18 preeclamptic patients. Treg cells were measured using flow-cytometry. Results: Women with pregnancies complicated by preeclampsia had significantly lower percentages of CD4(+)FOXP3(+) Treg cells. Conclusion: We conclude that a deficiency of regulatory T cells may play a role in the pathophysiology of preeclampsia