The combined honours student experience survey data and the perceptions of staff and students

Data analysis from the University Student Survey (2016) at Canterbury Christ Church University revealed that combined honours students (n=780) were less satisfied than single honours students. The qualitative comments of the students referred to concerns about identifying with and belonging to the programme; and self confidence. In addition, on one programme (n=89), combined honours student were less satisfied than their single honours classmates on 18 of the 22 USS satisfaction measure statements. Three focus group with staff on this programme (n=18) and interviews with students (n=8) were undertaken to investigate the issues of lack of satisfaction further. This paper will report on the ongoing investigation and the potential development of learning and teaching interventions

Influence of leaf canopy height on the occurrence of berry shrivel

Berry shrivel (BS) is a physiological disorder of grapevine that causes severe grape quality losses. The origin of BS is still unknown. In a trial with different treatments of the leaf canopy, a higher BS incidence in the plots with reduced leaf area was observed. Therefore it was investigated, whether a strong reduction of the canopy height regularly promotes BS development. Further, berry and leaf analyses should give evidence of possible changes in mineral contents which could be related to BS incidence. In three out of four trials, a strong reduction in leaf canopy height at the beginning of berry ripening, resulted in the appearance of berry shrivel (BS) symptoms. Intensive shoot topping during berry ripening therefore strongly increases the likelihood of BS occurrence, but does not always result in the appearance of BS symptoms. At the end of the berry ripening period, leaves in the reduced canopy height treatment (RCH) showed higher nitrogen content and lower potassium content than those in the normal canopy height treatment (NCH), suggesting a high and maybe also passive absorption of nitrogen, which hinders the absorption of potassium. These findings open new approaches for further studies on the causes of BS.

Volatile aldehydes in libraries and archives

Volatile aldehydes are produced during degradation of paper-based materials. This may result in their accumulation in archival and library repositories. However, no systematic study has been performed so far. In the frame of this study, passive sampling was carried out at ten locations in four libraries and archives. Despite the very variable sampling locations, no major differences were found, although air-filtered repositories were found to have lower concentrations while a non-ventilated newspaper repository exhibited the highest concentrations of volatile aldehydes (formaldehyde, acetaldehyde, furfural and hexanal). Five employees in one institution were also provided with personal passive samplers to investigate employees’ exposure to volatile aldehydes. All values were lower than the presently valid exposure limits. The concentration of volatile aldehydes, acetic acid, and volatile organic compounds (VOCs) in general was also compared with that of outdoor-generated pollutants. It was evident that inside the repository and particularly inside archival boxes, the concentration of VOCs and acetic acid was much higher than the concentration of outdoor-generated pollutants, which are otherwise more routinely studied in connection with heritage materials. This indicates that further work on the pro-degradative effect of VOCs on heritage materials is necessary and that monitoring of VOCs in heritage institutions should become more widespread

Diabetes care and service access among elderly Vietnamese with type 2 diabetes

BACKGROUND: Vietnamese patients are disproportionately represented in type 2 diabetes mellitus statistics and also incur high rates of diabetes complications. This situation is compounded by limited access to health care. The aim of this project was to gain a deeper understanding of the difficulties Vietnamese patients experience when accessing services and managing their type 2 diabetes mellitus, and to identify factors that are important in promoting health service use. METHODS: Three focus groups with 15 Vietnamese participants with type 2 diabetes mellitus, 60 to >70 years of age, were conducted in Vietnamese. Open-ended questions were used and focussed on experiences of living with diabetes and access to healthcare services in the Inner Northwest Melbourne region. Audio recordings were transcribed and then translated into English. Data were analysed using a thematic analysis framework. RESULTS: Findings indicate four main themes, which together provide some insight into the experiences of living with diabetes and accessing ongoing care and support, for elderly Vietnamese with type 2 diabetes. Themes included: (1) the value of being healthy; (2) controlling diabetes; (3) staying healthy; and (4) improving services and information access. CONCLUSIONS: Participants in this study were encouraged to adhere to diabetes self-management principles, based largely on a fear of medical complications. Important aspects of healthcare access were identified as; being treated with respect, having their questions answered and having access to interpreters and information in Vietnamese. Attention to these details is likely to lead to improved access to healthcare services and ultimately to improve glycemic control and overall health status for this community

Ground-state energies for helium, H-, and Ps-

Nonrelativistic energy and other properties of He, H- and Ps- were discussed using a triple basis set in Hylleraas coordinates. The stability and efficiency of the computational method was compared with the quasirandom method. Results showed that the triple basis set in Hylleraas coordinates is capable of exceeding the accuracy of calculations for three-body system based on quasirandom Monte Carlo methods

An improved comparison of atmospheric Ar/N2 time series and paired ocean-atmosphere model predictions

Ar/N2 variations in the atmosphere reflect ocean heat fluxes, air-sea gas exchange, and atmospheric dynamics. Here atmospheric Ar/N2 time series are compared to paired ocean-atmosphere model predictions. Agreement between Ar/N2 observations and simulations has improved in comparison to a previous study because of longer time series and the introduction of automated samplers at several of the atmospheric stations, as well as the refinement of the paired ocean-atmosphere models by inclusion of Ar and N2 as active tracers in the ocean component. Although analytical uncertainties and collection artifacts are likely to be mainly responsible for observed Ar/N2 outliers, air parcel back-trajectory analysis suggests that some of the variability in Ar/N2 measurements could be due to the low-altitude history of the air mass collected and, by extension, the local oceanic Ar/N2 signal. Although the simulated climatological seasonal cycle can currently be evaluated with Ar/N2 observations, longer time series and additional improvements in the signal-to-noise ratio will be required to test other model predictions such as interannual variability, latitudinal gradients, and the secular increase in atmospheric Ar/N2 expected to result from ocean warming. Copyright 2008 by the American Geophysical Union

Is erectile dysfunction a sentinel symptom for cardiovascular autonomic neuropathy in patients with type 2 diabetes?

The study investigated whether there is a significant association between erectile dysfunction (ED) secondary to autonomic failure, and cardiovascular autonomic neuropathy (CAN) in male patients suffering from type 2 diabetes. Twenty‐two patients suffering from type 2 diabetes were recruited for this study after satisfying the stringent exclusion criteria used in the first stage. They had no evidence of overt cardiovascular disease, hypertension, neurological, renal or thyroid disease. Each subject was assessed for ED and CAN using standardized tests. Six patients were suffering from CAN while 10 patients were suffering from ED. There was no significant association between CAN and autonomic ED (P = 1). Three patients with normal erectile function had CAN, whilst three patients with ED had CAN. Further analysis demonstrates a significant increase in association between ED and CAN with age (P = 0.036). These results show that ED secondary to autonomic neuropathy is not significantly associated with CAN in this specific group of patients. Nonetheless, the study reveals that ED is a sentinel symptom for future development of CAN.peer-reviewe

Molecular crystallization inhibitors for salt damage control in porous materials. An overview

The use of inhibition chemicals holds the prospect of an efficient strategy to control crystallization in porous materials, thereby potentially contributing to the prevention or mitigation of the salt decay phenomenon in modern as well as historical building materials in a more sustainable manner. In this review, we first provide an essential background on the mechanism of salt crystallization and on the factors influencing this phenomenon; next, we illustrate the mechanism at the basis of the action of crystal growth inhibitors, and critically discuss the major advances in the development of different families of inhibitors, particularly focusing on their influence on salt transport and crystallization within the structure of porous media. Specifically, correlations between the crystallization inhibition processes in porous materials and variables, such as porous substrate composition and properties, contaminant salt type and concentrations, microclimatic conditions, inhibiting solution concentration and properties, and application methods, will be highlighted. Environmental aspects, limitations, and problems associated with some inhibition chemicals are also taken into account. Finally, a survey and a discussion on the most representative experimental techniques and instrumentation available to assess qualitatively and quantitatively the inhibitor effectiveness, as well as recently developed modelling tools are given out