A Light Introduction to PBL

Non peer reviewe

Natural Calligraphy

The term ‘natural calligraphy’ is introduced to describe a class of dynamic lines found in nature. These lines are well-defined although sometimes short-lived. They occur in different natural processes and on different scales. A selection is presented in this paper so as to better understand the class. They possess, for instance, cusps in density, involved topology and sweeping curves. Their occurrence is sometimes surprising because diffusive processes lead to smoothening of densities, the weakening of strong gradients, and the erasure of edges and sharp boundaries. As they change over time, forms of the line - ‘characters’ - emerge that seem particularly striking but these can disappear as quickly as they appear. As these characters evolve from and to less remarkable forms, we have a better chance of understanding the characteristics that make them appear compelling or beautiful. The lines exist in higher-dimensional spaces and we present two-dimensional projections of these spaces (photographs and images from simulations) as illustrations in this paper. Features that we describe as striking are often a result of this projection so that the natural form and the viewer both play a part in creating a ‘work of art’. We distinguish two types of experiment that we can conduct simultaneously in natural calligraphy. First, there is the scientific study of the natural processes creating the line. These processes possess both predictable and random (chaotic) elements. They are therefore not strictly repeatable although some features of the process are robust. Second, there is our placement in, and subjective selection from, the process as artists. We discuss these two types of experiment in more detail in relation to our examples. The exciting possibility suggested by these natural processes is a dynamic evolving calligraphy with a continuum of forms and symbols. Modern developments in the concept of trajectory in science have enriched the simple idea of a line and the extremal principles at the heart of these developments underlie the aesthetic of natural calligraphy. This paper aims to give an introduction to these ideas that might be of interest to both to scientists and practitioners in the arts.Peer reviewedFinal Published versio

Storyboard Physics

Storyboard Physics is a narrative approach to helping students understand core concepts within the physics curriculum. Each concept is introduced in a set of short episodes that is serialised on a module webpage. At the moment, the episodes are presented in the form of a traditional dramatic script, but we believe the ideal format would be as an interactive graphic novel. The fictional characters who tell our story have different backgrounds and different approaches to tackling problems. Students, as they read the storyline, may accordingly find they are in sympathy with one approach over another but, by following the dialogue, start to appreciate concepts holistically. Our characters discuss physics in a way that springs naturally out of their working lives; their personal relationships are however a crucial part of the format, further encouraging students to follow the narrative. Although the narrative is instructor-led, it is important to have student members of the writing team. We discuss our pilot study done as part of the HESTEM Conceptual Understanding in Physics project. This approach is easily generalised to other sciences.Peer reviewe

Parental perceptions and understanding of information provision, management options and factors influencing the decision-making process in the treatment of children with glue ear

Objectives Otitis media with effusion (OME) is a common cause of hearing loss and possible developmental delay in children, and there are a range of ‘preference sensitive’ treatment options. We aimed to evaluate the attitudes and beliefs of parents of affected children to treatment options including watchful-waiting, hearing aids, grommets, and, oral steroids with the intention of developing our understanding of decision-making and the factors influencing it, sources of parental information, and satisfaction with information provision. Design We recruited a convenience sample of twelve parents of eleven children with OME at a single ENT department of a teaching hospital into a qualitative research study. The children of the parents interviewed had already been recruited into the Oral Steroids for the Resolution of Otitis Media with effusion In Children (OSTRICH) study. Semi structured interviews were audio recorded, transcribed and then coded using an inductive, thematic approach. Results Parents were satisfied with the verbal provision of information during the treatment consultation, although many were keen to receive supplementary printed information. Discussion with family and friends helped the decision-making process, whereas insufficient information and a paternalistic approach were viewed as obstacles. Parents were particularly influenced by the following: the immediacy of the treatment option effect, perceived efficacy, perceived risks and adverse effects, social implications (especially with hearing aids) and past personal and informant experience. Conclusions Parents appreciate clinicians tailoring information provision to parents' information needs and preferred format. Clinicians should also elicit parental attitudes towards the different management options for OME and the factors influencing their decisions, in order to optimise shared-decision making and ultimately provide a better standard of clinical care

Old English Violin Music

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A versatile toolkit for high throughput functional genomics with Trichoderma reesei

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>The ascomycete fungus, <it>Trichoderma reesei </it>(anamorph of <it>Hypocrea jecorina</it>), represents a biotechnological workhorse and is currently one of the most proficient cellulase producers. While strain improvement was traditionally accomplished by random mutagenesis, a detailed understanding of cellulase regulation can only be gained using recombinant technologies.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Aiming at high efficiency and high throughput methods, we present here a construction kit for gene knock out in <it>T. reesei</it>. We provide a primer database for gene deletion using the <it>pyr4, amdS </it>and <it>hph </it>selection markers. For high throughput generation of gene knock outs, we constructed vectors using yeast mediated recombination and then transformed a <it>T. reesei </it>strain deficient in non-homologous end joining (NHEJ) by spore electroporation. This NHEJ-defect was subsequently removed by crossing of mutants with a sexually competent strain derived from the parental strain, QM9414.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Using this strategy and the materials provided, high throughput gene deletion in <it>T. reesei </it>becomes feasible. Moreover, with the application of sexual development, the NHEJ-defect can be removed efficiently and without the need for additional selection markers. The same advantages apply for the construction of multiple mutants by crossing of strains with different gene deletions, which is now possible with considerably less hands-on time and minimal screening effort compared to a transformation approach. Consequently this toolkit can considerably boost research towards efficient exploitation of the resources of <it>T. reesei </it>for cellulase expression and hence second generation biofuel production.</p

Survival advantage for patients accepting the offer of a circulatory death liver transplant.

BACKGROUND & AIMS: Donation after circulatory death (DCD) in the UK has tripled in the last decade. However, outcomes following DCD liver transplantation are worse than for donation after brainstem death (DBD) liver transplants. This study examines whether a recipient should accept a "poorer quality" DCD organ or wait longer for a "better" DBD organ. METHODS: Data were collected on 5,825 patients who were registered on the elective waiting list for a first adult liver-only transplant and 3,949 patients who received a liver-only transplant in the UK between 1 January 2008 and 31 December 2015. Survival following deceased donor liver transplantation performed between 2008 and 2015 was compared by Cox regression modelling to assess the impact on patient survival of accepting a DCD liver compared to deferring for a potential DBD transplant. RESULTS: A total of 953 (23%) of the 3,949 liver transplantations performed utilised DCD donors. Five-year post-transplant survival was worse following DCD than DBD transplantation (69.1% [DCD] vs. 78.3% [DBD]; p <0.0001: adjusted hazard ratio [HR] 1.65; 95% CI 1.40-1.94). Of the 5,798 patients registered on the transplant list, 1,325 (23%) died or were removed from the list without receiving a transplant. Patients who received DCD livers had a lower risk-adjusted hazard of death than those who remained on the waiting list for a potential DBD organ (adjusted HR 0.55; 95% CI 0.47-0.65). The greatest survival benefit was in those with the most advanced liver disease (adjusted HR 0.19; 95% CI 0.07-0.50). CONCLUSIONS: Although DCD liver transplantation leads to worse transplant outcomes than DBD transplantation, the individual's survival is enhanced by accepting a DCD offer, particularly for patients with more severe liver disease. DCD liver transplantation improves overall survival for UK listed patients and should be encouraged. LAY SUMMARY: This study looks at patients who require a liver transplant to save their lives; this liver can be donated by a person who has died either after their heart has stopped (donation after cardiac death [DCD]) or after the brain has been injured and can no longer support life (donation after brainstem death [DBD]). We know that livers donated after brainstem death function better than those after cardiac death, but there are not enough of these livers for everyone, so we wished to help patients decide whether it was better for them to accept an early offer of a DCD liver than waiting longer to receive a "better" liver from a DBD donor. We found that patients were more likely to survive if they accepted the offer of a liver transplant as soon as possible (DCD or DBD), especially if their liver disease was very severe

HiFLEx – a highly flexible package to reduce cross-dispersed Echelle spectra

© 2020 The Astronomical Society of the Pacific. Original content from this work may be used under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 licence (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/). Any further distribution of this work must maintain attribution to the author(s) and the title of the work, journal citation and DOI.We describe a flexible data reduction package for high resolution cross-dispersed echelle data. This open-source package is developed in Python and includes optional GUIs for most of the steps. It does not require any pre-knowledge about the form or position of the echelle-orders. It has been tested on cross-dispersed echelle spectrographs between 13k and 115k resolution (bifurcated fiber-fed spectrogaph ESO-HARPS and single fiber-fed spectrograph TNT-MRES). HiFLEx can be used to determine radial velocities and is designed to use the TERRA package but can also control the radial velocity packages such as CERES and SERVAL to perform the radial velocity analysis. Tests on HARPS data indicates radial velocities results within ±3ms−1 of the literature pipelines without any fine tuning of extraction parameters.Peer reviewe

Effects of erythropoietin therapy on the lipid profile in end-stage renal failure

Effects of erythropoietin therapy on the lipid profile in end-stage renal failure. To evaluate the effects of erythropoietin (EPO) therapy on the lipid profile in end-stage renal failure, we undertook a prospective study in patients on both hemodialysis (HD) and continuous ambulatory peritoneal dialysis (CAPD). One hundred and twelve patients (81 HD, 31 CAPD) were enrolled into the study. Lipid parameters [that is, total cholesterol and the LDL and HDL subfractions, triglycerides, lipoprotein (a), apoproteins A and B], full blood count, iron studies, B12, folate, blood urea, aluminium and serum parathyroid hormone were measured prior to commencement of EPO therapy. Ninety-five patients were reassessed 5.2 ± 0.3 (mean ± SEM) months later and 53 patients underwent a further assessment 13.1 ± 0.6 months after the commencement of EPO, giving an overall follow-up of 10.0 ± 0.6 months in 95 patients. As expected, EPO treatment was associated with an increase in hemoglobin (7.7 ± 0.1 vs. 9.9 ± 0.2 g/dl; P < 0.001) and a decrease in ferritin (687 ± 99 vs. 399 ± 69 µg/liter; P < 0.01). A significant fall in total cholesterol occurred (5.8 ± 0.1 vs. 5.4 ± 0.2 mmol/liter; P < 0.05) in association with a fall in apoprotein B (1.15 ± 0.04 vs. 1.04 ± 0.06; P < 0.05) and serum triglycerides (2.26 ± 0.14 vs. 1.99 ± 0.21; P < 0.05) during the course of the study. Other lipid parameters did not change, although there was a trend towards improvement. These changes correlated with the increase in Hb (P < 0.001 in each case), and the reduction in ferritin for total cholesterol (P < 0.02), LDL cholesterol (P < 0.03), and to a lesser extent apoprotein B (P < 0.07). No difference was observed in patients using maintenance HD or CAPD, and similar trends were observed in male and female patients. Improvements in the lipid profile occurred independently of the time on dialysis prior to the commencement of EPO. We conclude that EPO treatment is associated with alterations in the lipid profile which may suggest a long-term improvement in the vascular morbidity of chronic renal failure. The causes of the improved lipids are not addressed by this study and may be equally due to a direct or secondary benefit of EPO therapy

Self-directedness, integration and higher cognition

In this paper I discuss connections between self-directedness, integration and higher cognition. I present a model of self-directedness as a basis for approaching higher cognition from a situated cognition perspective. According to this model increases in sensorimotor complexity create pressure for integrative higher order control and learning processes for acquiring information about the context in which action occurs. This generates complex articulated abstractive information processing, which forms the major basis for higher cognition. I present evidence that indicates that the same integrative characteristics found in lower cognitive process such as motor adaptation are present in a range of higher cognitive process, including conceptual learning. This account helps explain situated cognition phenomena in humans because the integrative processes by which the brain adapts to control interaction are relatively agnostic concerning the source of the structure participating in the process. Thus, from the perspective of the motor control system using a tool is not fundamentally different to simply controlling an arm