Senior Design: KONG Toy Instruction-Manual Insertion

The team’s goal is to design and test a prototype and procedure that will automate the insertion of the Kong toy instructions into the cardboard packaging. This automation will increase the speed at which the product is packaged and will serve as an aid to workers with limited dexterity who find the task cumbersome

Senior Design:KONG Toy Instruction-Manual Insertion

The team’s goal is to design and test a prototype and procedure that will automate the insertion of the Kong toy instructions into the cardboard packaging. This automation will increase the speed at which the product is packaged and will serve as an aid to workers with limited dexterity who find the task cumbersome

Up and away: ontogenic transference as a pathway for aerial dispersal of microplastics

Microplastics (MPs) are ubiquitous pollutants found in marine, freshwater and terrestrial ecosystems. With so many MPs in aquatic systems it is inevitable that they will be ingested by aquatic organisms, and be transferred up through the food chain. However, to date, no study has considered whether MPs can be transmitted by means of ontogenic transference i.e. between life stages that utilise different habitats. Here, we determine whether fluorescent polystyrene beads could transfer between Culex mosquito life stages and, particularly, could move into the flying adult stage. We show for the first time that MPs can be transferred ontogenically from a feeding (larva) into a non-feeding (pupa) life stage and subsequently into the adult terrestrial life stage. However, transference is dependent on particle size, with smaller 2 µm MPs transferring readily into pupae and adult stages, whilst 15 µm MPs transferred at a significantly reduced rate. Microplastics appear to accumulate in the Malpighian tubule renal excretion system. The transfer of MPs to the adults represents a potential aerial pathway to contamination of new environments. Thus, any organism that feeds on terrestrial life phases of freshwater insects could be impacted by MPs found in aquatic ecosystems

Masswe Colonic Haemorrhage from a Solitary Caecal Varix

A 51 year old lady with chronic active hepatitis presented with massive lower gastrointestinal tract bleeding. Angiography demonstrated a solitary varix in the caecum which was found at laparotomy to be entering the bowel wall at the site ofadhesions from a previous appendicectomy. The portal pressure was found to be raised. Aright hemicolectomy stopped the blood loss, but she subsequently died ofliver failure. Solitary colonic varices associated with adhesions are extremely rare and their optimal management has not been established

Categorisation of continuous covariates for stratified randomisation: How should we adjust?

To obtain valid inference following stratified randomisation, treatment effects should be estimated with adjustment for stratification variables. Stratification sometimes requires categorisation of a continuous prognostic variable (eg, age), which raises the question: should adjustment be based on randomisation categories or underlying continuous values? In practice, adjustment for randomisation categories is more common. We reviewed trials published in general medical journals and found none of the 32 trials that stratified randomisation based on a continuous variable adjusted for continuous values in the primary analysis. Using data simulation, this article evaluates the performance of different adjustment strategies for continuous and binary outcomes where the covariate‐outcome relationship (via the link function) was either linear or non‐linear. Given the utility of covariate adjustment for addressing missing data, we also considered settings with complete or missing outcome data. Analysis methods included linear or logistic regression with no adjustment for the stratification variable, adjustment for randomisation categories, or adjustment for continuous values assuming a linear covariate‐outcome relationship or allowing for non‐linearity using fractional polynomials or restricted cubic splines. Unadjusted analysis performed poorly throughout. Adjustment approaches that misspecified the underlying covariate‐outcome relationship were less powerful and, alarmingly, biased in settings where the stratification variable predicted missing outcome data. Adjustment for randomisation categories tends to involve the highest degree of misspecification, and so should be avoided in practice. To guard against misspecification, we recommend use of flexible approaches such as fractional polynomials and restricted cubic splines when adjusting for continuous stratification variables in randomised trials

AAC W1876 hard red spring wheat

AAC W1876 hard red spring wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) has grain yield and time to maturity within the range of the check cultivars: Katepwa, Laura, Lillian, Carberry, and CDC Kernen. AAC W1876 has an awned spike, a low lodging score indicative of strong straw, and a short plant stature typical of a semidwarf wheat. AAC W1876 expressed resistance to prevalent races of leaf rust, moderate resistance to stem rust, intermediate resistance to fusarium head blight, yellow rust, common bunt, and loose smut. Compared to the Canada Western Red Spring check cultivars, AAC W1876 had improved flour yield and lower flour ash. AAC W1876 is eligible for grades of Canada Western Red Spring

AAC Penhold Canada Prairie Spring Red Wheat

AAC Penhold, an awned hard red spring wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) cultivar, yielded significantly more grain than 5700PR while maturing 2 days earlier, and 7.5 cm shorter stature. The seed size was significantly larger than 5700PR and 5701PR, with a test weight significantly heavier than both checks. AAC Penhold expressed resistance to prevalent races of leaf rust and common bunt, and moderate resistance to fusarium head blight and stem rust. AAC Penhold had higher grain and flour protein than the checks and improved Hagberg Falling Number, amylograph viscosity, and water absorption. AAC Penhold is eligible for grades of the market class, Canada Prairie Spring Red wheat

Quantifying Metal Contamination and Potential Uptake by Phragmites australis Adans. (Poaceae) Along a Subtropical River System

Metal pollution is pervasive across terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems owing to anthropogenic activities. Sediments can accrue high concentrations of metals and act as secondary sources, and thus may be valuable indicators of metal contamination across spatiotemporal scales. In aquatic systems, the extent of metal pollution may be further mediated by transference among sediments and living organisms, with plant metal contaminants potentially predictive of underlying sediment concentrations. The present study thus quantifies the extent of metal pollutants (Na, K, Ca, Mg, Cu, Zn, Mn, B, Fe) across multiple study sites and seasons (cool-dry, hot-wet, hot-dry) in a subtropical river system. Furthermore, uptake by a key macrophyte species, Phragmites australis, was examined and correlated with sediment pollution levels among different plant parts. Overall, sediment pollution load indices differed seasonally, being significantly highest during the cool-dry season irrespective of sampling location, suggesting that periods with reduced water flows can exacerbate metal pollution levels in riverine sediments. Also, metal concentrations were highest in upstream wetland sites, indicating a capacity for metal sink effects in these areas. Overall, macrophytes contained high concentrations of select metals, however composition and concentrations differed across plant parts, with roots containing particularly high concentrations of Fe and B. Correlations between sediment and macrophyte concentrations were mostly non-significant, whilst stem Mn and Fe concentrations correlated significantly negatively and positively to sediment concentrations, respectively. The present study identifies key spatiotemporal differences in multiple metal contaminants in an understudied subtropical aquatic system that align with hydrological regime differences. Whilst macrophytes were not found to be major accumulators, or predictors, of metal contaminants in this study, they may collectively play a central role in concentration regulation in aquatic systems

AAC Congress Durum Wheat

Congress durum wheat (Triticum turgidum L. subsp. durum (Desf.) Husn.) is adapted to the durum production area of the Canadian prairies. Averaged over three years, AAC Congress yielded significantly more grain than Strongfield and AC Navigator. AAC Congress had protein concentration significantly lower than Strongfield but significantly higher than Brigade. AAC Congress is eligible for grades of Canada Western Amber Durum. It has lower grain cadmium concentration and higher yellow pigment concentration than the check cultivars, except AAC Cabri

An examination of global university rankings as a new mechanism influencing mission differentiation: the UK context

Since their emergence a decade ago, global university rankings have become a powerful force in higher education internationally. The majority of research studies on global rankings have examined the effects at institutional and national levels. This study offers a valuable perspective on the ways rankings (and other international benchmarks) are deployed at the intra-sector level, by UK higher education ‘mission groups’, to support different policy positions. The concept of object in activity theory is used to problematize the analysis. Critical discourse analysis is used as a methodological orientation to study the ways global rankings mediate the object in this context. The findings contribute to the current debate on whether rankings are promoting isomorphism in higher education sectors nationally, illustrating a differentiated engagement with rankings in the UK context. The relevance of the findings for policy-makers and institutional managers is discussed