QAA subject benchmark statement architecture : version for consultation December 2019

The Statement is intended to guide lecturers and course leaders in the design of academic courses leading to qualifications in architecture, it will also be useful to those developing other related courses. Higher education providers may need to consider other reference points in addition to this Statement in designing, delivering and reviewing courses. These may include requirements set out by the Architects Registration Board (ARB), the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) and the Institute for Apprenticeships and Technical Education (IfATE). Providers may also need to consider industry or employer expectations. Individual higher education providers will decide how they use this information. The broad subject of architecture is both academic and vocational. The bachelor's award for architecture is the first stage of the typical education of an architect. This is typically either a BSc or a BA degree. The second stage of academic qualification is a master's level degree, typically in the form of a two-year MArch, which is defined as an undergraduate master's award. Architecture qualifications typically require a total of 360 (Credit Accumulation and Transfer Scheme, or CATS) credits at bachelor's level and 240 (CATS) credits within a master's level degree. While this may equate to five years of 120 (CATS) credits each, higher education providers may construct alternatives to enable flexibility in student learning. This Statement seeks to encapsulate the nature of a rich and diverse academic discipline. It is not intended to prescribe a curriculum, but rather describes the broad intellectual territory within which individual higher education providers will locate their courses of study in architecture

The effect of farming system on dairy cow cleanliness in the UK and implications to udder health

The cleanliness of dairy cows was assessed using a 20 point hygiene score system at different times in the year on 14 organic and 14 conventional farms in the UK. Overall, cows were dirtier during winter housing compared to summer grazing. Farming system had no effect on cow cleanliness when cows were at grass, but when housed in the winter, organic cows were more likely to be cleaner. There was a link between cow hygiene scores and milk hygiene, with herds having lower bulk tank somatic cell counts (BTSCC) tending to have cleaner cows. This relationship was strongest for the organic herds. There was no significant link between hygiene score and Bactoscan (BS) count or mastitis incidence

Development of a technology adoption and usage prediction tool for assistive technology for people with dementia

This article is available open access through the publisher’s website at the link below. Copyright @ The Authors 2013.In the current work, data gleaned from an assistive technology (reminding technology), which has been evaluated with people with Dementia over a period of several years was retrospectively studied to extract the factors that contributed to successful adoption. The aim was to develop a prediction model with the capability of prospectively assessing whether the assistive technology would be suitable for persons with Dementia (and their carer), based on user characteristics, needs and perceptions. Such a prediction tool has the ability to empower a formal carer to assess, through a very limited amount of questions, whether the technology will be adopted and used.EPSR

UK National Audit of Early Syphilis Management. Clinics audit: screening for and management of early syphilis

Data were provided by 131 clinics, and 56% of cases were managed in clinics in the London regions in 2003. Three clinics (2%) do not routinely screen new patients for syphilis, and 28 clinics (21%) do not routinely screen ‘rebook’ patients who have had a new partner. More than 80% of clinics routinely conduct cardiovascular and neurological examinations, although chest radiography is only performed by 50% of clinics and lumbar puncture by 13%. Only 19 (14%) clinics indicated not routinely using the recommended procaine penicillin G (PPG) regimen or one- or two-dose benzathine penicillin G (BPG) regimens for early syphilis, with 57% providing two doses of BPG 2.4 g, 40% providing PPG 750 mg for 10 days, and 15% providing one dose of BPG 2.4 g. Only seven clinics (5%) indicated that they provided treatment for early syphilis with PPG that is inferior to that recommended in the national guidelines. Only 18 clinics specified using the recommended dose and duration (or in excess of this) of PPG for neurosyphilis for cases with HIV infection. Provision for management of severe penicillin reaction is good, although few patients are desensitized. All clinics report that contact tracing for early syphilis is provided, and is mainly the responsibility of health advisers. Compared with auditing outcomes, audit of management policies overestimated performance in contact tracing and provision of dark ground microscopy

UK National Audit of Early Syphilis Management. Case notes audit: diagnosis and treatment

A national audit of 781 early syphilis cases presenting during 2002–03 in UK genitourinary medicine clinics was conducted in late 2004, organized through the Regional Audit Groups. Data were aggregated by region and National Health Service trust, allowing practice to be compared between regions, between trusts within regions, as well as to national averages and the UK National Guidelines. An enzyme immunoassay was used to diagnose 695 (89%) cases (regional range 18–100%). Use of a non-treponemal test was not recorded for 44 (6%) cases. Dark ground microscopy was used in the diagnosis of only 80 (29%) primary cases. Uptake of HIV testing was 77% (range 69–94%). Nationally, 527 (67%) treatments were parenteral, with almost equal use of benzathine penicillin G for 262 (50%, range 0–97%) cases and procaine penicillin G (PPG) for 260 cases (49%, range 3–100%). There were 14 (5%) treatments with less than the recommended 750 mg dose of PPG. One hundred and five (40%) PPG treatments were with greater than 750 mg and/or for longer than 10 days of which 76 (72%) were for early latent syphilis and/or cases with HIV infection. One hundred and ninety two (86%, range 0–100%) of all oral treatments were with doxycycline. The recommended regimen of 100 mg doxycycline twice daily for 14 days was used for 104 (53%) cases; the other 91 (47%) treatments were with a variety of regimens, mainly treatments with larger doses and/or longer treatment intervals and some combination treatments. Fourteen (2%) cases were not treated; treatment was not reported for seven (0.9%) and not known for 10 (1.3%) cases, who were treated at other centres

UK National Audit of Early Syphilis Management. Case-notes audit: contact tracing, information giving, follow-up and outcomes

Contact tracing was provided for 683/781 (87%, regional range 57–97%) cases, and identified 997 traceable contacts of whom 511 (51%) were seen, short of the recommended standard of 60%. However, the performance range for this standard was 26–70%, with seven regions achieving 60% or more. Of 511, 215 (42%, range 3–73%) contacts had syphilis. Treatment completion was recorded for 691 (88%, range 71–100%) cases, and resolution of lesions for 348/469 (74%, range 40–96%) cases. Nationally, 419/764 (55%, range 37–70%) cases were recorded as having a two dilution (four-fold) or greater decrease in non-treponemal test titre within 3–6 months after treatment; not achieving this titre decrease was mainly attributable to non-attendance for follow-up and failure of titre levels to fall. Follow-up of infectious syphilis in UK genitourinary medicine clinics is poor and falls far short of that recommended by National Guidelines. Only 16 (2%) cases had follow-up at intervals approximating to 1, 2, 3, 6 and 12 months, and only 312 (40%, range 5–61%) cases attended at least two follow-up visits. Only 17 (7%) of all 236 oral treatments (including switches to oral treatment), and 33 (27%) of 123 cases with HIV infection were recorded as designated annual follow-up. Further work is needed to determine factors that account for the wide variation between regions in contact tracing and follow-up performance

Pattern of hiv-infection in Hurungwe District, Mashonaland West, Zimbabwe

A journal article on the pattern of HIV infection in a rural Zimbabwe district.After the first case of HIV-infection had been diagnosed in 1986 in a Northern district of Zimbabwe, a local hospital based surveillance system, was introduced. In order to monitor the spread of the epidemic in the district, residence, age, sex and clinical presentation of all newly diagnosed HIV-paticnts were recorded. After three years, the data were compiled and analysed with the following results. Altogether 887 symptomatic HIV-patients (0,5 pc of the district population) were diagnosed. The most common HIV-associated signs and symptoms were PGL (47 pc), chest infection (29 pc), herpes zoster (24 pc) and chronic STDs (15 pc). The fcmalc-to-malc ratio in adults was 1,4. The average age on diagnosis in women was 26,0±6,7 years and in men 30,7±8,6 years. The three years’ cumulative incidence of HIV-cases was 27,2/1 000 in the urban area and 3/1 000 in the rural areas of the district

Structure and evolution of the cold dome off northeastern Taiwan : a numerical study

Author Posting. © The Oceanography Society, 2013. This article is posted here by permission of The Oceanography Society for personal use, not for redistribution. The definitive version was published in Oceanography 26, no. 1 (2013): 66–79, doi:10.5670/oceanog.2013.06.Numerous observational and modeling studies of ocean circulation surrounding Taiwan have reported occurrences of cold water and doming of isotherms (called the cold dome) that result in the formation of coastal upwelling on the northeastern Taiwan shelf. We use a high-resolution (1/24°) ocean model based on the Massachusetts Institute of Technology general circulation model to study the evolution of this distinct shelf-slope circulation phenomenon. We performed a number of model simulations spanning a five-year period (2004–2008) using realistic atmospheric forcing and initial and open boundary conditions. The model solutions were compared with satellite measurements of sea surface height (SSH), sea surface temperature (SST), and historical temperature and salinity observations. The model showed a realistically shaped cold dome with a diameter of ~ 100 km and temperature of ~ 3°C below the ambient shelf waters at 50 m depth. The occurrences of simulated cold dome events appeared to be connected with the seasonal variability of the Kuroshio Current. The model simulations showed more upwelling events during spring and summer when the core of the Kuroshio tends to migrate away from the east coast of Taiwan, compared to fall and winter when the core of the Kuroshio is generally found closer to the east coast of Taiwan. The model also reproduced weak cyclonic circulation associated with the upwelling off northeastern Taiwan. We analyzed the spatio-temporal variability of the cold dome using the model solution as a proxy and designed a "cold dome index" based on the temperature at 50 m depth averaged over a 0.5° × 0.5° box centered at 25.5°N, 122°E. The cold dome index correlates with temperature at 50 m depth in a larger region, suggesting the spatial extent of the cold dome phenomenon. The index had correlation maxima of 0.78 and 0.40 for simulated SSH and SST, respectively, in and around the cold dome box region, and we hypothesize that it is a useful indicator of upwelling off northeastern Taiwan. In addition, both correlation and composite analysis between the temperature at 50 m depth and the East Taiwan Channel transport showed no cold dome events during low-transport events (often in winter) and more frequent cold dome events during high-transport events (often in summer). The simulated cold dome events had time scales of about two weeks, and their centers aligned roughly along a northeastward line starting from the northeastern tip of Taiwan.This work was supported by Office of Naval Research grant N00014-08- 1-0587