Proposing a Framework for Blended and Flexible Course Design

This paper proposes a Framework for Blended and Flexible Curriculum Delivery. Following a brief introduction about how this project came together, a literature review is undertaken where various terms related with learning and teaching through technology are explained and distinguished. The proposed Blended Learning Framework is explained, discussed, analyzed and mapped to educational practices and their underpinning learning theories. The paper is then summarized and concluded

Lipid peroxidation biomarkers for evaluating oxidative stress in equine neuroaxonal dystrophy.

BackgroundEquine neuroaxonal dystrophy/equine degenerative myeloencephalopathy (eNAD/EDM) is a neurodegenerative disorder affecting genetically predisposed foals maintained on an α-tocopherol (α-TOH) deficient diet. Currently no antemortem diagnostic test for eNAD/EDM is available.HypothesisBecause α-TOH deficiency is associated with increased lipid peroxidation, it was hypothesized that F2 -isoprostanes (F2 IsoP), F4 -neuroprostanes (F4 NP) and oxysterols derived from free radical oxidation would be increased in the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) and neural tissue of eNAD/EDM affected horses and could serve as potential biomarkers for disease.AnimalsIsoprostane Study A: 14 Quarter horse foals (10 healthy foals and 4 eNAD/EDM affected foals) at 1 and 6 months of age. Isoprostane Study B: 17 eNAD/EDM affected and 10 unaffected horses ≥ 1-4 years of age. Oxysterol study: eNAD/EDM affected (n = 14, serum; n = 11, CSF; n = 10, spinal cord [SC]) and unaffected horses 1-4 years of age (n = 12, serum; n = 10, CSF; n = 7, SC).ProceduresCerebrospinal fluid [F2 IsoP] and [F4 NP] were assessed using gas chromatography-negative ion chemical ionization mass spectrometry. Serum, CSF, and cervical SC [oxysterols] were quantified using high performance liquid chromatography mass spectrometry. Results were compared with respective α-TOH concentrations.ResultsSpinal cord [7-ketocholesterol], [7-hydroxycholesterol], and [7-keto-27-hydrocholesterol] were higher in eNAD/EDM horses whereas [24-ketocholesterol] was lower. No significant difference was found in CSF [F2 IsoP] and [F4 NP], serum [oxysterols] and CSF [oxysterols] between eNAD/EDM affected and unaffected horses. No correlation was found between [F2 IsoP], [F4 NP], or [oxysterols] and respective [α-TOH].Conclusions and clinical importanceIn the SC, targeted markers of cholesterol oxidation were significantly increased in horses with eNAD/EDM

Mesure de température par pyrométrie 2D à bande spectrale et pyrométrie spectrale de métaux chauffés par laser dans un environnement fortement oxydant

La calibration et la validation de deux techniques de mesure de température complémentaires basées toutes les deux sur la pyrométrie optique (pyrométrie 2D monobande et pyrométrie spectrale), utilisables dans le cadre de l'étude des métaux chauffés dans des conditions hautement oxydantes et plus généralement au cours des procédés laser sur des métaux dans la gamme de température 2000-4000 K ont été réalisées. Une bonne correspondance des résultats des deux méthodes est obtenue lorsque l'émissivité de l'objet est connue et varie peu, mais seule la pyrométrie spectrale est performante lors de grandes variations d'émissivité, fournissant à la fois une mesure de température et d'émissivité au cours du procédé. Les incertitudes ont été calculées et représentent respectivement 6 et 3% dans une gamme de 1800 à 4500 K pour la pyrométrie 2D et la pyrométrie spectrale

Evaluation et gestion du risque lié à l'ingestion de produits de la mer contaminés par le cadmium

Après avoir présenté les différentes sources de pollution par le cadmium, l'auteur montre que les estuaires et les zones portuaires sont les localisations les plus polluées. La contamination des organismes est la plus grande dans les bivalves et les crustacés. Seule l'ingestion d huîtres présente un risque d intoxication chronique chez l'homme. Ce risque est en fait relativement faible et en diminution constante compte tenu des mesures règlementaires visant à limiter les rejets de cadmium dans l'environnement et les teneurs de ce toxique dans les produits alimentaires

On the Conditional Distribution of a Multivariate Normal given a Transformation - the Linear Case

We show that the orthogonal projection operator onto the range of the adjoint of a linear operator $T$ can be represented as $UT,$ where $U$ is an invertible linear operator. Using this representation we obtain a decomposition of a Normal random vector $Y$ as the sum of a linear transformation of $Y$ that is independent of $TY$ and an affine transformation of $TY$. We then use this decomposition to prove that the conditional distribution of a Normal random vector $Y$ given a linear transformation $\mathcal{T}Y$ is again a multivariate Normal distribution. This result is equivalent to the well-known result that given a $k$-dimensional component of a $n$-dimensional Normal random vector, where $k<n$, the conditional distribution of the remaining $\left(n-k\right)$-dimensional component is a $\left(n-k\right)$-dimensional multivariate Normal distribution, and sets the stage for approximating the conditional distribution of $Y$ given $g\left(Y\right)$, where $g$ is a continuously differentiable vector field.Comment: 2/6/18: Updated the proof of Theorem 4 & added a corollary. arXiv admin note: text overlap with arXiv:1612.0121

Corporate Financial and Investment Policies when Future Financing is not Frictionless

Much of corporate finance is concerned with the impact of financing constraints on firms. However, the literature on financing constraints largely ignores the intertemporal implications of those constraints; in particular, how future financing constraints affect current investment decisions. We present a model in which future financing constraints lead firms to have a current preference for investments with shorter payback periods, investments with less risk, and investments that utilize more liquid/pledgeable assets. The model has a host of implications in different areas of corporate finance, including firms' capital budgeting rules, risk-taking behavior, capital structure choices, hedging strategies, and cash management policies. We show how a number of patterns reported in the empirical literature can be reconciled and interpreted in light of the intertemporal optimization problem firms solve when they face costly external financing. For example, contrary to Jensen and Meckling (1976), we show that firms may reduce rather than increase risk when leverage increases exogenously. Furthermore, firms in economies with less developed financial markets will not only take different quantities of investment, but will also take different kinds of investment (safer, short-term projects that are potentially less profitable). We also point out to several predictions that have not been empirically examined. For example, our model predicts that investment safety and liquidity are complementary: constrained firms are specially likely to distort the risk profile of their most liquid investments.