REACTION OF SUNFLOWER GENOTYPES TO THERMAL STRESS CONDITIONS IN THE SANDY SOILS AREA OF SOUTHERN OLTENIA

The researches carried out during 2016-2017 at RDCSPS Dabuleni aimed at the behavior of biological sunflower material, created at NARDI Fundulea, under conditions of thermal water stress from the sandy soils in southern Oltenia. The results obtained at 109 sunflower genotypes underline the favorability of Romania's southern area for sunflower culture. It showed significantly distinct positive correlation between the rate of  photosynthesis in the plant, and photosynthetic active radiation (r = 0.282 **) as well as between foliar sweating rate and leaf surface temperature (0.412 **). The production was differentiated according to the genotype and the climatic conditions of the agricultural year, ranging from 2299-5180 kg / ha, with an average of 4307 kg / ha

Effective Pre-school, Primary and Secondary Education 3-14 Project (EPPSE 3-14): influences on students’ dispositions in Key Stage 3: exploring enjoyment of school, popularity, anxiety, citizenship values and academic self-concept in Year 9

The Effective Pre-school, Primary and Secondary Education Project (EPPSE) has investigated the academic and social-behavioural development of approximately 3,000 children from the age of 3+ years since 1997. This Report and Research Brief reports on students’ dispositions when they were age 14 (Year 9) in six main areas: ‘enjoyment of school’, ‘academic self concept’ (English and maths), ‘popularity’, ‘citizenship values’ and ‘anxiety’. It examines how these dispositions have changed during Key Stage 3 (KS3) and the relationships between dispositions and a range of individual student, family, home, pre-, primary and secondary school measures. It shows how school experiences help to shape dispositions, and also explores the relationships between dispositions to school and students’ academic and social-behavioural outcomes. The findings highlight the importance of the ‘student voice’ and provides an insight into the experiences of teenagers in the first decade of the 21st Century

Effective Pre-school, Primary and Secondary Education 3-14 Project (EPPSE 3-14): influences on students’ dispositions in Key Stage 3: exploring enjoyment of school, popularity, anxiety, citizenship values and academic self-concept in Year 9

The Effective Pre-school, Primary and Secondary Education Project (EPPSE) has investigated the academic and social-behavioural development of approximately 3,000 children from the age of 3+ years since 1997. This Report and Research Brief reports on students’ dispositions when they were age 14 (Year 9) in six main areas: ‘enjoyment of school’, ‘academic self concept’ (English and maths), ‘popularity’, ‘citizenship values’ and ‘anxiety’. It examines how these dispositions have changed during Key Stage 3 (KS3) and the relationships between dispositions and a range of individual student, family, home, pre-, primary and secondary school measures. It shows how school experiences help to shape dispositions, and also explores the relationships between dispositions to school and students’ academic and social-behavioural outcomes. The findings highlight the importance of the ‘student voice’ and provides an insight into the experiences of teenagers in the first decade of the 21st Century

Influences on students’ attainment and progress in Key Stage 3: academic outcomes in English, Maths and Science in Year 9

The Effective Pre-school, Primary and Secondary Education Project (EPPSE) has investigated the academic and social-behavioural development of approximately 3,000 children from the age of 3+ years since 1997. This Research Brief focuses on the relationships between a range of individual student, family, home, pre-, primary and secondary school characteristics and students\u27 academic attainment in English, maths and science in Year 9 at secondary school (age 14). It compares the latest findings with those found for students\u27 attainment at younger ages. It also highlights the influences of secondary school on students\u27 attainment in the core curriculum areas and studies their academic progress across Key Stage 3 between the ages of 11 and 14

Effective pre-school, primary and secondary education project (EPPSE 3-14): students’ reports of their experiences of school in Year 9

The Effective Pre-school, Primary and Secondary Education Project (EPPSE) has inves tigated the academic and social behavioural (+ in the later stages the affective) development of approximately 3,000 children from the age of 3+ years since 1997. This report presents the results of analyses related to student’s experiences in Year 9 (age 14), with the purpose of creating measures of both school and classroom life as experienced by students. These measures have been used in the analysis of academic and social-behavioural outcomes as well as dispositions to investigate whether a student’s reported experience of school can significantly predict outcomes in other areas. The findings highlight the importance of the ‘student voice’ and provide an insight into the experiences of teenagers in the first decade of the 21st Century

An efficient hardware architecture for a neural network activation function generator

This paper proposes an efficient hardware architecture for a function generator suitable for an artificial neural network (ANN). A spline-based approximation function is designed that provides a good trade-off between accuracy and silicon area, whilst also being inherently scalable and adaptable for numerous activation functions. This has been achieved by using a minimax polynomial and through optimal placement of the approximating polynomials based on the results of a genetic algorithm. The approximation error of the proposed method compares favourably to all related research in this field. Efficient hardware multiplication circuitry is used in the implementation, which reduces the area overhead and increases the throughput

High-level dietary cadmium exposure is associated with global DNA hypermethylation in the gastropod hepatopancreas

5-methylcytosine (5mC) is a key epigenetic mark which influences gene expression and phenotype. In vertebrates, this epigenetic mark is sensitive to Cd exposure, but there is no information linking such an event with changes in global 5mC levels in terrestrial gastropods despite their importance as excellent ecotoxicological bioindicators of metal contamination. Therefore, we first evaluated total 5mC content in DNA of the hepatopancreas of adult Cantareus aspersus with the aim to determine whether this epigenetic mark is responsive to Cd exposure. The experiment was conducted under laboratory conditions and involved a continuous exposure, multiple dose- and time-point (14, 28, and 56 days) study design. Hepatopancreas cadmium levels were measured using Flame Atomic Absorption Spectrometry and the percentage of 5-mC in samples using an ELISA-based colorimetric assay. Snail death rates were also assessed. Our results, for the first time, reveal the presence of 5mC in C. aspersus and provide evidence for Cd-induced changes in global 5mC levels in DNA of gastropods and mollusks. Although less sensitive than tissue accumulation, DNA methylation levels responded in a dose- and time-dependent manner to dietary cadmium, with exposure dose having a much stronger effect than exposure duration. An obvious trend of increasing 5mC levels was observed starting at 28 days of exposure to the second highest dose and this trend persisted at the two highest treatments for close to one month, when the experiment was terminated after 56 days. Moreover, a strong association was identified between Cd concentrations in the hepatopancreas and DNA methylation levels in this organ. These data indicate an overall trend towards DNA hypermethylation with elevated Cd exposure. No consistent lethal effect was observed, irrespective of time point and Cd-dosage. Overall, our findings suggest that the total 5mC content in DNA of the hepatopancreas of land snails is responsive to sublethal Cd exposure and give new insights into invertebrate environmental epigenetics