The status of traditional Scottish animal breeds and plant varieties and the implications for biodiversity

The aim of this scoping study was to evaluate the effects on Scottish biodiversity of changes in the use of traditional breeds and varieties. The overall objectives were: a) The evaluation of the importance of genetic loss from the reduction in use of these breeds and varieties, for example, the loss of unusual characteristics that might have been of particular local use. b) An assessment of the impacts of reduction in the ability to conduct further breeding or research on rare and traditional varieties and breeds. c) Identification of the loss of certain farming techniques associated with particular varieties and breeds. d) An assessment of possible losses of biodiversity associated with reduction in the use of these breeds and varieties and the farming systems associated with them

Modeling and developing a learning design system based on graphic organizers

Nowadays we assist to a significant innovation of the teaching practises due to the crisis of the classical teaching approach, the availability of low cost mobile technology and the easy access to global knowledge and information. Learning Design systems represent valuable tools to support teachers in the delicate task of organizing the teaching-learning activities in active student-centered approaches. There are many active projects in this field, but the available tools do not always fulfill the expectations. Furthermore, there is a rapid growth of Web 2.0 apps to create digital artefacts with a strong potential impact in learning activities, but current LD platforms don't guide teachers and students in choosing best apps to carry on a specific task. This paper provides an overview of the state of the art LD tools and developing perspective in this area

Quantum correlations of light due to a room temperature mechanical oscillator for force metrology

The coupling of laser light to a mechanical oscillator via radiation pressure leads to the emergence of quantum mechanical correlations between the amplitude and phase quadrature of the laser beam. These correlations form a generic non-classical resource which can be employed for quantum-enhanced force metrology, and give rise to ponderomotive squeezing in the limit of strong correlations. To date, this resource has only been observed in a handful of cryogenic cavity optomechanical experiments. Here, we demonstrate the ability to efficiently resolve optomechanical quantum correlations imprinted on an optical laser field interacting with a room temperature nanomechanical oscillator. Direct measurement of the optical field in a detuned homodyne detector ("variational measurement") at frequencies far from the resonance frequency of the oscillator reveal quantum correlations at the few percent level. We demonstrate how the absolute visibility of these correlations can be used for a quantum-enhanced estimation of the quantum back-action force acting on the oscillator, and provides for an enhancement in the relative signal-to-noise ratio for the estimation of an off-resonant external force, even at room temperature

Particle organization after viscous sedimentation in tilted containers

A series of sedimentation experiments and numerical simulations have been conducted to understand the factors that control the final angle of a static sediment layer formed by quasi-monodisperse particles settling in an inclined container. The set of experiments includes several combinations of fluid viscosity, container angle, and solids concentration. A comparison between the experiments and a set of twodimensional numerical simulations shows that the physical mechanism responsible for the energy dissipation in the system is the collision between the particles. The results provide new insights into the mechanism that sets the morphology of the sediment layer formed by the settling of quasi-monodisperse particles onto the bottom of an inclined container. Tracking the interface between the suspension solids and the clear fluid zone reveals that the final angle adopted by the sediment layer shows strong dependencies on the initial particle concentration and the container inclination, but not the fluid viscosity. It is concluded that (1) the hindrance function plays an important role on the sediment bed angle, (2) the relation between the friction effect and the slope may be explained as a quasi-linear function of the projected velocity along the container bottom, and (3) prior to the end of settling there is a significant interparticle interaction through the fluid affecting to the final bed organization.We can express the sediment bed slope as a function of two dimensionless numbers, a version of the inertial number and the particle concentration. The present experiments confirm some previous results on the role of the interstitial fluid on low Stokes number flows of particulate matter.The authors acknowledge the support of the National Commission for Scientific and Techno- logical Research of Chile, CONICYT, Grant N◦ 21110766, Fondecyt Projects N◦ 11110201 and N◦ 1130910, the Department of Civil Engineering, the Department of Mining Engineering and the Advanced Mining Technology Center of the University of Chile, as well the staff of the G.K. Batchelor Laboratory, Department of Applied Mathematics and Theoretical Physics, University of Cambridge.This is the author accepted manuscript. The final version is available from AIP at http://dx.doi.org/10.1063/1.4958722

Persistence of low pathogenic influenza A virus in water: a systematic review and quantitative meta-analysis

Avian influenza viruses are able to persist in the environment, in-between the transmission of the virus among its natural hosts. Quantifying the environmental factors that affect the persistence of avian influenza virus is important for influencing our ability to predict future outbreaks and target surveillance and control methods. We conducted a systematic review and quantitative meta-analysis of the environmental factors that affect the decay of low pathogenic avian influenza virus (LPAIV) in water. Abiotic factors affecting the persistence of LPAIV have been investigated for nearly 40 years, yet published data was produced by only 26 quantitative studies. These studies have been conducted by a small number of principal authors (n = 17) and have investigated a narrow range of environmental conditions, all of which were based in laboratories with limited reflection of natural conditions. The use of quantitative meta-analytic techniques provided the opportunity to assess persistence across a greater range of conditions than each individual study can achieve, through the estimation of mean effect-sizes and relationships among multiple variables. Temperature was the most influential variable, for both the strength and magnitude of the effect-size. Moderator variables explained a large proportion of the heterogeneity among effect-sizes. Salinity and pH were important factors, although future work is required to broaden the range of abiotic factors examined, as well as including further diurnal variation and greater environmental realism generally. We were unable to extract a quantitative effect-size estimate for approximately half (50.4%) of the reported experimental outcomes and we strongly recommend a minimum set of quantitative reporting to be included in all studies, which will allow robust assimilation and analysis of future findings. In addition we suggest possible means of increasing the applicability of future studies to the natural environment, and evaluating the biological content of natural waterbodies.Antonia E. Dalziel, Steven Delean, Sarah Heinrich, Phillip Casse

RELIABILITY OF CLINICAL ISOKINETIC DYNAMOMETRY IN PATHOLOGICAL ATHLETIC SHOULDERS

There have been relatively few studies of the reliability of isokinetic shoulder testing, and only Malerba et al. (1993) have investigated patients with shoulder joint pathology (patients ranged in activity level from sedentary to highly active). Furthermore, all existing studies have involved a level of procedural standardisation which, while desirable, cannot always be achieved in a clinical environment, that is, where most isokinetic testing is performed. Therefore, the aim of this study was to assess the reliability of isokinetic testing of pathological athletic shoulders in a clinical environment, under routine clinical conditions. Twenty-two athletic patients (mean age 26 years) presenting with a range of pathologies including post-subluxation, post-dislocation, and post-surgical reconstruction were tested. Patients were tested on two occasions, separated by a time interval during which their clinical status was not expected to change (most tests were one week apart; mean interval 10 days). Bilateral isokinetic strength of the shoulder internal and external rotators were tested on a Cybex 6000 dynamometer at 2.09 and 4.19 radianslsecond (concentric) and 2.09 radianslsecond (eccentric). Patients were tested in a seated position, in 45 degrees of shoulder abduction, and 90 degrees of elbow flexion. Tests were performed in essentially the same fashion on each occasion by the same tester. However, the constraints of a busy clinical environment meant that precise control and exact replication may not have always been achieved. Intra-class correlation coefficients (ICC) for absolute concentric peak torque, work, and average power were all above 0.9. Eccentric ICCs were generally above 0.8. These values are as high as, or higher than, those reported in the literature for studies of healthy subjects conducted under more stringent conditions than can be achieved in a clinical environment. The reliability of commonly calculated ratios, such as agonistlantagonist and involved/uninvolved, was lower than that of the constituent absolute scores, and in some cases were quite poor. Caution is therefore warranted in the use of such ratios. Malerba JL; Adam ML, Harris BA, Krebs DE (1993) Reliability of dynamic and isometric testing of shoulder external and internal rotators. Journal of Orthopaedic and Sports Physical Therapy 18543-552

Three-dimensional advective--diffusive boundary layers in open channels with parallel and inclined walls

We study the steady laminar advective transport of a diffusive passive scalar released at the base of narrow three-dimensional longitudinal open channels with non-absorbing side walls and rectangular or truncated-wedge-shaped cross-sections. The scalar field in the advective--diffusive boundary layer at the base of the channels is fundamentally three-dimensional in the general case, owing to a three-dimensional velocity field and differing boundary conditions at the side walls. We utilise three-dimensional numerical simulations and asymptotic analysis to understand how this inherent three-dimensionality influences the advective-diffusive transport as described by the normalised average flux, the Sherwood $Sh$ or Nusselt numbers for mass or heat transfer, respectively. We show that $Sh$ is well approximated by an appropriately formulated two-dimensional calculation, even when the boundary layer structure is itself far from two-dimensional. This important result can significantly simplify the modelling of many laminar advection--diffusion scalar transfer problems: the cleaning or decontamination of confined channels, or transport processes in chemical or biological microfluidic devices