For me or not for me? - that is the question : a study of mature students' decision making and higher education

The views expressed in this report are the authors ' and do not necessarily reflect those of the Department for Education an

Miscarriage, stillbirth and congenital malformation in the offspring of UK veterans of the first Gulf war.

OBJECTIVES: To assess whether the offspring of UK veterans of the first Gulf war are at increased risk of fetal death or congenital malformation. METHOD: This was a retrospective reproductive cohort study of UK Gulf war veterans and a demographically similar comparison group who were in service at the time but were not deployed to the Gulf. Reproductive history was collected by means of a validated postal questionnaire between 1998 and 2001. RESULTS: In all, 27 959 pregnancies reported by men and 861 pregnancies reported by women were conceived after the first Gulf war and before November 1997. The risk of reported miscarriage was higher among pregnancies fathered by Gulf war veterans than by non-Gulf war veterans (OR = 1.4, 95% CI: 1.3, 1.5). Stillbirth risk was similar in both groups. Male Gulf war veterans reported a higher proportion of offspring with any type of malformation than the comparison cohort (OR = 1.5, 95% CI: 1.3, 1.7). Examination by type of malformation revealed some evidence for increased risk of malformations of the genital system, urinary system (renal and urinary tract), and 'other' defects of the digestive system, musculo-skeletal system, and non-chromosomal (non-syndrome) anomalies. These associations were weakened when analyses were restricted to clinically confirmed conditions. There was little or no evidence of increased risk for other structural malformations, specific syndromes, and chromosomal anomalies. Among female veterans, no effect of Gulf war service was found on the risk of miscarriage. The numbers of stillbirths and malformations reported by women were too small to allow meaningful analyses. CONCLUSION: We found no evidence for a link between paternal deployment to the Gulf war and increased risk of stillbirth, chromosomal malformations, or congenital syndromes. Associations were found between fathers' service in the Gulf war and increased risk of miscarriage and less well-defined malformations, but these findings need to be interpreted with caution as such outcomes are susceptible to recall bias. The finding of a possible relationship with renal anomalies requires further investigation. There was no evidence of an association between risk of miscarriage and mothers' service in the gulf

The Utility of a Rapid Application Development (RAD) Approach for a Large Complex Information Systems Development

Rapid Application Development (RAD) as a development methodology has its origins based within the commercial arena. As a result individual philosophies and perceptions of its rationale and applicability have led to considerable debate about its appropriateness for large complex Information Systems (IS) development. Even though RAD is becoming an increasingly accepted approach to IS development, existing literature does little to clarify the position and continues to question its suitability for large complex development projects. Contrary to published beliefs, a RAD type approach is being adopted for a large complex IS that is currently being implemented within UK Regional Government. This paper describes the case study that presents an interesting and atypical opportunity to examine the use of RAD within such a complex development environment. This research adopts an interpretive approach using an ethnographic style of qualitative research that literature posits has been effectively used for the study of information systems. It looks at the application of the development approach, considers the problems identified with such an approach and highlights the issues that impact and impinge upon the utility of RAD for such milieux

Passive sampling: partition coefficients for a silicone rubber reference phase.

Silicone rubber sheeting can be used as a passive sampling device for hydrophobic organic contaminants in the environment to determine the available concentrations in water and sediments. Reliable sampler-water partition coefficients are required to determine the sampling rates and the dissolved contaminant concentrations in water and in sediment pore water. Log partition coefficients (logKsr,w) for silicone rubber-water have been estimated for 32 polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), 2 deuterated PAH analogues and 32 chlorobiphenyls (CBs) using the cosolvent method, with methanol as cosolvent. Strong linear relationships were found with literature values for the corresponding log octanol-water partition coefficients (logKow) for both CBs and PAHs, confirming that partitioning into the silicone rubber is strongly determined by the hydrophobicity of the compounds, which suggests logKow is a good predictor of logKsr,w and that absorption is the main mechanism for accumulation of analytes into the silicone rubber polymer

SensorWeb 3G: Extending On-Orbit Sensor Capabilities to Enable Near Realtime User Configurability

This research effort prototypes an implementation of a standard interface, Web Coverage Processing Service (WCPS), which is an Open Geospatial Consortium(OGC) standard, to enable users to define, test, upload and execute algorithms for on-orbit sensor systems. The user is able to customize on-orbit data products that result from raw data streaming from an instrument. This extends the SensorWeb 2.0 concept that was developed under a previous Advanced Information System Technology (AIST) effort in which web services wrap sensors and a standardized Extensible Markup Language (XML) based scripting workflow language orchestrates processing steps across multiple domains. SensorWeb 3G extends the concept by providing the user controls into the flight software modules associated with on-orbit sensor and thus provides a degree of flexibility which does not presently exist. The successful demonstrations to date will be presented, which includes a realistic HyspIRI decadal mission testbed. Furthermore, benchmarks that were run will also be presented along with future demonstration and benchmark tests planned. Finally, we conclude with implications for the future and how this concept dovetails into efforts to develop "cloud computing" methods and standards

Does the Association between Depressive Symptomatology and Physical Activity Depend on Body Image Perception? A Survey of Students from Seven Universities in the UK

This cross-sectional study assessed the association between depression and PA in university students of both genders and the role of body image perception as a potential effect modifier. Undergraduate students (N = 3706) from seven universities in the UK completed a self-administered questionnaire that assessed sociodemographic information; a range of health, health behaviour and health awareness related factors; the modified version of Beck’s Depression Inventory (M-BDI); educational achievement, and different levels of physical activity (PA), such as moderate PA (at least 5 days per week moderate exercise of at least 30 minutes), and vigorous PA (at least 3 days per week vigorous exercise of at least 20 minutes). Only 12.4% of the sample achieved the international recommended level for moderate PA, and 33.1% achieved the recommendations for vigorous PA. Both moderate and vigorous PA were inversely related to the M-BDI score. Physically active students, regardless of the type of PA, were significantly more likely to perceive their health as good, to have higher health awareness, to perform strengthening exercises, and to be males. The stratified analyses indicated that the association between depression and PA differed by body image. In students perceiving their body image as ‘just right’, moderate (>4th percentile) and high (>5th percentile) M-BDI scores were inversely related to vigorous PA. However, in students who perceived their body image as ‘overweight’, the inverse association was only significant in those with high M-BDI scores. We conclude that the positive effect of PA on depression could be down modulated by the negative impact of a ‘distorted’ body image on depression. The practical implications of these findings are that PA programmes targeting persons with depressive symptoms should include effective components to enhance body image perception

Dependence of Star Formation Activity On Stellar Mass and Environment From the Redshift One LDSS-3 Emission Line Survey (ROLES)

Using the sample from the \it Redshift One LDSS3 Emission line Survey \rm (ROLES), we probe the dependence of star formation rate (SFR) and specific star formation rate (sSFR) as a function of stellar mass $M_*$ and environment as defined by local galaxy density, in the CDFS field. Our spectroscopic sample consists of 312 galaxies with $K_{AB}<24$, corresponding to stellar mass \log(M_*/M_{\sun})>8.5, and with [OII] derived star-formation rates SFR>0.3M_{\sun}/yr, at $0.889\leq z \leq 1.149$. The results have been compared directly with the Sloan Digital Sky Survey Stripe 82 sample at $0.032\leq z \leq 0.05$. For star-forming galaxies, we confirm that there is little correlation between SFR and density at $z\sim 0$. However, for the lowest mass galaxies in our $z\sim 1$ sample, those with \log(M_*/M_{\sun})<10, we find that both the median SFR and specific SFR {\it increase} significantly with increasing local density. The "downsizing" trend for low mass galaxies to be quenched progressively later in time appears to be more pronounced in moderately overdense environments. Overall we find that the evolution of star-formation in galaxies is most strongly driven by their stellar mass, with local galaxy density playing a role that becomes increasingly important for lower mass galaxies.Comment: MNRAS accepte

Prospectus, October 19, 1983

OLDEST PARKLAND GRADUATE REPAYS LOAN; News Digest; Sociologist Stelle changes to archeology; Students fave meal; Donors for Tonia; Financial aid for students; \u27Gold Company\u27 needs basses; PC Happenings; LaRocque quote; Celebrate arts; Stugo forum; Hours increase; New Procedure; Director of Security Davis enjoys his work; Zamary is hard worker; Counseling acts as an advocate; Placement for future; U.S. Marines should be in America: Question: Should U.S. Marines be left in Lebanon?; Richardson teaches dance; Auto shop provides variety of services; Deathtrap finishes Saturday; Lack of teachers--; Parade grand champs--Newton; Highlights of the Illini marching band festival; C.A.A.R. president Soloff explains purpose of club; Can we delay the aging process?; State Police release figures; Classified; Sean Connery returns as 007; Speculation on murder; Album is an empty blank; Movie shows friendship; Brainstorm is a stunning movie; Campus Paperback Bestsellers; New & Recommended; Moore makes romance a comedy; Rockin\u27 the house; WILL has class for fall season; Fast Freddy Contest; Volleyball star ponders future; Results Of October 8 Matches; I.M. News...volleyball; Interested?https://spark.parkland.edu/prospectus_1983/1008/thumbnail.jp