How much difference can current policy make to professional contract researchers?

This article explores the role of the professional contract researcher in higher education. The factors which have led to the need for directed policy growth, the perceived consequences of these policies and the shortfalls of policy in practice. It begins by exploring the questions who are researchers, where do they work and what are their problems? It will then go on to describe the current policies targeting this cohort and highlight areas of policy which are expected to address some of the issues of concern. It will then identify areas where policy may continue to fall short in practice and address ways in which these gaps may be fille

Bacterial Pneumonia in Dogs and Cats: An Update.

Bacterial pneumonia is a common clinical diagnosis in dogs but seems to occur less often in cats. Underlying causes include viral infection, aspiration injury, foreign body inhalation, and defects in clearance of respiratory secretions. Identification of the specific organisms involved in disease, appropriate use of antibiotics and adjunct therapy, and control of risk factors for pneumonia improve management

Evaluation of thermal comfort conditions in a classroom equipped with radiant cooling systems and subjected to uniform convective environment

The aim of this work is to evaluate numerically the human thermal response that 24 students and 1 teacher feel in a classroom equipped with radiant cooling systems and subjected to uniform convective environments, in lightly warm conditions. The evolution of thermal comfort conditions, using the PMV index, is made by the multi-nodal human thermal comfort model. In this numerical model, that works in transient or steady-state conditions and simulates simultaneously a group of persons, the three-dimensional body is divided in 24 cylindrical and 1 spherical elements. Each element is divided in four parts (core, muscle, fat and skin), sub-divided in several layers, and protected by several clothing layers. This numerical model is divided in six parts: human body thermal system, clothing thermal system, integral equations resolution system, thermoregulatory system, heat exchange between the body and the environment and thermal comfort evaluation. Seven different radiant systems are combined to three convective environments. In the radiant systems (1) no radiant system without warmed curtain, (2) no radiant system with warmed curtain, (3) radiant floors cooling system with warmed curtain, (4) radiant panels cooling system with warmed curtain, (5) radiant ceiling cooling system with warmed curtain, (6) radiant floor and panels cooling system with warmed curtain and (7) radiant ceiling and panels cooling system with warmed curtain are analysed, while in the convective environments (1) without air velocity field and with uniform air velocity field of (2) 0.2 m/s and (3) 0.6 m/s are also analysed. The internal air temperature and internal surfaces temperature are 28 degrees C, the radiant cooling surfaces temperature are 19 degrees C and the warmed internal curtains surfaces temperatures, subjected to direct solar radiation, are 40 degrees C. The numerical model calculates the Mean Radiant Temperature field, the human bodies' temperatures field and the thermal comfort level, for the 25 occupants, for the 21 analysed situations. Without uniform air velocity field, when only one individual radiant cooling system is used, the Predicted Percentage of Dissatisfied people is lowest when the radiant floor cooling system is applied and is highest when the radiant panel cooling system is applied. When are combined the radiant ceiling or the floor cooling systems with the radiant panel cooling system the Predicted Percentage of Dissatisfied people decreases. When the uniform air velocity increases the thermal comfort level, that the occupants are subjected, increases. When the radiant floor cooling system or the combination of radiant floor and panel cooling systems without uniform air velocity field is applied, the Category C is verified for some occupants. However, with a convective uniform air velocity field of 0.2 m/s the Category B is verified and with a convective uniform air velocity field of 0.6 m/s the Category A is verify for some occupants. In the last situation the Category C is verified, in general, for all occupants. (C) 2010 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved

Quality of DNA extracted from formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded canine tissues.

Veterinary pathology tissue banks are valuable resources for genetic studies. However, limited data exist as to whether quality DNA can be extracted from these tissues for use in canine genotyping studies. We extracted DNA from 44 formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded (FFPE) tissue blocks from dogs; 9 of these dogs had DNA available from whole blood samples that had been banked. We genotyped DNA from 30 of 44 tissue blocks and 9 whole blood samples on the Illumina CanineHD BeadChip; DNA quality was insufficient in 14 of 44 samples from tissue blocks. There was significant correlation between the 260/280 ratio and single-nucleotide variation (SNV) call rate (p = 0.0276; r2 = 0.162); 23 of 30 samples from FFPE were genotyped with > 65% call rates. Median pairwise identical-by-state (IBS) analysis was 0.99 in 8 pairs of dogs with call rates > 65%. Neither age of tissue block nor specific tissue types were associated with significant differences in DNA concentration, 260/280 ratio, or SNV call rate. DNA extracted from tissue blocks can have variable quality, although comparable levels of homozygosity suggest that extracts from FFPE with call rates > 65% might provide similar results to samples from whole blood when analyzed on the Illumina CanineHD BeadChip

Effect of disorder on condensation in the lattice gas model on a random graph

The lattice gas model of condensation in a heterogeneous pore system, represented by a random graph of cells, is studied using an exact analytical solution. A binary mixture of pore cells with different coordination numbers is shown to exhibit two phase transitions as a function of chemical potential in a certain temperature range. Heterogeneity in interaction strengths is demonstrated to reduce the critical temperature and, for large enough degree of disorder, divides the cells into ones which are either on average occupied or unoccupied. Despite treating the pore space loops in a simplified manner, the random-graph model provides a good description of condensation in porous structures containing loops. This is illustrated by considering capillary condensation in a structural model of mesoporous silica SBA-15.Comment: 22 pages, 16 figure

UPAYA MENINGKATKAN MINAT BACA SISWA MELALUI STRATEGI

Abstrak Membaca merupakan suatu proses yang dilakukan untuk mendapatkan sebuah pesan atau informasi. Dengan melakukan kegiatan membaca, seseorang akan mendapatkan pengetahuan baru yang belum pernah mereka temui sebelumnya. Membaca dapat dilakukan oleh seluruh kalangan masyarakat, termasuk siswa atau pelajar. Seorang siswa atau pelajar seharusnya menjadikan membaca sebagai sebuah kesenangan atau kegiatan yang mereka lakukan secara rutin. Karena dengan membaca mereka akan mendapatkan banyak ilmu yang mungkin tidak diajarkan di dalam kelas atau sekolah. Namun kenyataanya, sekarang ini siswa atau pelajar menaruh minat yang rendah pada kegiatan membaca. Penelitian tindakan kelas ini dilakukan untuk meningkatkan minat baca siswa atau pelajar, dengan menerapkan strategi PQ4R. Penelitian Ini adalah penelitian tindakan kelas yang terdiri dari 2 siklus. Setiap siklusnya terdiri dari 4 tahap, yakni perencanaan, pelaksanaan, observasi dan refleksi. Subjek penelitian inin adalah siswa kelas 3 SDN carat 2 Gempol. Sedangkan teknik pengumpulan data yang digunakan adalah Observasi, wawancara dan angket. Hasil dari penelitian ini adalah adanya peningkatan minat baca siswa pada setiap siklus yang telah dilaksanakan oleh peneliti di dalam kelas

CORRESPONDENCE ENDEMIC GOITRE: A PREVENTABLE AND YET HIGHLY PREVALENT DISEASE IN SARAWAK

The occurrence of goitre has long been known in Sarawak. Our general impression indicates that goitre is common in the interior regions particularly in areas bordering Indonesia, extremely common in the Lubok Antu District of the Second Division, but quite rare in the coastal areas, municipalities and bigger towns where wide access to sea foods is possible. Although the interior region as characterised by the hilly and mountainous terrain is more than fifty (50) percent of the Sarawak land area, it holds only 10-15 percent of the total population. Taking this fact into account, the general goitre prevalence rate would not be as high as portrayed. Various studies (two of which were quoted in your article) had, to some extent, confirmed our general impression on the goitrous areas in the State: Dr. G.H. Alexander in 1979, who incidentally surveyed only two areas, Kanowi

Comparative assessment of the effects of climate change on heat- and cold-related mortality in the United Kingdom and Australia.

BACKGROUND: High and low ambient temperatures are associated with increased mortality in temperate and subtropical climates. Temperature-related mortality patterns are expected to change throughout this century because of climate change. OBJECTIVES: We compared mortality associated with heat and cold in UK regions and Australian cities for current and projected climates and populations. METHODS: Time-series regression analyses were carried out on daily mortality in relation to ambient temperatures for UK regions and Australian cities to estimate relative risk functions for heat and cold and variations in risk parameters by age. Excess deaths due to heat and cold were estimated for future climates. RESULTS: In UK regions, cold-related mortality currently accounts for more than one order of magnitude more deaths than heat-related mortality (around 61 and 3 deaths per 100,000 population per year, respectively). In Australian cities, approximately 33 and 2 deaths per 100,000 population are associated every year with cold and heat, respectively. Although cold-related mortality is projected to decrease due to climate change to approximately 42 and 19 deaths per 100,000 population per year in UK regions and Australian cities, heat-related mortality is projected to increase to around 9 and 8 deaths per 100,000 population per year, respectively, by the 2080s, assuming no changes in susceptibility and structure of the population. CONCLUSIONS: Projected changes in climate are likely to lead to an increase in heat-related mortality in the United Kingdom and Australia over this century, but also to a decrease in cold-related deaths. Future temperature-related mortality will be amplified by aging populations. Health protection from hot weather will become increasingly necessary in both countries, while protection from cold weather will be still needed

X-ray CT analysis after blast of composite sandwich panels

Four composite sandwich panels with either single density or graded density foam cores and different face-sheet materials were subjected to full-scale underwater blast testing. The panels were subjected to 1kg PE4 charge at a stand-off distance of 1 m. The panel with graded density core and carbon fiber face-sheets had the lowest deflection. Post-blast damage assessment was carried out using X-ray CT scanning. The damage assessment revealed that there is a trade-off between reduced panel deflection and panel damage. This research has been performed as part of a program sponsored by the Office of Naval Research (ONR)