Learn And Work: A Hybrid Educational Model For Engineering Education

Traditional models of education are undergoing significant change in recent times due to evolving graduate attributes, shaped in no small part by the changing demands of modern industrial practices. Technology is one of the key elements of the factory of the future. Advances in manufacturing and digital technologies facilitate automation and offer significant benefits in a variety of areas. Academic programmes that feature industrial work placement have long been a feature of engineering education in TU Dublin. The BSc in Process Instrumentation and Automation is a three-year programme that goes further in that it evenly balances on-campus instruction with work placement. The programme was specifically devised in response to industry feedback that had identified significant skills shortages in the areas of industrial instrumentation and automation. It is a hybrid between the apprenticeship model of education (www.apprenticeship.ie) and the traditional engineering degree model and directly addresses industry\u27s immediate need for experienced graduates. Participation in the programme is sponsored by Irish Medtech Skillnet, a learning network for companies in the medical technology and engineering sector that responds to the training needs of that sector. This is one step in the lifelong learning path of a modern graduate. This paper will provide a detailed critical review of the ‘learn and work’ model; strengths, challenges and opportunities offered by this mode of engineering education

Characterisation of the heating mechanisms in a capacitively coupled argon RF discharge

A capacitively coupled rf plasma is investigated in the context of the heating mechanisms that sustain it under various conditions. These mechanisms are critically dependent on gas pressure, applied rf potential, rf current and discharge gap. Pressure ranges of 10 to 300 mTorr and rf potentials from a few Volts to several hundred Volts are investigated. The argon plasma is generated in two capacitively coupled rf systems. Plasma parameters are measured using a Langmuir probe. A microwave interferometer is used to compare density measurements with that of the probe. A current voltage monitor is used to measure the voltage, current and phase for the purpose of relating the control parameters to the plasma parameters. The design and construction of a retarding field energy analyser is presented. Plasma potential measurements using the analyser are compared with that of the Langmuir probe. Use of the analyser in electron collection mode has revealed a higher electron temperature behind the rf sheath than that measured by the Langmuir probe in the plasma. Transitions in the heating modes are investigated via plasma parameter and Electron Energy Probability Function (EEPF) measurement in the centre of the discharge. Particular attention is paid to the a-y transition. The relationship between the current voltage characteristic and the plasma parameters is considered. Pressure effects on the transition are determined. A model of the diffusion process in the capacitive rf discharge is devised and the resulting density profiles checked against known analytic solutions of the diffusion equation. A procedure to extract the ionisation profiles from experimental density measurements is devised using this model and a reconstruction algorithm. The twodimensional evolution of density and ionisation profiles is presented at low and high discharge powers over the 10 mTorr to 300 mTorr range. The total ionisation rate is compared with the theoretical ionisation rate calculated using simple particle balance equations. Disagreement in the ionisation rates is attributed to the use of unrealistic models and the assumption of uniform electron energy in the discharge. Spatially resolved EEPF measurements are made along the discharge axis. Rate coefficients for ionisation are calculated by integrating the product of the measured EEPF and the cross section for ionisation. Spatially resolved ionisation rates obtained from the coefficients are in good agreement with the measured ionisation rate profiles generated using the diffusion model and reconstruction algorithm

Microbial associations with macrobiota in coastal ecosystems : patterns and implications for nitrogen cycling

Author Posting. © Ecological Society of America, 2016. This article is posted here by permission of Ecological Society of America for personal use, not for redistribution. The definitive version was published in Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment 14 (2016): 200-208, doi:10.1002/fee.1262.In addition to their important effects on nitrogen (N) cycling via excretion and assimilation (by macrofauna and macroflora, respectively), many macrobiota also host or facilitate microbial taxa responsible for N transformations. Interest in this topic is expanding, especially as it applies to coastal marine systems where N is a limiting nutrient. Our understanding of the diversity of microbes associated with coastal marine macrofauna (invertebrate and vertebrate animals) and macrophytes (seaweeds and marine plants) is improving, and recent studies indicate that the collection of microbes living in direct association with macrobiota (the microbiome) may directly contribute to N cycling. Here, we review the roles that macrobiota play in coastal N cycling, review current knowledge of macrobial–microbial associations in terms of N processing, and suggest implications for coastal ecosystem function as animals are harvested and as foundational habitat is lost or degraded. Given the biodiversity of microbial associates of macrobiota, we advocate for more research into the functional consequences of these associations for the coastal N cycle.University of Chicago-Marine Biological Laboratories (MBL

CoCREATE: Collaborative Curriculum Reimagining and Enhancement Aiming to Transform Education

The establishment of TU Dublin in January 2019 provided a unique opportunity to create a bespoke curriculum framework for students, staff and stakeholders of TU Dublin, produced by the students, staff and stakeholders of TU Dublin. A curriculum framework is a set of guiding values that inform the design of teaching and learning activities within TU Dublin. A Teaching Fellowship Team, comprising eighteen teaching academics from across the three TU Dublin campuses and supported extensively by the Learning Teaching and Technology Centre (LTTC), was formed to collaboratively craft, in partnership with all stakeholders, a curriculum framework for TU Dublin. Working collaboratively under the project name CoCREATE (Collaborative Curriculum Reimagining and Enhancement Aiming to Transform Education) the Teaching Fellowship Team developed TU Dublin’s CoCREATED Curriculum Framework over eighteen months. The design and development of the CoCREATED Curriculum Framework was informed by consultation with all key stakeholders across all campuses, examination and synthesis of local, national and international best practice and policy, as well as relevant scholarly literature. The framework is underpinned by the core values and mission of TU Dublin, as well as local and national strategic plans. It provides a distinctive but tangible learning philosophy for all at TU Dublin. The framework is both considered, flexible and progressive so as to adapt to the diversity within TU Dublin, including accredited programmes, and is inclusive of all learners across the university. The four curriculum values of the TU Dublin CoCREATED Curriculum Framework are: Step forward and try new things Use all of our talents; everyone has something to learn and something to teach Make our learning experience active, useful and related to the world Create the space and time to do work that matters This new, dynamic and evolving TU Dublin CoCREATED Curriculum Framework characterises an innovative, responsive and caring learning environment for the diversity of our university’s student population across all programme levels. Simultaneously, it developed a synergy between staff, students, professional bodies, industry and community partners through a collaborative design process. It is as inspiring, distinctive and pioneering as Ireland’s first Technological University. The CoCREATED Curriculum Framework will support staff and students to develop a unique approach to teaching and learning, which will characterise a TU Dublin teaching and learning experience, and ultimately a TU Dublin graduate, in a competitive national and international higher education space. Going forward, the TU Dublin CoCREATED Curriculum Framework will empower the judicious creation of rich and diverse curricula across all disciplines and levels within TU Dublin, from apprenticeship, through undergraduate, to structured PhD

Ethical, legal, and social issues in the Earth BioGenome Project.

The Earth BioGenome Project (EBP) is an audacious endeavor to obtain whole-genome sequences of representatives from all eukaryotic species on Earth. In addition to the project's technical and organizational challenges, it also faces complicated ethical, legal, and social issues. This paper, from members of the EBP's Ethical, Legal, and Social Issues (ELSI) Committee, catalogs these ELSI concerns arising from EBP. These include legal issues, such as sample collection and permitting; the applicability of international treaties, such as the Convention on Biological Diversity and the Nagoya Protocol; intellectual property; sample accessioning; and biosecurity and ethical issues, such as sampling from the territories of Indigenous peoples and local communities, the protection of endangered species, and cross-border collections, among several others. We also comment on the intersection of digital sequence information and data rights. More broadly, this list of ethical, legal, and social issues for large-scale genomic sequencing projects may be useful in the consideration of ethical frameworks for future projects. While we do not-and cannot-provide simple, overarching solutions for all the issues raised here, we conclude our perspective by beginning to chart a path forward for EBP's work

Ethical, legal, and social issues in the Earth BioGenome Project

The Earth BioGenome Project (EBP) is an audacious endeavor to obtain whole-genome sequences of representatives from all eukaryotic species on Earth. In addition to the project’s technical and organizational challenges, it also faces complicated ethical, legal, and social issues. This paper, from members of the EBP’s Ethical, Legal, and Social Issues (ELSI) Committee, catalogs these ELSI concerns arising from EBP. These include legal issues, such as sample collection and permitting; the applicability of international treaties, such as the Convention on Biological Diversity and the Nagoya Protocol; intellectual property; sample accessioning; and biosecurity and ethical issues, such as sampling from the territories of Indigenous peoples and local communities, the protection of endangered species, and cross-border collections, among several others. We also comment on the intersection of digital sequence information and data rights. More broadly, this list of ethical, legal, and social issues for large-scale genomic sequencing projects may be useful in the consideration of ethical frameworks for future projects. While we do not—and cannot—provide simple, overarching solutions for all the issues raised here, we conclude our perspective by beginning to chart a path forward for EBP’s work

An evaluation of ciprofloxacin pharmacokinetics in critically ill patients undergoing continuous veno-venous haemodiafiltration

BACKGROUND: The study aimed to investigate the pharmacokinetics of intravenous ciprofloxacin and the adequacy of 400 mg every 12 hours in critically ill Intensive Care Unit (ICU) patients on continuous veno-venous haemodiafiltration (CVVHDF) with particular reference to the effect of achieved flow rates on drug clearance. METHODS: This was an open prospective study conducted in the intensive care unit and research unit of a university teaching hospital. The study population was seven critically ill patients with sepsis requiring CVVHDF.Blood and ultrafiltrate samples were collected and assayed for ciprofloxacin by High Performance Liquid Chromatography (HPLC) to calculate the model independent pharmacokinetic parameters; total body clearance (TBC), half-life (t1/2) and volume of distribution (Vd). CVVHDF was performed at prescribed dialysate rates of 1 or 2 L/hr and ultrafiltration rate of 2 L/hr. The blood flow rate was 200 ml/min, achieved using a Gambro blood pump and Hospal AN69HF haemofilter. RESULTS: Seventeen profiles were obtained. CVVHDF resulted in a median ciprofloxacin t1/2 of 13.8 (range 5.15-39.4) hr, median TBC of 9.90 (range 3.10-13.2) L/hr, a median Vdss of 125 (range 79.5-554) L, a CVVHDF clearance of 2.47+/-0.29 L/hr and a clearance of creatinine (Clcr) of 2.66+/-0.25 L/hr. Thus CVVHDF, at an average flow rate of ~3.5 L/hr, was responsible for removing 26% of ciprofloxacin cleared. At the dose rate of 400 mg every 12 hr, the median estimated Cpmax/MIC and AUC0-24/MIC ratios were 10.3 and 161 respectively (for a MIC of 0.5 mg/L) and exceed the proposed criteria of >10 for Cpmax/MIC and > 100 for AUC0-24/MIC. There was a suggestion towards increased ciprofloxacin clearance by CVVHDF with increasing effluent flow rate. CONCLUSIONS: Given the growing microbial resistance to ciprofloxacin our results suggest that a dose rate of 400 mg every 12 hr, may be necessary to achieve the desired pharmacokinetic - pharmacodynamic (PK-PD) goals in patients on CVVHDF, however an extended interval may be required if there is concomitant hepatic impairment. A correlation between ciprofloxacin clearance due to CVVHDF and creatinine clearance by the filter was observed (r2 = 0.76), providing a useful clinical surrogate marker for ciprofloxacin clearance within the range studied

Climate change implications for tidal marshes and food web linkages to estuarine and coastal nekton

Climate change is altering naturally fluctuating environmental conditions in coastal and estuarine ecosystems across the globe. Departures from long-term averages and ranges of environmental variables are increasingly being observed as directional changes [e.g., rising sea levels, sea surface temperatures (SST)] and less predictable periodic cycles (e.g., Atlantic or Pacific decadal oscillations) and extremes (e.g., coastal flooding, marine heatwaves). Quantifying the short- and long-term impacts of climate change on tidal marsh seascape structure and function for nekton is a critical step toward fisheries conservation and management. The multiple stressor framework provides a promising approach for advancing integrative, cross-disciplinary research on tidal marshes and food web dynamics. It can be used to quantify climate change effects on and interactions between coastal oceans (e.g., SST, ocean currents, waves) and watersheds (e.g., precipitation, river flows), tidal marsh geomorphology (e.g., vegetation structure, elevation capital, sedimentation), and estuarine and coastal nekton (e.g., species distributions, life history adaptations, predator-prey dynamics). However, disentangling the cumulative impacts of multiple interacting stressors on tidal marshes, whether the effects are additive, synergistic, or antagonistic, and the time scales at which they occur, poses a significant research challenge. This perspective highlights the key physical and ecological processes affecting tidal marshes, with an emphasis on the trophic linkages between marsh production and estuarine and coastal nekton, recommended for consideration in future climate change studies. Such studies are urgently needed to understand climate change effects on tidal marshes now and into the future

How genomics can help biodiversity conservation

The availability of public genomic resources can greatly assist biodiversity assessment, conservation, and restoration efforts by providing evidence for scientifically informed management decisions. Here we survey the main approaches and applications in biodiversity and conservation genomics, considering practical factors, such as cost, time, prerequisite skills, and current shortcomings of applications. Most approaches perform best in combination with reference genomes from the target species or closely related species. We review case studies to illustrate how reference genomes can facilitate biodiversity research and conservation across the tree of life. We conclude that the time is ripe to view reference genomes as fundamental resources and to integrate their use as a best practice in conservation genomics.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

The era of reference genomes in conservation genomics

Progress in genome sequencing now enables the large-scale generation of reference genomes. Various international initiatives aim to generate reference genomes representing global biodiversity. These genomes provide unique insights into genomic diversity and architecture, thereby enabling comprehensive analyses of population and functional genomics, and are expected to revolutionize conservation genomics