Design of experiments to generate a fuel cell electro-thermal performance map and optimise transitional pathways

The influence of the air cooling flow rate and current density on the temperature, voltage and power density is a challenging issue for air-cooled, open cathode fuel cells. Electro-thermal maps have been generated using large datasets (530 experimental points) to characterise these correlations, which reveal that the amount of cooling, alongside with the load, directly affect the cell temperature. This work uses the design of experiment (DoE) approach to tackle two challenges. Firstly, an S-optimal design plan is used to reduce the number of experiments from 530 to 555 to determine the peak power density in an electro-thermal map. Secondly, the design of experiment approach is used to determine the fastest way to reach the highest power density, yet limiting acute temperature gradients, via three intermediate steps of current density and air cooling rate

Bridging the Gap Between Science and Application: The Use of Cocreation Educational Workshops in Professional Youth Soccer

We examined whether practice activities adopted by professional youth soccer coaches are modulated through the implementation of and engagement with cocreative evidence-based programs. Across two experiments, we used systematic observation to identify the practice activities of seven coaches across 134 sessions. In Experiment A, drill-based and games-based activities were recorded and quantified. To encourage behaviour change across the study, the systematic observation data were compared with skill acquisition literature to provide coaches with quantitative feedback and recommendations during workshops. Postworkshop systematic observation data indicated that practice activities used by coaches changed in accordance with the evidenced-based information (increase in games-based activities) delivered within the workshop. Interview data indicated that coaches typically stated that the workshop was a key reason for behaviour change. In a follow-up Experiment B, feedback and recommendations were delivered using an interactive video-based workshop. The systematic observation data indicated that coaches increased the use of soccer activities that contained active decision making with coaches citing the workshop as a key reason for behaviour change. These findings indicate that coaching practice activities can be supported and shaped through the implementation of cocreated workshops wherein coaches collaborate with sport scientists and researchers to bridge the gap between science and application

Sweet's syndrome in a patient with Crohn's disease: a case report

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Sweet's syndrome, also known as acute febrile neutrophilic dermatosis, has been associated with malignancy, autoimmune disease and collagen vascular disease. The association of Crohn's disease and Sweet's syndrome is rare. We report a case of Sweet's syndrome in a patient with Crohn's disease.</p> <p>Case presentation</p> <p>A 63-year-old man with a history of Crohn's disease presented with one-week duration of abdominal pain, diarrhea and hematochezia. He also noticed eruption of painful skin rashes all over his body at the same time. Colonoscopy and esophagogastroduodenoscopy (EGD) showed inflammation involving different parts of the gastrointestinal tract consistent with Crohn's disease. Punch biopsy of the skin lesion was consistent with Sweet's syndrome, which has a rare association with Crohn's disease.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Crohn's disease should be excluded in patients presenting with Sweet's syndrome and diarrhea. Alternatively, Sweet's syndrome should be considered as a diagnosis when a patient with Crohn's disease develops skin lesions.</p

Chromatic Illumination Discrimination Ability Reveals that Human Colour Constancy Is Optimised for Blue Daylight Illuminations

The phenomenon of colour constancy in human visual perception keeps surface colours constant, despite changes in their reflected light due to changing illumination. Although colour constancy has evolved under a constrained subset of illuminations, it is unknown whether its underlying mechanisms, thought to involve multiple components from retina to cortex, are optimised for particular environmental variations. Here we demonstrate a new method for investigating colour constancy using illumination matching in real scenes which, unlike previous methods using surface matching and simulated scenes, allows testing of multiple, real illuminations. We use real scenes consisting of solid familiar or unfamiliar objects against uniform or variegated backgrounds and compare discrimination performance for typical illuminations from the daylight chromaticity locus (approximately blue-yellow) and atypical spectra from an orthogonal locus (approximately red-green, at correlated colour temperature 6700 K), all produced in real time by a 10-channel LED illuminator. We find that discrimination of illumination changes is poorer along the daylight locus than the atypical locus, and is poorest particularly for bluer illumination changes, demonstrating conversely that surface colour constancy is best for blue daylight illuminations. Illumination discrimination is also enhanced, and therefore colour constancy diminished, for uniform backgrounds, irrespective of the object type. These results are not explained by statistical properties of the scene signal changes at the retinal level. We conclude that high-level mechanisms of colour constancy are biased for the blue daylight illuminations and variegated backgrounds to which the human visual system has typically been exposed

Teachers’ appraisals of adjectives relating to mathematics tasks

Curricular implementations are unlikely to deliver the anticipated benefits for mathematics learners if written guidance to teachers is interpreted and enacted differently from the ways that policymakers and curriculum designers intend. One way in which this could happen is in relation to the mathematics tasks that teachers deploy in the classroom. Teachers and curriculum designers have developed an extensive vocabulary for describing tasks, using adjectives such as ‘rich’, ‘open’, ‘real-life’, ‘engaging’ and so on. But do teachers have a shared understanding of what these adjectives mean when they are applied to mathematics tasks? In Study 1 we investigated teachers’ appraisals of adjectives used to describe mathematics tasks, finding that task appraisals vary on seven dimensions, which we termed engagement, demand, routineness, strangeness, inquiry, context and interactivity. In Study 2, focusing on the five most prominent dimensions, we investigated whether teachers have a shared understanding of the meaning of adjectives when applied to mathematics tasks. We found that there was some agreement about inquiry and context, some disagreement about routineness, and clear disagreement about engagement and demand. We conclude that at least some adjectives commonly used to describe tasks are interpreted very differently by different teachers. Implications for how tasks might be discussed meaningfully by teachers, teacher educators and curriculum designers are highlighted

Site-directed M2 proton channel inhibitors enable synergistic combination therapy for rimantadine-resistant pandemic influenza

Pandemic influenza A virus (IAV) remains a significant threat to global health. Preparedness relies primarily upon a single class of neuraminidase (NA) targeted antivirals, against which resistance is steadily growing. The M2 proton channel is an alternative clinically proven antiviral target, yet a near-ubiquitous S31N polymorphism in M2 evokes resistance to licensed adamantane drugs. Hence, inhibitors capable of targeting N31 containing M2 (M2-N31) are highly desirable. Rational in silico design and in vitro screens delineated compounds favouring either lumenal or peripheral M2 binding, yielding effective M2-N31 inhibitors in both cases. Hits included adamantanes as well as novel compounds, with some showing low micromolar potency versus pandemic “swine” H1N1 influenza (Eng195) in culture. Interestingly, a published adamantane-based M2-N31 inhibitor rapidly selected a resistant V27A polymorphism (M2-A27/N31), whereas this was not the case for non-adamantane compounds. Nevertheless, combinations of adamantanes and novel compounds achieved synergistic antiviral effects, and the latter synergised with the neuraminidase inhibitor (NAi), Zanamivir. Thus, site-directed drug combinations show potential to rejuvenate M2 as an antiviral target whilst reducing the risk of drug resistance

2-Methoxyoestradiol-3,17-O,O-bis-sulphamate and 2-deoxy-D-glucose in combination: a potential treatment for breast and prostate cancer

Drug combination therapy is a key strategy to improve treatment efficacy and survival of cancer patients. In this study the effects of combining 2-methoxyoestradiol-3,17-O,O-bis-sulphamate (STX140), a microtubule disruptor, with 2-deoxy-D-glucose (2DG) were assessed in MCF-7 (breast) and LNCaP (prostate) xenograft models in vivo. In mice bearing MCF-7 xenografts, daily p.o. administration of STX140 (5 mg kg−1) resulted in a 46% (P<0.05) reduction of tumour volume. However, the combination of STX140 (5 mg kg−1 p.o.) and 2DG (2 g kg−1 i.p.) reduced tumour volume by 76% (P<0.001). 2-Methoxyoestradiol-3,17-O,O-bis-sulphamate also reduced tumour vessel density. 2-Deoxy-D-glucose alone had no significant effect on tumour volume or vessel density. A similar benefit of the combination treatment was observed in the LNCaP prostate xenograft model. In vitro the degree of inhibition of cell proliferation by STX140 was unaffected by oxygen concentrations. In contrast, the inhibition of proliferation by 2DG was enhanced under hypoxia by 20 and 25% in MCF-7 and LNCaP cells, respectively. The combination of STX140 and 2DG in LNCaP cells under normoxia or hypoxia inhibited proliferation to a greater extent than either compound alone. These results suggest that the antiangiogenic and microtubule disruption activities of STX140 may make tumours more susceptible to inhibition of glycolysis by 2DG. This is the first study to show the benefit of combining a microtubule disruptor with 2DG in the two most common solid tumours

Using a coproduced educational workshop to change the focus of verbal instructions delivered by professional youth soccer coaches: a case study

Background: The predominant instructional method utilised by soccer coaches are verbal instructions that occur whilst (during) players are executing soccer-skill. However, little is known on the specificity of the information contained within. These verbal instructions can guide the learner to either the performance characteristics of a movement (internal focus) or the intended movement effects (external), with the latter known to facilitate superior motor performance, retention, and transfer. Purpose: The aims in the present study were to quantify the focus of concurrent verbal instructions utilised by professional youth soccer coaches during drill-based (i.e. isolated) practice activities, and to modulate how these instructions are delivered in coaching sessions following the engagement in a coproduced evidence-based educational workshop. Method: Systematic observation was used pre and post the workshop to quantify the nature of verbal instructions delivered by 5 male coaches (31–47 years of age with 4–24 years of coaching experience) across 34 sessions with players from 8 to 13 years of age. For instructions provided during (concurrent) action-execution, we further quantified whether these instructions were focused on motor performance characteristics (internal) or the intended movement outcome effects (external) using criteria outlined in the revised Arizona State University Observation Instrument. To facilitate behaviour change, all coaches engaged in an educational workshop led by skill acquisition specialists (SAS). The workshop was designed so that educational material related to the principles of skill acquisition, and motor control and learning, were presented using a pedagogical delivery method containing verbal information, data presented in illustrations, and videos. In addition, the results that quantified coaching behaviour during the pre-workshop systematic observation period were presented to coaches as quantitative feedback. To guide the coaches to appraise the quantitative feedback in relation to the delivered educational material, the SAS built an educational environment that encouraged discussion opportunities for coaches to compare and appraise feedback with other coaches and process the feedback in relation to data and concepts regarding skill acquisition. Results and findings: The pre-workshop systematic observation data indicated that coaches delivered significantly more (64%) verbal instructions whilst (concurrently) players were executing motor skills, compared to before (15%) or after (21%). Within concurrent feedback, coaches used instructions that had a more internal, compared to external focus of attention. Post-workshop data indicated the coaches significantly changed the utilisation of instructions using a greater proportion of external focus. The data confirms coaches deliver a greater proportion of concurrent verbal instructions during coaching sessions focused training drill-based activities, but engaging in an educational workshop coaches modulated the focus of these instructions from internal to external, indicating behaviour change and an opportunity to facilitate skill acquisition in soccer academy players

Recommendations for exercise adherence measures in musculoskeletal settings : a systematic review and consensus meeting (protocol)

Background: Exercise programmes are frequently advocated for the management of musculoskeletal disorders; however, adherence is an important pre-requisite for their success. The assessment of exercise adherence requires the use of relevant and appropriate measures, but guidance for appropriate assessment does not exist. This research will identify and evaluate the quality and acceptability of all measures used to assess exercise adherence within a musculoskeletal setting, seeking to reach consensus for the most relevant and appropriate measures for application in research and/or clinical practice settings. Methods/design: There are two key stages to the proposed research. First, a systematic review of the quality and acceptability of measures used to assess exercise adherence in musculoskeletal disorders; second, a consensus meeting. The systematic review will be conducted in two phases and reported in accordance with the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines to ensure a robust methodology. Phase one will identify all measures that have been used to assess exercise adherence in a musculoskeletal setting. Phase two will seek to identify published and unpublished evidence of the measurement and practical properties of identified measures. Study quality will be assessed against the COnsensus-based Standards for the selection of health Measurement Instruments (COSMIN) guidelines. A shortlist of best quality measures will be produced for consideration during stage two: a meeting of relevant stakeholders in the United Kingdom during which consensus on the most relevant and appropriate measures of exercise adherence for application in research and/or clinical practice settings will be sought. Discussion: This study will benefit clinicians who seek to evaluate patients’ levels of exercise adherence and those intending to undertake research, service evaluation, or audit relating to exercise adherence in the musculoskeletal field. The findings will impact upon new research studies which aim to understand the factors that predict adherence with exercise and which test different adherence-enhancing interventions. PROSPERO reference: CRD4201300621

Effect of gas diffusion layer properties on water distribution across air-cooled, open-cathode polymer electrolyte fuel cells: A combined ex-situ X-ray tomography and in-operando neutron imaging study

In-operando diagnostic techniques provide a means of understanding the internal workings of fuel cells under normal operating conditions so that improved designs and operating regimes can be identified. Here, an approach is used which combines ex‐situ characterisation of two anode gas diffusion/microporous layers (GDL-A and GDL-B) with X-ray computed tomography (CT) and in-operando analysis using neutron imaging of operating fuel cells. The combination of TGA, SEM and X-ray CT reveals that GDL-A has a thin microporous layer with ∼26% PTFE covering a thick diffusion layer composed of ‘spaghetti’-shaped fibres. GDL-B is covered by two microporous media (29% and 6.6% PTFE) penetrating deep within the linear fibre network. The neutron imaging reveals two pathways for water transport underneath the cooling channel, either diffusing through the cathode GDL to the active channels, or diffusing through the membrane and towards the anode. The behaviour of water in the GDL is directly affected by the anode gas diffusion, PTFE content and porosity