Pre-tertiary engagement with online learning : Exploring uses of online learning environments and digital technology for progression into and through Higher Education

This report outlines work undertaken by the Institute of Education to explore how pre-tertiary experiences of online learning influences students? successful transitions into and through Higher Education. The work was commissioned by Pamoja Education, and the studies that were undertaken focused on the experiences of students and staff taking part in Pamoja Education courses offered as part of the International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme. The work involved reviewing previous literature about the role of technology in preparing students for University study; undertaking a survey of International Baccalaureate students (including Pamoja Education alumni) to explore their experiences; interviewing Pamoja Education alumni as a way of explaining and elaborating these patterns of experience; and asking teachers to reflect on how they worked with learners to support them online. Each of these areas of work is reported in a separate section of this report

Lockdown literacies and semiotic assemblages: academic boundary work in the Covid-19 crisis

In March 2020, populations were forced into home quarantine to curb the spread of the coronavirus. Universities moved the majority of their operations to homeworking, with profound implications for students, academics, and professional services staff. This paper analyses interview and visual data collected as part of a study on the impact of ‘moving online’ on staff at a large UK university. Drawing on sociomaterial perspectives, it considers the status and role of academics’ literacy practices under lockdown, focusing particularly on the ways in which a range of boundaries are negotiated – spatial, temporal, material, digital, professional, personal and emotional – in a setting where conventional boundaries have been profoundly disrupted. We argue that these practices form part of emergent, restless and shifting semiotic assemblages. The paper concludes with a discussion of the implications of this conceptual shift for academic work, meaning-making and academic subjectivities, in lockdown and beyond

One step multiderivative methods for first order ordinary differential equations

A family of one-step multiderivative methods based on Padé approximants to the exponential function is developed. The methods are extrapolated and analysed for use in PECE mode. Error constants and stability intervals are calculated and the combinations compared with well known linear multi-step combinations and combinations using high accuracy Newton-Cotes quadrature formulas as correctors. w926020

Synchrotron radiography studies of shear-induced dilation in semi-solid Al alloys and steels

An improved understanding of the response of solidifying microstructures to load is required to further minimize casting defects and optimize casting processes. This article overviews synchrotron radiography studies that directly measure the micromechanics of semisolid alloy deformation in a thin sample direct-shear cell. It is shown that shear-induced dilation (also known as Reynolds’ dilatancy) occurs in semisolid alloys with morphologies ranging from equiaxed-dendritic to globular, at solid fractions from the dendrite coherency point to ~90% solid, and it occurs in both Al alloys and carbon steels. Discrete-element method simulations that treat solidifying microstructures as granular materials are then used to explore the origins of dilatancy in semisolid alloys

Clinical performance of osteoporosis risk assessment tools in women aged 67 years and older

Clinical performance of osteoporosis risk assessment tools was studied in women aged 67 years and older. Weight was as accurate as two of the tools to detect low bone density. Discriminatory ability was slightly better for the OST risk tool, which is based only on age and weight

Follicle-stimulating hormone and bioavailable estradiol are less important than weight and race in determining bone density in younger postmenopausal women

The association between follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH) and bone density was tested in 111 postmenopausal women aged 50–64 years. In the multivariable analysis, weight and race were important determinants of bone mineral density. FSH, bioavailable estradiol, and other hormonal variables did not show statistically significant associations with bone density at any site

Tripled critical current in racetrack coils made of Bi-2212 Rutherford cables with overpressure processing and leakage control

We fabricated three racetrack coils (RC1, RC2, and RC3) from Bi-2212 Rutherford cables (17-strand, thickness × width = 1.44 mm × 7.8 mm, strand diameter = 0.8 mm) and applied overpressure processing heat treatment (OPHT). The quench currents of RC1 and RC2 reached 5268 A and 5781 A, respectively, despite them still, surprisingly, exhibiting some Bi-2212 leakage to the surface. After removing most of the leakages using a simple-to-implement insulation scheme, the quench current of RC3 improved to 6485 A, which is about three times the average quench current of a dozen racetrack coils that had been fabricated and reacted using the conventional 1 bar heat treatment. The results confirm the effectiveness of the OPHT technology and the new leakage control scheme for coils made from Bi-2212 Rutherford cables. Coils exhibited an increased quench current with increasing the current ramp rate from 5 to 200 A s ; they were quite stable against point and transient disturbances, and were capable of adsorbing persistent Joule heating at ∼80 mW for >15 s before quenching. These behaviors are different from Nb-Ti and Nb Sn accelerator magnets. Overall, our results provide a critical evaluation and verification of Bi-2212 wire and magnet technologies (wire, insulation, heat treatment, coil fabrication, and coil operation), reveal crucial new stability features of Bi-2212 magnets, and demonstrate technological options for it to become a practical high-field magnet technology. -1

Transverse Λ0\Lambda^0 polarization in inclusive quasi-real photoproduction at the current fragmentation

It is shown that the recent HERMES data on the transverse $\Lambda^0$ polarization in the inclusive quasi-real photoproduction at $x_F>0$ can be accommodated by the strange quark scattering model. Relations with the quark recombination approach are discussed.Comment: 5 pages, 3 figures, accepted by Eur. Phys. J.

Fracture rate associated with quality metric-based anti-osteoporosis treatment in glucocorticoid-induced osteoporosis

Anti-osteoporosis medication (AOM) use in patients exposed to glucocorticoids is thought to reduce fractures. We found post-menopausal women using glucocorticoids for at least 90 days who also used an AOM within 90 days had 48 % fewer fractures by 1 year and 32 % fewer fractures by 3 years compared to non-AOM users

Genetic variants and physical activity interact to affect bone density in Hispanic children

Background: Our aim was to investigate if moderate to vigorous physical activity (MVPA), calcium intake interacts with bone mineral density (BMD)-related single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) to influence BMD in 750 Hispanic children (4-19y) of the cross-sectional Viva La Familia Study. Methods: Physical activity and dietary intake were measured by accelerometers and multiple-pass 24 h dietary recalls, respectively. Total body and lumbar spine BMD were measured by dual energy X-ray absorptiometry. A polygenic risk score (PRS) was computed based on SNPs identified in published literature. Regression analysis was conducted with PRSs, MVPA and calcium intake with total body and lumbar spine BMD. Results: We found evidence of statistically significant interaction effects between the PRS and MVPA on total body BMD and lumbar spine BMD (p \u3c 0.05). Higher PRS was associated with a lower total body BMD (β = − 0.040 ± 0.009, p = 1.1 × 10− 5 ) and lumbar spine BMD (β = − 0.042 ± 0.013, p = 0.0016) in low MVPA group, as compared to high MVPA group (β = − 0.015 ± 0.006, p = 0.02; β = 0.008 ± 0.01, p = 0.4, respectively). Discussion: The study indicated that calcium intake does not modify the relationship between genetic variants and BMD, while it implied physical activity interacts with genetic variants to affect BMD in Hispanic children. Due to limited sample size of our study, future research on gene by environment interaction on bone health and functional studies to provide biological insights are needed