Flume study on the effects of microbial induced calcium carbonate precipitation (MICP) on the erosional behaviour of fine sand

Tangential flow-induced interface erosion poses a major threat to a wide variety of engineering structures, such as earth-filled embankment dams, and oil- and gas-producing wells. This study explores the applicability of microbial induced calcium carbonate (CaCO3) precipitation (MICP) by way of the ureolytic soil bacterium Sporosarcina pasteurii as a method for enhancing the surface erosion resistance of fine sand. Specimens were treated with cementation solution concentrations between 0·02 and 0·1 M, and the erosional behaviour examined in a flume under surface-parallel flow and increasing shear stress. Photographs, cumulative height eroded-time series and erosion rates were obtained as a function of specimen height, MICP treatment formulation and calcium carbonate content. Results showed that while untreated specimens eroded primarily in particulate and mass form, MICP-treated specimens were characterised by a block erosion mechanism. Further, erodibility was found to depend on the calcium carbonate content and the cementation solution concentration. To understand this, a systematic study of the calcium carbonate crystal sizes and distributions was undertaken through X-ray computed tomography. Fundamentally, the effectiveness of MICP for erosion control was found to be dominated both by the precipitated calcium carbonate content and microstructural features, with higher contents and larger crystals yielding lower erodibility values. Additionally, crystal growth mechanisms varied depending on the cementation solution concentration.</p

The changing work of teacher educators in Aotearoa New Zealand: A view through activity theory

Accepted for publication version - Pre-proof and corrections.The study of recruitment practices for teacher educators in Aotearoa New Zealand (NZ) universities reveals the academic category of teacher educator (TE) constituted along three related trajectories: a professional expert (not required to research), a traditional academic (not required to hold a teaching qualification or teacher’s practicing certificate), and one who is dually qualified, to teach (as a registered NZ teacher) and to research. It is the dually qualified type of TE who can service the full scope of university based initial teacher education (UBITE). Recent recruitment practices have however focused on employment of professional experts and traditional academics. Drawing from document analyses and interviews we present a picture of changing work for TEs. Our study argues that policy environments and universities’ responses are changing the objects, rules and divisions of labour in UBITE. We comment on the evolution initial teacher education in NZ, its likely trajectory, and its potential for development.Peer Reviewe

Research in the Work of New Zealand Teacher Educators: A CHAT Perspective

Accepted for publication version - Pre-proof and correctionsIn this article we use Cultural Historical Activity Theory (CHAT) to explore the place of research in the work of New Zealand university-based teacher educators (TEs). We consider how aspirations for a research-informed initial teacher education (ITE) are served by New Zealand universities’ recruitment practices and TE’s actual work. We suggest that TEs value scholarship that informs their practice and are motivated to research, despite working within institutions where employment practices are bifurcating the teacher educator (TE) workforce along lines of who can and should do research and who should not. We cite evidence from interviews to suggest TEs, and those in leadership positions who have been involved in TE recruitment, recognize the importance of research to inform practice and teaching. However, this conflicts with the language of advertisements and job descriptions where for some TE roles, the practice of research and scholarship are not an object of work. In response, we encourage those responsible for TE work force development to support and employ TEs able to engage in high standards of scholarship and teaching, and in so doing provide their students with research- and practice-informed teaching.Peer Reviewe

Constructing the academic category of teacher educator in Aotearoa New Zealand university recruitment processes.

Accepted for publication version - Pre-proof and correctionsAn examination of recruitment materials and interviews with personnel involved in the employment of teacher educators to positions in university-based New Zealand initial teacher education reveals three constructions of teacher educator as academic worker: the professional expert, the dually qualified, and the traditional academic. However, our analysis shows how these constructions allow universities to pursue a bifurcated approach to the employment of teacher educators; an approach that maintains binaries within teacher education and hinders development in the field. Furthermore, as the spectre of a major cultural shift in the provision of New Zealand ITE arises, the extent to which the professional expert and traditional academic constructions of teacher educator might serve the scope of work required of post-graduate ITE going forth is questioned.Peer Reviewe

Supplementation of porcin in vitro maturation medium with FGF2, LIF, and IGF1 enhances cytoplasmic maturation in prepubertal gilts oocytes and improves embryo quality

In porcine production (IVP) systems, the use of oocytes derived from prepubertal gilts, whilst being commercially attractive, remains challenging due to their poor developmental competence following maturation (IVM). Follicular fluid contains important growth factors and plays a key role during oocyte maturation; therefore, it is a common supplementation for porcine IVM medium. However, follicular fluid contains many poorly characterized components, is batch variable, and its use raises biosecurity concerns. In an effort to design a defined IVM system, growth factors such as cytokines have been previously tested. These include leukaemia inhibitory factor (LIF), fibroblast growth factor 2 (FGF2), and insulin-like growth factor 1 (IGF1), the combination of which is termed 'FLI'. Here, using abattoir-derived oocytes in a well established porcine IVP system, we compared follicular fluid and FLI supplementation during both IVM and embryo culture to test the hypothesis that FLI can substitute for follicular fluid without compromising oocyte nuclear and cytoplasmic maturation. We demonstrate that in oocytes derived from prepubertal gilts, FLI supplementation enhances oocyte meiotic maturation and has a positive effect on the quality and developmental competence of embryos. Moreover, for the first time, we studied the effects of follicular fluid and FLI combined showing no synergistic effects

Frequency of Th17 CD20+ cells in the peripheral blood of rheumatoid arthritis patients is higher compared to healthy subjects

addresses: Peninsula Medical School, University of Exeter, Heavitree Road, Exeter EX1 2LU, UK. [email protected]: PMCID: PMC3334661types: Journal Article; Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov'tRheumatoid arthritis (RA) is considered a T cell driven autoimmune disease, therefore, the ability of B cell depleting biologics, e.g., anti-CD20 antibodies, to alleviate RA is unclear. This study examined the proportions of IL-17-secreting lymphocytes in the blood of healthy subjects and RA patients and determined if Th17 cells belong to a CD20+ subset of T cells

Many Labs 2: Investigating Variation in Replicability Across Samples and Settings

We conducted preregistered replications of 28 classic and contemporary published findings, with protocols that were peer reviewed in advance, to examine variation in effect magnitudes across samples and settings. Each protocol was administered to approximately half of 125 samples that comprised 15,305 participants from 36 countries and territories. Using the conventional criterion of statistical significance (p < .05), we found that 15 (54%) of the replications provided evidence of a statistically significant effect in the same direction as the original finding. With a strict significance criterion (p < .0001), 14 (50%) of the replications still provided such evidence, a reflection of the extremely highpowered design. Seven (25%) of the replications yielded effect sizes larger than the original ones, and 21 (75%) yielded effect sizes smaller than the original ones. The median comparable Cohen’s ds were 0.60 for the original findings and 0.15 for the replications. The effect sizes were small (< 0.20) in 16 of the replications (57%), and 9 effects (32%) were in the direction opposite the direction of the original effect. Across settings, the Q statistic indicated significant heterogeneity in 11 (39%) of the replication effects, and most of those were among the findings with the largest overall effect sizes; only 1 effect that was near zero in the aggregate showed significant heterogeneity according to this measure. Only 1 effect had a tau value greater than .20, an indication of moderate heterogeneity. Eight others had tau values near or slightly above .10, an indication of slight heterogeneity. Moderation tests indicated that very little heterogeneity was attributable to the order in which the tasks were performed or whether the tasks were administered in lab versus online. Exploratory comparisons revealed little heterogeneity between Western, educated, industrialized, rich, and democratic (WEIRD) cultures and less WEIRD cultures (i.e., cultures with relatively high and low WEIRDness scores, respectively). Cumulatively, variability in the observed effect sizes was attributable more to the effect being studied than to the sample or setting in which it was studied.UCR::Vicerrectoría de Investigación::Unidades de Investigación::Ciencias Sociales::Instituto de Investigaciones Psicológicas (IIP

Effectiveness of a national quality improvement programme to improve survival after emergency abdominal surgery (EPOCH): a stepped-wedge cluster-randomised trial

Background: Emergency abdominal surgery is associated with poor patient outcomes. We studied the effectiveness of a national quality improvement (QI) programme to implement a care pathway to improve survival for these patients. Methods: We did a stepped-wedge cluster-randomised trial of patients aged 40 years or older undergoing emergency open major abdominal surgery. Eligible UK National Health Service (NHS) hospitals (those that had an emergency general surgical service, a substantial volume of emergency abdominal surgery cases, and contributed data to the National Emergency Laparotomy Audit) were organised into 15 geographical clusters and commenced the QI programme in a random order, based on a computer-generated random sequence, over an 85-week period with one geographical cluster commencing the intervention every 5 weeks from the second to the 16th time period. Patients were masked to the study group, but it was not possible to mask hospital staff or investigators. The primary outcome measure was mortality within 90 days of surgery. Analyses were done on an intention-to-treat basis. This study is registered with the ISRCTN registry, number ISRCTN80682973. Findings: Treatment took place between March 3, 2014, and Oct 19, 2015. 22 754 patients were assessed for elegibility. Of 15 873 eligible patients from 93 NHS hospitals, primary outcome data were analysed for 8482 patients in the usual care group and 7374 in the QI group. Eight patients in the usual care group and nine patients in the QI group were not included in the analysis because of missing primary outcome data. The primary outcome of 90-day mortality occurred in 1210 (16%) patients in the QI group compared with 1393 (16%) patients in the usual care group (HR 1·11, 0·96–1·28). Interpretation: No survival benefit was observed from this QI programme to implement a care pathway for patients undergoing emergency abdominal surgery. Future QI programmes should ensure that teams have both the time and resources needed to improve patient care. Funding: National Institute for Health Research Health Services and Delivery Research Programme

Effectiveness of a national quality improvement programme to improve survival after emergency abdominal surgery (EPOCH): a stepped-wedge cluster-randomised trial

BACKGROUND: Emergency abdominal surgery is associated with poor patient outcomes. We studied the effectiveness of a national quality improvement (QI) programme to implement a care pathway to improve survival for these patients. METHODS: We did a stepped-wedge cluster-randomised trial of patients aged 40 years or older undergoing emergency open major abdominal surgery. Eligible UK National Health Service (NHS) hospitals (those that had an emergency general surgical service, a substantial volume of emergency abdominal surgery cases, and contributed data to the National Emergency Laparotomy Audit) were organised into 15 geographical clusters and commenced the QI programme in a random order, based on a computer-generated random sequence, over an 85-week period with one geographical cluster commencing the intervention every 5 weeks from the second to the 16th time period. Patients were masked to the study group, but it was not possible to mask hospital staff or investigators. The primary outcome measure was mortality within 90 days of surgery. Analyses were done on an intention-to-treat basis. This study is registered with the ISRCTN registry, number ISRCTN80682973. FINDINGS: Treatment took place between March 3, 2014, and Oct 19, 2015. 22 754 patients were assessed for elegibility. Of 15 873 eligible patients from 93 NHS hospitals, primary outcome data were analysed for 8482 patients in the usual care group and 7374 in the QI group. Eight patients in the usual care group and nine patients in the QI group were not included in the analysis because of missing primary outcome data. The primary outcome of 90-day mortality occurred in 1210 (16%) patients in the QI group compared with 1393 (16%) patients in the usual care group (HR 1·11, 0·96-1·28). INTERPRETATION: No survival benefit was observed from this QI programme to implement a care pathway for patients undergoing emergency abdominal surgery. Future QI programmes should ensure that teams have both the time and resources needed to improve patient care. FUNDING: National Institute for Health Research Health Services and Delivery Research Programme