Quality of geographic information - simple concept made complex by the context

Geographic information is increasingly being shared by many users across different fields and applications. Due to the new, widely available and easy-to-use data collection instruments and information publishing facilities the reliability of data, which is tightly coupled with its quality becomes of paramount interest. The notion of data quality is being transformed ¿ in addition to addressing the a priori requirements for data production the need for reporting the fitness for use has opened a new approach. The latter is especially pertinent in the context of Spatial Data and Information Infrastructures (SDIs). Even though the term data quality seems to be trivial, its discussion is rather difficult because of the assumptions, incoherent use of terminology and the diverging points of view. The paper will enlighten aspects of data quality from point of view of users and data producers both in the context of data production and SDIs emphasising similarities and differences. A possible way of dealing with data quality in SDIs will be described using the example of INSPIREJRC.H.6-Spatial data infrastructure

Believing in better: How Aspirations and Academic Self Concept Shape Young People’s Outcomes

Low aspirations are often cited as crucial in determining differences in students’ post 16 choices.1 In this report, we explore recent evidence about young people’s views and the importance they attach to going on to university, their beliefs about their own academic ability and their experiences of school to see how far these influences shape differences in A-level outcomes at age 18. This report is the third in a series produced using EPPSE datai for the Sutton Trust and it explores students’ aspirations in relation to their views on the importance of getting a degree, their own university plans and their beliefs about their academic performance and abilities (described in this report as their ‘academic self-concept’). Our first report focused on high attaining students (identified at Key Stage 2 in primary school) who were followed up to Key Stage 5.2 Our second report investigated gender, ethnicity and 'place' poverty differences in academic outcomes during Key Stage 5 when students were in Year 12 and Year 13 of secondary education, attending either school or college.3 This report explores different factors that can shape young people’s goals, including parental, peer and school influences on students’ aspirations and their beliefs about their academic performance and abilities

Silences, Spikes and Bursts: Three-Part Knot of the Neural Code

When a neuron breaks silence, it can emit action potentials in a number of patterns. Some responses are so sudden and intense that electrophysiologists felt the need to single them out, labeling action potentials emitted at a particularly high frequency with a metonym -- bursts. Is there more to bursts than a figure of speech? After all, sudden bouts of high-frequency firing are expected to occur whenever inputs surge. The burst coding hypothesis advances that the neural code has three syllables: silences, spikes and bursts. We review evidence supporting this ternary code in terms of devoted mechanisms for burst generation, synaptic transmission and synaptic plasticity. We also review the learning and attention theories for which such a triad is beneficial.Comment: 15 pages, 4 figure

Small RNA in the nucleus: the RNA-chromatin ping-pong

Eukaryotes use several classes of small RNA molecules to guide diverse protein machineries to target messenger RNA. The role of small RNA in post-transcriptional regulation of mRNA stability and translation is now well established. Small RNAs can also guide sequence-specific modification of chromatin structure and thus contribute to establishment and maintenance of distinct chromatin domains. In this review we summarize the model for the inter-dependent interaction between small RNA and chromatin that has emerged from studies on fission yeast and plants. We focus on recent results that link a distinct class of small RNAs, the piRNAs, to chromatin regulation in animals

Relevance of CYP2C9 Function in Valproate Therapy

Genetic polymorphisms of drug metabolizing enzymes can substantially modify the pharmacokinetics of a drug and eventually its efficacy or toxicity; however, inferring a patient's drug metabolizing capacity merely from his or her genotype can lead to false prediction. Non-genetic host factors (age, sex, disease states) and environmental factors (nutrition, co-medication) can transiently alter the enzyme expression and activities resulting in genotype-phenotype mismatch. Although valproic acid is a well-tolerated anticonvulsant, pediatric patients are particularly vulnerable to valproate injury that can be partly attributed to the age-related differences in metabolic pathways. CYP2C9 mediated oxidation of valproate, which is the minor metabolic pathway in adults, appears to become the principal route in children. Genetic and non-genetic variations in CYP2C9 activity can result in significant inter- and intra-individual differences in valproate pharmacokinetics and valproate induced adverse reactions. The loss-of-function alleles, CYP2C9*2 or CYP2C9*3, display significant reduction in valproate metabolism in children; furthermore, low CYP2C9 expression in patients with CYP2C9*1/*1 genotype also leads to a decrease in valproate metabolizing capacity. Due to phenoconversion, the homozygous wild genotype, expected to be translated to CYP2C9 enzyme with normal activity, is transiently switched into poor (or extensive) metabolizer phenotype. Novel strategy for valproate therapy adjusted to CYP2C9-status (CYP2C9 genotype and CYP2C9 expression) is strongly recommended in childhood. The early knowledge of pediatric patients' CYP2C9-status facilitates the optimization of valproate dosing which contributes to the avoidance of misdosing induced adverse reactions, such as abnormal blood levels of ammonia and alkaline phosphatase, and improves the safety of children's anticonvulsant therapy. 

Effective pre-school, primary and secondary education project (EPPSE 3-14) : students' reports of their experiences in year 9

The Effective Pre-school, Primary and Secondary Education Project (EPPSE) has inves tigated the academic and social behavioural (+ in the later stages the affective) development of approximately 3,000 children from the age of 3+ years since 1997. This report presents the results of analyses related to student’s experiences in Year 9 (age 14), with the purpose of creating measures of both school and classroom life as experienced by students. These measures have been used in the analysis of academic and social-behavioural outcomes as well as dispositions to investigate whether a student’s reported experience of school can significantly predict outcomes in other areas. The findings highlight the importance of the ‘student voice’ and provide an insight into the experiences of teenagers in the first decade of the 21st Century

Effective pre-school, primary and secondary education project (EPPSE 3-14) : influences on students' attainment and progress in key stage 3 : academic outcomes in English, maths and science in year 9

The Effective Pre-school, Primary and Secondary Education Project (EPPSE) has investigated the academic and social-behavioural development of approximately 3,000 children from the age of 3+ years since 1997. This Research Brief focuses on the relationships between a range of individual student, family, home, pre-, primary and secondary school characteristics and students’ academic attainment in English, maths and science in Year 9 at secondary school (age 14). It compares the latest findings with those found for students’ attainment at younger ages. It also highlights the influences of secondary school on students’ attainment in the core curriculum areas and studies their academic progress across Key Stage 3 between the ages of 11 and 14

Effective pre-school, primary and secondary education project (EPPSE 3-14) : influences on students' dispositions in key stage 3 : exploring enjoyment of school, popularity, anxiety, citizenship values and academic self-concepts in year 9

The Effective Pre-school, Primary and Secondary Education Project (EPPSE) has investigated the academic and social-behavioural development of approximately 3,000 children from the age of 3+ years since 1997. This Report and Research Brief reports on students’ dispositions when they were age 14 (Year 9) in six main areas: ‘enjoyment of school’, ‘academic self concept’ (English and maths), ‘popularity’, ‘citizenship values’ and ‘anxiety’. It examines how these dispositions have changed during Key Stage 3 (KS3) and the relationships between dispositions and a range of individual student, family, home, pre-, primary and secondary school measures. It shows how school experiences help to shape dispositions, and also explores the relationships between dispositions to school and students’ academic and social-behavioural outcomes. The findings highlight the importance of the ‘student voice’ and provides an insight into the experiences of teenagers in the first decade of the 21st Century