Human Development and Shelter: A Human Rights Perspective

human development, poverty, empowerment

Catalytic constructive deoxygenation of lignin-derived phenols: new C-C bond formation processes from imidazole-sulfonates and ether cleavage reactions

Funding: UK Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC)As part of a programme aimed at exploiting lignin as a chemical feedstock for less oxygenated fine chemicals, several catalytic C-C bond forming reactions utilising guaiacol imidazole sulfonate are demonstrated. These include the cross-coupling of a Grignard, a non-toxic cyanide source, a benzoxazole, and nitromethane. A modified Meyers reaction is used to accomplish a second constructive deoxygenation on a benzoxazole functionalised anisole.Publisher PDFPeer reviewe

Graduate Program Practices at Western University

Based on interviews with graduate chairs and faculty, the guide catalogues practices in graduate education, from recruitment through coursework, comprehensive exams, thesis proposals, to placement and tracking.https://ir.lib.uwo.ca/tsc-purple-guides/1001/thumbnail.jp

Western Guide to Professional Master\u27s Programs

This guide is a resource for departments that plan to introduce new Professional Master\u27s (PMA) or Professional Science Master\u27s (PSM) degrees. The guide provides examples of existing programs, describes key criteria that new PSM programs need to meet, reviews issues in the development of new programs, and discusses the types of competencies professional programs promote in order to help their graduates compete on the job market.https://ir.lib.uwo.ca/tsc-purple-guides/1002/thumbnail.jp

Observations on the pathogenesis of pleural effusions

1. Factors which affect fluid accumulation within the pleural cavities have been discussed, particular emphasis being laid on the derangement in the handling of protein which may occur at serous surfaces.2. A method of e- timating albumin turnover in serous effusions has been described.3. Forty -two patients, whose diagnoses had been established, were included in the investigation. The evidence for the diagnosis in each case has been presented in detail and a clinical report on each patient has been given in .Appendix A.4. The diagnostic groups examined were; tuberculosis, pulmonary embolus, lung carcinoma, secondary carcinoma and congestive cardiac failure. In each group the rate of albumin entry into, and loss from, the pleural cavity has been estimated and the results expressed individually and collectively. These have shown that the rate of albumin loss tended to use low in all conditions other than pulmonary embolism. In pulmonary embolism, where no significant reduction in this value is thought to exist, the rate of albumin loss bore a direct relationship to effusion volume.In some instances, the change in the albumin turnover pattern following intrapleural prednisolone administration was also measured. These results have been expressed in grams albumin entering or leaving the pleural cavity in 24 hours. The mean results of each group have also been expressed in mg./kg./hour albumin and the "effusion fluid" loss in ml./kg./hour. The rate of albumin entry has been found to fall fairly consistently following prednisolone administration.The response in the rate of albumin loss has been more variable and this has been attributed to three factors:(1) the volume of the effusion, (2) the degree of reversibility of any inflammatory condition of the parietal pleura, if present, (3) a corticosteroid affect in reducing lymphatic capillary permeability.5. x patient with malignant granulosa cell tumour of the ovary associated with ascites and a right pleural effusion has also been investigated. The results, which are thought to apply to Meigs' syndrome, demonstrated that a very large amount of albumin was leaking into,he ascites and some of this en route to the blood vascular system spilled into the right pleural cavity presumably from either the diaphragmatic or mediastinal lymphatics.6. The known pathology of the various conditions, as it is likely to affect the pleural space, has been reviewed and the results of the investigations correlated with it.7. It has been suggested that there is a diagnostic application of the method when routine clinical, bacteriological, biochemical and histological investigations have failed to secure the diagnosis.8. The method has been shown to be particularly applicable to a study of the importance of certain capillary permeability factors in diseases associated with ascites and pleural effucion.9. Finally, in u light of the findings, the present nomen- clature of pleural effusions has been discussed and certain recommendations made regarding the definition of the terms "exudate" and "transudate "

A comparison of value-added models for school accountability

School accountability systems increasingly hold schools to account for their performances using value-added models purporting to measure the effects of schools on student learning. The most common approach is to fit a linear regression of student current achievement on student prior achievement, where the school effects are the school means of the predicted residuals. In the literature, further adjustments are usually made for student sociodemographics and sometimes school composition and 'non-malleable' characteristics. However, accountability systems typically make fewer adjustments: for transparency to end users, because data is unavailable or of insufficient quality, or for ideological reasons. There is therefore considerable interest in understanding the extent to which simpler models give similar school effects to more theoretically justified but complex models. We explore these issues via a case study and empirical analysis of England's 'Progress 8' secondary school accountability system

Benthic Foraminiferal response to sea level change in the mixed siliciclastic-carbonate system of southern Ashmore Trough (Gulf of Papua)

Ashmore Trough in the western Gulf of Papua (GoP) represents an outstanding modern example of a tropical mixed siliciclastic-carbonate depositional system where significant masses of both river-borne silicates and bank-derived neritic carbonates accumulate. In this study, we examine how benthic foraminiferal populations within Ashmore Trough vary in response to sea level–driven paleoenvironmental changes, particularly organic matter and sediment supply. Two 11.3-m-long piston cores and a trigger core were collected from the slope of Ashmore Trough and dated using radiocarbon and oxygen isotope measurements of planktic foraminifera. Relative abundances, principal component analyses, and cluster analyses of benthic foraminiferal assemblages in sediment samples identify three distinct assemblages whose proportions changed over time. Assemblage 1, with high abundances of Uvigerina peregrina and Bolivina robusta, dominated between ∼83 and 70 ka (early regression); assemblage 2, with high abundances of Globocassidulina subglobosa, dominated between ∼70 and 11 ka (late regression through lowstand and early transgression); and assemblage 3, with high abundances of neritic benthic species such as Planorbulina mediterranensis, dominated from ∼11 ka to the present (late transgression through early highstand). Assemblage 1 represents heightened organic carbon flux or lowered bottom water oxygen concentration, and corresponds to a time of maximum siliciclastic fluxes to the slope with falling sea level. Assemblage 2 reflects lowered organic carbon flux or elevated bottom water oxygen concentration, and corresponds to an interval of lowered siliciclastic fluxes to the slope due to sediment bypass during sea level lowstand. Assemblage 3 signals increased off-shelf delivery of neritic carbonates, likely when carbonate productivity on the outer shelf (Great Barrier Reef) increased significantly when it was reflooded. Benthic foraminiferal assemblages in the sediment sink (slopes of Ashmore Trough) likely respond to the amount and type of sediment supplied from the proximal source (outer GoP shelf)

A review and evaluation of secondary school accountability in England: Statistical strengths, weaknesses, and challenges for 'Progress 8' raised by Covid-19

School performance measures are published annually in England to hold schools to account and to support parental school choice. This article reviews and evaluates the ‘Progress 8’ secondary school accountability system for state-funded schools. We assess the statistical strengths and weaknesses of Progress 8 relating to: choice of pupil outcome attainment measure; potential adjustments for pupil input attainment and background characteristics; decisions around which schools and pupils are excluded from the measure; presentation of Progress 8 to users, choice of statistical model, and calculation of statistical uncertainty; and issues related to the volatility of school performance over time, including scope for reporting multi-year averages. We then discuss challenges for Progress 8 raised by the COVID-19 pandemic. Six simple recommendations follow to improve Progress 8 and school accountability in England. Context and implication Rationale for this study This study fulfils a need for a comprehensive statistical evaluation of the Progress 8 school accountability system in England, which has been in place since 2016. Why the new findings matter A review of Progress 8 is an important contribution as decisions on its calculation and presentation have important consequences for schools and pupils. Implications for educational researchers and policy makers Our findings on the statistical strengths and weaknesses of Progress 8 and the resulting recommendations made for improvements to the measure and school accountability have clear implications for informing policy makers in the educational system. This includes wider lessons extending beyond Progress 8 to other performance metrics and to other school systems internationally where similar issues apply. Additionally, the review highlights key concerns that the public and school practitioners may like to consider when drawing upon Progress 8 to make decisions around school choice and in assessing how well a school is performing