Power system design for a Jupiter solar electric propulsion spacecraft

Power system design for Jupiter solar electric propulsion spacecraf

Evidence-Based Professional Development of Science Teachers in Two Countries

The focus of this collaborative research project of King?s College London, and the Weizmann Institute, Israel. project is on investigating the ways in which teachers can demonstrate accomplished teaching in a specific domain of science and on the teacher learning that is generated through continuing professional development programs (CPD) that lead towards such practice. The interest lies in what processes and inputs are required to help secondary school science teachers develop expertise in a specific aspect of science teaching. `It focuses on the design of the CPD programmes and examines the importance of an evidence-based approach through portfolioconstruction in which professional dialogue pathes the way for teacher learning. The set of papers highlight the need to set professional challenge while tailoring CPD to teachers? needs to create the environment in which teachers can advance and transform their practice. The cross-culture perspective added to the richness of the development and enabled the researchers to examine which aspects were fundamental to the design by considering similarities and differences between the domains

An embedding scheme for the Dirac equation

An embedding scheme is developed for the Dirac Hamiltonian H. Dividing space into regions I and II separated by surface S, an expression is derived for the expectation value of H which makes explicit reference to a trial function defined in I alone, with all details of region II replaced by an effective potential acting on S and which is related to the Green function of region II. Stationary solutions provide approximations to the eigenstates of H within I. The Green function for the embedded Hamiltonian is equal to the Green function for the entire system in region I. Application of the method is illustrated for the problem of a hydrogen atom in a spherical cavity and an Au(001)/Ag/Au(001) sandwich structure using basis sets that satisfy kinetic balance.Comment: 16 pages, 5 figure

The significance of 'the visit' in an English category-B prison: Views from prisoners, prisoners' families and prison staff

A number of claims have been made regarding the importance of prisoners staying in touch with their family through prison visits, firstly from a humanitarian perspective of enabling family members to see each other, but also regarding the impact of maintaining family ties for successful rehabilitation, reintegration into society and reduced re-offending. This growing evidence base has resulted in increased support by the Prison Service for encouraging the family unit to remain intact during a prisoner’s incarceration. Despite its importance however, there has been a distinct lack of research examining the dynamics of families visiting relatives in prison. This paper explores perceptions of the same event – the visit – from the families’, prisoners’ and prison staffs' viewpoints in a category-B local prison in England. Qualitative data was collected with 30 prisoners’ families, 16 prisoners and 14 prison staff, as part of a broader evaluation of the visitors’ centre. The findings suggest that the three parties frame their perspective of visiting very differently. Prisoners’ families often see visits as an emotional minefield fraught with practical difficulties. Prisoners can view the visit as the highlight of their time in prison and often have many complaints about how visits are handled. Finally, prison staff see visits as potential security breaches and a major organisational operation. The paper addresses the current gap in our understanding of the prison visit and has implications for the Prison Service and wider social policy

Using Critical Literacy to Explore Genetics and its Ethical, Legal, and Social Issues with In-Service Secondary Teachers

The described interdisciplinary course helped a mixed population of in-service secondary English and biology teacher-participants increase their genetics content knowledge and awareness of Ethical, Legal, and Social Implications (ELSI) that arose from discoveries and practices associated with the Human Genome Project. This was accomplished by applying a critical literacy approach that allows people develop cognitive skills such that they are able to “read the world” (Wink, 2004). The approach is one that permits readers to go beyond the literal text to examine what is present as well as what is missing as it relates to issues of equity and fairness. Becoming critically literate enabled these teacher-participants to challenge the subtle attitudes, values, and beliefs conveyed by a range of written and oral texts. The teacher-participants in this course improved their critical literacy skills by actively reading, critically writing about, and using evidence to support their conclusions about issues arising from advances in human genetics. A biologist, a linguist, and an educator collaboratively designed and taught the course. The personalized focus on the integration of thoughtful reading and writing in this class enhanced the teacher-participants' (n = 16) professional and intellectual development and will potentially improve learning in their biology and English classrooms in the future

The fate of Böhler's angle in conservatively-treated displaced intra-articular calcaneal fractures

Purpose: Although the predictive value of Böhler's angle on outcome remains subject of debate, the initial angle at the time of trauma still guides treatment. Changes in Böhler's angle during follow-up are frequently reported following surgical treatment of displaced intra-articular calcaneal fractures (DIACF). The aim of the present study was to determine the changes in Böhler's angle as a measure of secondary fracture displacement following conservative management of DIACF. Methods: Thirty-eight patients with a total of 44 displaced intra-articular calcaneal fractures treated conservatively with a minimum of two lateral radiographs during follow-up were analysed. Böhler's angle at different follow-up times was measured by three observers. The change in angle was compared with the angle at trauma, and influence of trauma mechanism and common calcaneal fracture classifications were determined. Results: The results showed a significant decline over time of the Böhler's angle in conservatively-treated patients of more than 11° on average at a mean follow-up of 29.2 weeks. This decrease was not related to gender, the initial angle, or the Essex-Lopresti or Sanders classification. A statistically significantly higher decrease was detected in high energetic trauma compared with low energetic trauma. Conclusion: The conservative treatment of displaced intra-articular calcaneal fractures is still a viable option, yet a significant secondary displacement in time should be taken into account, as reflected in a decrease of Böhler's angle of 11° up to one year following trauma

Lifecourse socioeconomic status and type 2 diabetes: the role of chronic inflammation in the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing

We examined the association between lifecourse socioeconomic status (SES) and the risk of type 2 diabetes at older ages, ascertaining the extent to which adult lifestyle factors and systemic inflammation explain this relationship. Data were drawn from the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing (ELSA) which, established in 2002, is a representative cohort study of ?50-year olds individuals living in England. SES indicators were paternal social class, participants? education, participants? wealth, and a lifecourse socioeconomic index. Inflammatory markers (C-reactive protein and fibrinogen) and lifestyle factors were measured repeatedly; diabetes incidence (new cases) was monitored over 7.5 years of follow-up. Of the 6218 individuals free from diabetes at baseline (44% women, mean aged 66 years), 423 developed diabetes during follow-up. Relative to the most advantaged people, those in the lowest lifecourse SES group experienced more than double the risk of diabetes (hazard ratio 2.59; 95% Confidence Interval (CI)?=?1.81?3.71). Lifestyle factors explained 52% (95%CI:30?85) and inflammatory markers 22% (95%CI:13?37) of this gradient. Similar results were apparent with the separate SES indicators. In a general population sample, socioeconomic inequalities in the risk of type 2 diabetes extend to older ages and appear to partially originate from socioeconomic variations in modifiable factors which include lifestyle and inflammation

Gender norms in Portuguese college sudents' judgments in familial homicides: bad men and mad women

The gender of the offender has been proved to be an important factor in judicial sentencing. In this study, we analyze the judgments of College students regarding perpetrators of familial homicides to evaluate the presence of these gender norms and biases in the larger society. The sample included 303 college students (54.8% female) enrolled in several social sciences and engineering courses. Participants were asked to read 12 vignettes based on real crimes taken from Portuguese newspapers. Half were related to infanticide, and half were related to intimate partner homicide. The sex of the offender was orthogonally manipulated to the type of crime. The results show that gender had an important impact on sentences, with males being more harshly penalized by reasons of perversity and women less penalized by reason of mental disorders. In addition, filicide was more heavily penalized than was intimate partner homicide. The results also revealed a tendency toward a retributive conception of punishment. We discuss how gender norms in justice seem to be embedded in society as well as the need for intervention against the punitive tendency of this population

SUFU haploinsufficiency causes a recognisable neurodevelopmental phenotype at the mild end of the Joubert syndrome spectrum.

Joubert syndrome (JS) is a recessively inherited ciliopathy characterised by congenital ocular motor apraxia (COMA), developmental delay (DD), intellectual disability, ataxia, multiorgan involvement, and a unique cerebellar and brainstem malformation. Over 40 JS-associated genes are known with a diagnostic yield of 60%-75%.In 2018, we reported homozygous hypomorphic missense variants of the SUFU gene in two families with mild JS. Recently, heterozygous truncating SUFU variants were identified in families with dominantly inherited COMA, occasionally associated with mild DD and subtle cerebellar anomalies. We reanalysed next generation sequencing (NGS) data in two cohorts comprising 1097 probands referred for genetic testing of JS genes. Heterozygous truncating and splice-site SUFU variants were detected in 22 patients from 17 families (1.5%) with strong male prevalence (86%), and in 8 asymptomatic parents. Patients presented with COMA, hypotonia, ataxia and mild DD, and only a third manifested intellectual disability of variable severity. Brain MRI showed consistent findings characterised by vermis hypoplasia, superior cerebellar dysplasia and subtle-to-mild abnormalities of the superior cerebellar peduncles. The same pattern was observed in two out of three tested asymptomatic parents. Heterozygous truncating or splice-site SUFU variants cause a novel neurodevelopmental syndrome encompassing COMA and mild JS, which likely represent overlapping entities. Variants can arise de novo or be inherited from a healthy parent, representing the first cause of JS with dominant inheritance and reduced penetrance. Awareness of this condition will increase the diagnostic yield of JS genetic testing, and allow appropriate counselling about prognosis, medical monitoring and recurrence risk

Non-physical consequences of the Muffin-tin-type intra-molecular potential

We demonstrate using a simple model that in the frame of muffin-tin - like potential non-physical peculiarities appear in molecular photoionization cross-sections that are a consequence of jumps in the potential and its first derivative at some radius. The magnitude of non-physical effects is of the same order as the physical oscillations in the cross-section of a two-atomic molecule. The role of the size of these jumps is illustrated by choosing three values of it. The results obtained are connected to the studied previously effect of non-analytical behavior as a function of r the potential V(r)acting upon a particle on its photoionization cross-section. In reality, such potential has to be analytic in magnitude and first derivative function in distance. Introduction of non-analytic features in model potential leads to non-physical features in the corresponding cross-section - oscillations, additional maxima etc.Comment: 11 pages, 5 figure