Design of a Guarded Hot Plate for Measuring Thin Specimens of Polymer and Composite Materials

The National Physical Laboratory (NPL) has developed a new design of guarded hot plate apparatus specifically for absolute measurements on thin specimens of medium thermal conductivity materials, such as the polymer composites that are becoming more widely used in aerospace and other advanced manufacturing sectors. Although NPL has an existing measurement facility based on a commercially manufactured apparatus conforming to ASTM E1530, this current facility is not based on an absolute measurement technique and is not able to provide the low measurement uncertainty or flexibility that is increasingly being demanded by industrial users of this NPL service. The target specification for this new NPL guarded hot plate is the measurement of materials with thermal conductivity in the range 0.1–10 W·m−1·K−1 using specimens with thickness of 1–20 mm and over the temperature range −100°C to 250°C. This is achieved using a new design of guarded heater plate and a temperature-controlled environmental chamber. This chamber can be evacuated and specific gases can be introduced, enabling measurements on porous materials under a wide range of environments. It can be used in either a single specimen or a double specimen configuration, and with specimen diameters of either 75 mm or 50.8 mm that is used in many older styles of comparative measurement apparatus. During the commissioning of this new measurements facility, it is planned to investigate various approaches for reducing thermal contact resistance between the specimen and plates. This facility will then provide the flexibility for meeting a wider range of requirements from industrial customers

A Learning Journey II: Learned Course Maps as a Basis to Explore How Students Learned Community Psychology Practice Competencies in a Community Coalition Building Course

This paper presents an illustrative case study of how students learned community psychology practice competencies. Utilizing course mapping, focus groups, and reflective writing, students and faculty coded, analyzed and interpreted student data to better understand learning activities and processes which contributed to learning community psychology practice competencies in a coalition building course. A community coalition simulation and group work related to the final project emerged as two student learning activities that were found by students to contribute meaningfully to their learning three community psychology practice competencies: (1) Ecological perspectives, (2) community partnership and inclusion and (3) collaboration and coalition development. The instructor’s modeling community psychology practice competency skills was also reported by students to facilitate their learning

Assessment of Offspring DNA Methylation across the Lifecourse Associated with Prenatal Maternal Smoking Using Bayesian Mixture Modelling

A growing body of research has implicated DNA methylation as a potential mediator of the effects of maternal smoking in pregnancy on offspring ill-health. Data were available from a UK birth cohort of children with DNA methylation measured at birth, age 7 and 17. One issue when analysing genome-wide DNA methylation data is the correlation of methylation levels between CpG sites, though this can be crudely bypassed using a data reduction method. In this manuscript we investigate the effect of sustained maternal smoking in pregnancy on longitudinal DNA methylation in their offspring using a Bayesian hierarchical mixture model. This model avoids the data reduction used in previous analyses. Four of the 28 previously identified, smoking related CpG sites were shown to have offspring methylation related to maternal smoking using this method, replicating findings in well-known smoking related genes MYO1G and GFI1. Further weak associations were found at the AHRR and CYP1A1 loci. In conclusion, we have demonstrated the utility of the Bayesian mixture model method for investigation of longitudinal DNA methylation data and this method should be considered for use in whole genome applications

Helical ensembles outperform ideal helices in molecular replacement

The conventional approach in molecular replacement (MR) is the use of a related structure as a search model. However, this is not always possible as the availability of such structures can be scarce for poorly characterised families of proteins. In these cases, alternative approaches can be explored, such as the use of small ideal fragments that share high albeit local structural similarity with the unknown protein. Earlier versions of AMPLE enabled the trialling of a library of ideal helices, which worked well for largely helical proteins at suitable resolution. Here we explore the performance of libraries of helical ensembles created by clustering helical segments. The impacts of different B-factor treatments and different degrees of structural heterogeneity are explored. We observed a 30% increase in the number of solutions obtained by AMPLE when using this new set of ensembles compared to performance with ideal helices. The boost of performance was notable across three different folds: transmembrane, globular and coiled-coil structures. Furthermore, the increased effectiveness of these ensembles was coupled to a reduction of the time required by AMPLE to reach a solution. AMPLE users can now take full advantage of this new library of search models by activating the “helical ensembles” mode

A Learning Journey II: Learned Course Maps as a Basis to Explore How Students Learned Community Psychology Practice Competencies in a Community Coalition Building Course

This paper presents an illustrative case study of how students learned community psychology practice competencies. Utilizing course mapping, focus groups, and reflective writing, students and faculty coded, analyzed and interpreted student data to better understand learning activities and processes which contributed to learning community psychology practice competencies in a coalition building course. A community coalition simulation and group work related to the final project emerged as two student learning activities that were found by students to contribute meaningfully to their learning three community psychology practice competencies: (1) Ecological perspectives, (2) community partnership and inclusion and (3) collaboration and coalition development. The instructor’s modeling community psychology practice competency skills was also reported by students to facilitate their learning

Evidence of validity of the Fear of COVID-19 Scale (FCV-19S) in the Argentinian context.

The Fear of COVID-19 Scale (FCV-19S) is one of the most widely psychometric instruments used for assessing the fear of COVID-19 in the international context. The present study aims to analyze the evidence of validity based on the internal structure, in relation to other variables and reliability of the FCV-19S among a sample of 223 adults from Argentina aged between 21 and 85 years (M = 50.96 years; SD = 16.57) and of both sexes (males = 30.5%; females = 69.5%). Results indicated very good values in terms of its reliability (ω = .94; α = .93). The confirmatory factor analysis yields adequate values in terms of the validity criteria based on the internal structure of the scale, providing empirical support for a unidimensional model. Likewise, the associations between the FCV-19S and the Brief Fear of Death Scale provide evidence of validity related to other variables. The study demonstrates that the FCV-19S is a valid and reliable instrument to interpret the fear of COVID-19 in the local context, although future studies should continue to investigate its psychometric properties. La Escala de Miedo al COVID-19 (FCV-19S)constituye uno de los instrumentos psicométricos másempleados para la evaluación del miedo al COVID-19 en elcontexto internacional. El presente estudio se propone analizarlas evidencias de validez basada en la estructura interna, enla relación con otras variables y fiabilidad de la FCV-19S enuna muestra de 223 adultos de Argentina con edades entre21 y 85 años (M = 50.96 años; DE = 16.57) y de ambossexos (Hombres = 30,5%; Mujeres = 69,5%). La FCV-19Spresenta valores aceptables de confiabilidad (ω = .94; α = .93).El análisis factorial confirmatorio arroja valores adecuados encuanto a los criterios de validez basada en la estructura internade la escala, aportando apoyo empírico en favor de un modelounidimensional. Asimismo, las asociaciones entre la FCV-19Sy la Escala de Miedo a la Muerte Abreviada aportan evidenciasde validez en relación con otras variables. El estudio demuestraque la FCV-19S es un instrumento válido y confiable parainterpretar el miedo al COVID-19 en el contexto local, aunquefuturos estudios deberían continuar indagando sus propiedadespsicométricas

Psychosocial adversity and socioeconomic position during childhood and epigenetic age: analysis of two prospective cohort studies

Psychosocial adversity in childhood (e.g. abuse) and low socioeconomic position (SEP) can have significant lasting effects on social and health outcomes. DNA methylation-based biomarkers are highly correlated with chronological age; departures of methylation-predicted age from chronological age can be used to define a measure of age acceleration, which may represent a potential biological mechanism linking environmental exposures to later health outcomes. Using data from two cohorts of women Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children, (ALSPAC), N = 989 and MRC National Survey of Health and Development, NSHD, N = 773), we assessed associations of SEP, psychosocial adversity in childhood (parental physical or mental illness or death, parental separation, parental absence, sub-optimal maternal bonding, sexual, emotional and physical abuse and neglect) and a cumulative score of these psychosocial adversity measures, with DNA methylation age acceleration in adulthood (measured in peripheral blood at mean chronological ages 29 and 47 in ALSPAC and buccal cells at age 53 in NSHD). Sexual abuse was strongly associated with age acceleration in ALSPAC (sexual abuse data were not available in NSHD), e.g. at the 47-year time point sexual abuse associated with a 3.41 years higher DNA methylation age (95% CI 1.53 to 5.29) after adjusting for childhood and adulthood SEP. No associations were observed between low SEP, any other psychosocial adversity measure or the cumulative psychosocial adversity score and age acceleration. DNA methylation age acceleration is associated with sexual abuse, suggesting a potential mechanism linking sexual abuse with adverse outcomes. Replication studies with larger sample sizes are warranted

Medical encounters at community-based physical activity events (parkrun) in the UK

Objective: To determine the incidence, clinical correlates and exposure risk of medical encounters during community-based physical activity events in the UK. // Methods: An analysis of medical data from weekly, community-based physical activity events (parkrun) at 702 UK locations over a 6-year period (29 476 294 participations between 2014 and 2019) was conducted in order to define the incidence and clinical correlates of serious life-threatening, non-life-threatening and fatal medical encounters. // Results: 84 serious life-threatening encounters (overall incidence rate=0.26/100 000 participations) occurred including 18 fatalities (0.056/100 000 participations). Statistical modelling revealed that the probabilities of serious life-threatening encounters were exceptionally low, however, male sex, increasing age, slower personal best parkrun time and less prior running engagement/experience (average number of runs per year and number of years as a parkrun participant) were associated with increased probability of serious life-threatening encounters. These were largely accounted for by cardiac arrest (48/84, 57%) and acute coronary syndromes (20/84, 24%). Non-life-threatening medical encounters were mainly attributed to tripping or falling, with a reported incidence of 39.2/100 000 participations. // Conclusions: Serious life-threatening and fatal medical encounters associated with parkrun participation are extremely rare. In the context of a global public health crisis due to inactivity, this finding underscores the safety and corollary public health value of community running/walking events as a strategy to promote physical activity