A critical review of the strategic and operational challenges in service delivery of the chartered manager degree apprenticeship by an alternative provider.

Introduction This study undertakes a critical review of the strategic and operational challenges in service delivery of the Chartered Manager Degree Apprenticeship (CMDA) by an alternative provider of higher education (HE), following the implementation of the Apprenticeship Levy in England. It explores some of the main tensions that are likely to affect the success of establishing an alternative provider of HE and degree apprenticeship delivery, taking account of provider staff, employers and learners. The subject of study the intrinsic case study company is the University Centre Quayside (UCQ), a small market disrupting alternative provider of HE delivering the CMDA. UCQ provides adult education predominantly in the North East of England but is increasingly expanding nationwide. The study explores the evolution of HE, the concept of ‘value’, WBL and the introduction of degree apprenticeships, and how these themes then converge, the resulting tensions and possible impact on success. Research approach Following an interpretivist and constructivist philosophy, mixed methods were employed involving questionnaires, then interviews and focus groups for triangulation of data across employers, students and staff. Quantitative data was analysed in Excel, looking for statistical and visual differences, and using Analysis of Variance (ANOVA), qualitative results were transcribed and then thematically analysed using NVivo. Key findings The key findings are that there is a significant difference of understanding between provider staff, the employers and students as to what a ‘higher’ education should be, especially in terms of civicness. National employers want national, rather than place-based, provision. Programme contextualisation is very important to the employers and the students; but can be challenging for the provider. A majority of apprentices believe that their employer (as the perceived funder) should see a financial return on their investment, equally apprentices felt they should personally achieve a financial benefit from participation. Employers appear to be formalizing their training needs analysis, perhaps in response to the Levy and the availability of higher level programmes. Contribution There is much written about private provision of HE, marketization and consumerization, but there is little research. There is even less research originating from within a private provider. This study contributes to the HE WBL community and although the main beneficiary is UCQ, the results are intended to be of value to alternative and existing HE providers delivering degree apprenticeships. Degree apprenticeships are new (in England) and there is little understanding of the tensions between the providers, employers, students and funders, and how they may be overcome. This study contributes to the body of knowledge in this area and is expected to stimulate further debate and study within the community of practice. Conclusions This study found that employers, learners and provider staff believe it is important that there should be a return from the degree apprenticeship that should be of value to the employer and the learner, but measuring such value is difficult. The degree apprenticeship should take account of recognition of prior learning, however there is no standardized approach. Assessments need to be heavily contextualized, and staff and students differ in opinion on whether this is the case. There is a suggestion that providers need to deliver nationally and with industry specialism(s), and there is disagreement between provider staff, and employers and their staff, on whether the programme should include civic development. HE work-based learning providers may need to share resources in order to cost effectively deliver nationally. Employers do not see themselves as really being ‘in the driving seat’ because the Education and Skills Funding Agency and Institute for Apprenticeships make and change policy and pricing to suit their political agenda

An investigation of the performance of and the flow of solids and air in a vertical shaft impactor

The operation of the Breakring vertical shaft impactor was investigated mathematically and experimentally. In particular, the performance of the crusher, the action of solids and air in the impeller and the mechanism responsible for the localised abrasion of the impeller wear parts were investigated. Computer programs were developed, which modelled the performance of the Breakring for impellers having simple, idealised wear part profiles. Contour plots were produced, which illustrated the dependence of impeller power, absolute particle exit speed and anvil angle for normal impact on the wear part sweep angle and the coefficient of friction between the feed material and the wear part. The significance of the contours was investigated. A computer program was developed, which modelled the action of a single particle in the Breakring impeller for wear parts having various complex profiles. The results indicated that the cause of the localised wear part abrasion was the reattachment of feed material to the wear part, following separation at the downstream end of the depression caused by action of material after entry to the impeller. The accuracy of the results was confirmed by the profiles of abraded wear parts and various other factors. A full-scale model impeller was constructed. The flow of air in the model and, following failure of the model, the flow of air and solids in a prototype impeller were investigated by a surface flow visualisation technique and high speed cinematography. The results neither verified the wear-mechanism outlined above nor indicated any other wear-mechanism. It was concluded that the wear mechanism indicated by the mathematical modelling was accurate and that there is no indication of abrasion by airborne fines

Immunological Phenotypes Associated with Neurodegenerative Disease

The etiology of most neurodegenerative diseases remains a mystery. Environmental factors seemingly play an important role in neurodegenerative diseases, as does the immune system. Here, we describe immunological phenotypes associated with the neurodegenerative diseases AOA2 and ALS. During CSR, B-cells and neurons share a preferred pathway for DNA repair, NHEJ. SETX, the gene implicated in AOA2, has been implicated in the DDR. In SETX-deficient conditions, B-cells exhibit a defect in IgA class-switching as a result of impaired NHEJ and enhanced alternate-end joining, a slower process with higher mutational burden. These results suggest that neurons in SETX-deficient patients may also demonstrate defects in DNA repair, leaving them more susceptible to death. Further, IgA plays an important role in both protection from infections and as an anti-inflammatory mediator at mucosal surfaces. Defects in IgA class switching might lead to immune dysregulation in AOA2, similar to that observed in other neurodegenerative diseases. Viral infections have been associated with several neurodegenerative diseases, including ALS. However, a causal role for viruses in the etiology of ALS has never been established. Common viral infections can impact immune cell phenotypes within the CNS. Microglia are the primary immune cell of the CNS and are able to respond to subtle changes in the microenvironment. Microglia have neurotoxic properties upon hyper-activation. Influenza infection of SOD1G93A mice accelerated ALS disease progression and reduced overall survival. Exacerbated microgliosis was evident within the spinal cords of infected mice. Thus, the immune response stimulated by viral infections may result in toxic microgliosis that accelerates the progression of ALS. Together, this body of work describes a series of novel immunological abnormalities associated with AOA2 and ALS4. A deeper understanding of the role played by the immune system in patients with neurodegenerative disorders may unveil new targets for future therapies.ThesisDoctor of Philosophy (PhD)The causes of most neurodegenerative diseases remain poorly understood. These diseases are highly complex, as they are influenced by both genetics and the environment and involve many different cell types. However, neurodegenerative diseases also share common hallmarks. The immune system is known to behave abnormally in several neurodegenerative diseases. Therefore, we set out to study the involvement of the immune system in two related neurodegenerative diseases, ataxia with oculomotor apraxia type 2 (AOA2) and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). We demonstrate that AOA2-like mutations in senataxin (SETX) affect the formation of specific antibodies due to problems repairing broken DNA. We also find that viral infections activate immune cells within the spinal cord which can promote ALS progression. Taken together, this body of work suggests that the immune system plays an important role in AOA2 and ALS, and that drugs that prevent abnormal immune responses might help to treat these diseases

Fisiología del ciclo estral bovino

Una mejor comprensión de la fisiología del ciclo estral y la función ovárica ha resultado en una mayor capacidad para manipular su control. Descubrimientos recientes de las funciones del cuerpo lúteo y las ondas foliculares del ciclo estral bovino se han traducido en un renovado entusiasmo por las oportunidades de poder lograr un mejor control de la inducción de la ovulación y una más precisa sincronización del ciclo estral. El alto nivel de interés se refleja en el gran aumento de revisiones publicadas sobre la manipulación del ciclo estral durante los últimos años (Odde, 1990; Larson y Ball, 1992; Wiltbank, 1997; Roche et al., 1997; Mapletoft et al., 2002; Macmillan et al ., 2003; Kastelic et al., 2008; Macmillan, 2010; Colazo y Mapletoft 2014). La intención de este manuscrito es proporcionar una visión general de los eventos ováricos normales en el ganado bovino adulto y prepúber, con la idea de impulsar una discusión para aumentar aun más nuestra capacidad de manipulación del ciclo estral bovino DOI:http://dx.doi.org/10.19137/cienvet2014162

Fatores associados à liberação de gonadotrofina e ovulação após administração exógena de GnRH em Bos Taurus

The gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH) is a decapeptide, synthesized by the GnRH neurons in the hypothalamus, which stimulates the synthesis and secretion of gonadotrophins (follicle-stimulating hormone, FSH and luteinizing hormone, LH) from the anterior pituitary or adenohypophysis. GnRH agonists with a structure identical or similar to nature have been commercially available since the 1970’s and were initially used for the treatment of follicular cysts and the improvement of fertility in cattle (1). The ovulation of ovarian follicles after GnRH administration was first reported by Schams et al. (2) and Britt et al. (3), but it was not until the 1990’s that GnRH began to be used to control follicular dynamics during the bovine estrous cycle. Studies have shown that a new follicular wave emerges within 2 days after ovulation of the dominant follicle present at the time of GnRH treatment (4,5). This finding facilitated the development of synchronization protocols based on GnRH in combination with prostaglandins (PGF) that allow fixed-time artificial insemination (FTAI), without the  need for heat detection. These GnRH-based protocols are part of the reproductive management, especially in dairy cattle, in many commercial herds around the world. There are several GnRH and PGF-based protocols available for estrus and ovulation synchronization in cattle, most of these protocols have been explained and discussed in detail in other publications (6,7). The objective of this review is to describe the factors associated with the release of LH and ovulatory response after the administration of GnRH, to present relevant information on the effect of steroid hormones on the response to GnRH and, finally, to briefly postulate strategies that could improve the efficacy of GnRH and PGF-based protocolsLa hormona liberadora de gonadotropina (GnRH) es un decapéptido, sintetizado por las neuronas GnRH en el hipotálamo, que estimula la síntesis y secreción de gonadotrofinas (hormonas folículo estimulante, FSH y luteinizante, LH) de la hipófisis anterior o adenohipofisis. Agonistas de GnRH con una estructura idéntica o similar a la natural han estado disponible comercialmente desde la década del 70 y han sido utilizadas en un principio para el tratamiento de quistes foliculares y el mejoramiento de la fertilidad en el ganado vacuno (1). La  ovulación de folículos ováricos después de la administración de GnRH fue reportada por primera vez por Schams et al. (2) y Britt et al. (3), pero no fue hasta la década del 90 cuando la GnRH se comenzó a utilizar para controlar la dinámica folicular durante el ciclo estral del bovino. Ahora sabemos que una nueva onda folicular emerge dentro de los 2 días después de la ovulación del folículo dominante presente en el momento del tratamiento con GnRH (4,5). Este hallazgo facilitó el desarrollo de protocolos de sincronización a base de GnRH en combinación con prostaglandinas (PGF) que permiten la inseminación artificial a tiempo fijo (IATF), sin necesidad de realizar detección de celo. Estos protocolos a base de GnRH y PGF son parte del manejo reproductivo bovino, sobre todo del ganado lechero, en muchos rodeos comerciales del mundo. Existen numerosos protocolos a base de GnRH y PGF disponibles para la sincronización del estro y la ovulación en el ganado, varios de esos protocolos se han explicado y discutido en detalle en otros artículos (6,7). El objetivo de esta revisión es describir los factores asociados a la liberación de LH y respuesta ovulatoria posterior a la administración de GnRH, dar a conocer información relevante sobre el efecto de las hormonas esteroideas en la respuesta a la GnRH y, por último, brevemente postular estrategias que podrían mejorar la eficacia de los protocolos basados en la aplicación de GnRH y PGFO hormônio liberador de gonadotrofinas (GnRH) é um decapeptídeo, sintetizado pelos neurônios GnRH no hipotálamo, que estimula a síntese e secreção de gonadotrofinas (hormônio folículo-estimulante, FSH e hormônio luteinizante, LH) da hipófise anterior ou adeno-hipófise. Agonistas de GnRH com estrutura idêntica ou semelhante à natureza estão disponíveis comercialmente desde a década de 1970 e foram inicialmente utilizados para o tratamento de cistos foliculares e melhoria da fertilidade em bovinos (1). A ovulação de folículos ovarianos após a administração de GnRH foi relatada pela primeira vez por Schams et al. (2) e Britt et al. (3), mas foi somente na década de 1990 que o GnRH começou a ser usado para controlar a dinâmica folicular durante o ciclo estral bovino. Sabemos agora que uma nova onda folicular surge dentro de 2 dias após a ovulação do folículo dominante presente no momento do tratamento com GnRH. (4,5) Essa descoberta facilitou o desenvolvimento de protocolos de sincronização baseados em GnRH em combinação com prostaglandinas (PGF) que permitem a inseminação artificial em tempo fixo (IATF), sem a necessidade de detecção de cio. Esses protocolos baseados em GnRH e PGF fazem parte do manejo reprodutivo de bovinos, especialmente bovinos leiteiros, em muitos rebanhos comerciais ao redor do mundo. Existem inúmeros protocolos baseados em GnRH e PGF disponíveis para sincronização de estro e ovulação em bovinos, vários desses protocolos foram explicados e discutidos em detalhes em outros artigos (6,7). O objetivo desta revisão é descrever os fatores associados à liberação de LH e resposta ovulatória após a administração de GnRH, apresentar informações relevantes sobre o efeito dos hormônios esteroides na resposta ao GnRH e, por fim, postular brevemente estratégias que possam melhorar a eficácia de protocolos baseados na aplicação de GnRH e PGF.sobre o efeito dos hormônios esteroides na resposta ao GnR