Formation of modules in a computational model of embryogeny

An investigation is conducted into the effects of a complex mapping between genotype and phenotype upon a simulated evolutionary process. A model of embryogeny is utilised to grow simple French flag like patterns. The system is shown to display a phenotypic robustness to damage and it is argued that this is a result of a modularity forming within the mapping process which causes a functional grouping of sections of the genotype

Orthotic management of cerebral palsy : recommendations from a consensus conference

An international multidisciplinary group of healthcare professionals and researchers participated in a consensus conference on the management of cerebral palsy, convened by the International Society for Prosthetics and Orthotics. Participants reviewed the evidence and considered contemporary thinking on a range of treatment options including physical and occupational therapy, and medical, surgical and orthotic interventions. The quality of many of the reviewed papers was compromised by inadequate reporting and lack of transparency, in particular regarding the types of patients and the design of the interventions being evaluated. Substantial evidence suggests that ankle-foot orthoses (AFOs) that control the foot and ankle in stance and swing phases can improve gait efficiency in ambulant children (GMFCS levels I-III). By contrast, little high quality evidence exists to support the use of orthoses for the hip, spine or upper limb. Where the evidence for orthosis use was not compelling consensus was reached on recommendations for orthotic intervention. Subsequent group discussions identified recommendations for future research. The evidence to support using orthoses is generally limited by the brevity of follow-up periods in research studies; hence the extent to which orthoses may prevent deformities developing over time remains unclear. The full report of the conference can be accessed free of charge at www.ispoint.org

Master of Your Domain: Descriptions of Interior Space in the Works of Charles Dickens and Elizabeth Gaskell as Social Justice Commentary

Abstract One of the results of the industrialization of Victorian England was a further straining of the relationship between the rich and poor. This was evidenced by events such as the Preston Strike, a prolonged labor battle between the workers and the masters of the cotton mills. Charles Dickens’s periodical Household Words covered the strike on two occasions, with Dickens himself writing the second article on the event. An attempt to bridge this cultural divide between the classes was undertaken by Elizabeth Gaskell in North and South, a novel that first appeared in Household Words and by Dickens himself in his novel Hard Times. While both novels focus on interior domestic spaces, their intended results are dramatically different. Elizabeth Gaskell uses interior space in North and South to defend English Paternalism by asking for increased sympathy for both master and worker, while Dickens uses interior space in Hard Times as a metaphor for the tyranny of Utilitarianism and to criticize the idea of mastery

A Study to Determine Virginia Industrial Arts Teacher\u27s Knowledge of Terms Associated with the Metric System of Measurement

This problem was answered by focusing on the following questions: 1. Are Industrial Arts teachers in the state of Virginia ready to teach the metric system of measurement in their shops? 2. Do the Industrial Arts teachers in Virginia understand the common terms, their conversion to English, and prefixes associated with the metric system of measurement

Advanced Placement and Dual Enrollment as Related to College Readiness and Retention at a Tennessee University

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Advanced Placement and Dual Enrollment as Related to College Readiness and Retention at a Tennessee University

The purpose of this study was to determine if there was a significant relationship between students who entered a Tennessee university for the first time in the fall of 2014 who had earned either Advanced Placement (AP) or dual enrollment credit and their college readiness and 1-year college retention. College readiness was defined by students’ American College Testing (ACT) sub scores in English, reading, and mathematics. The Tennessee Board of Regents (TBR) regulates the minimum sub score for each sub section that a student must obtain to be college ready. College retention was defined by students who enrolled at the university in the fall of 2014 and reenrolled in the fall of 2015 at the same university. The independent variables for this study were AP credits received in AP English Language and Composition, AP English Literature and Composition, AP Statistics, AP Calculus AB, AP Calculus BC, and dual enrollment credit received in any course. The dependent variables for this study were college readiness as defined by TBR and fall-to-fall retention. A series of chi-square tests of independence was performed to examine the differences in college readiness and fall-to-fall retention between students who had earned AP or dual enrollment credit and those students who had not. The quantitative findings revealed that there is a significant relationship between students who enroll in their first college year with AP English or math credit or dual enrollment credit and first year retention rates when compared to students who do not reenroll with AP English or math credit or dual enrollment credit. The results indicated there was no difference in students who enrolled with AP English or math credit and students who enrolled with dual enrollment credit regarding their fall-to-fall retention rates. AP English credit increased the likelihood that a student was college ready in both English and reading based on TBR determinations of college readiness. Credit in an AP mathematics course also increased the likelihood that a student was college ready in math based on TBR determinations of college readiness

Fumonisins in Conventional and Transgenic, Insect-Resistant Maize Intended for Fuel Ethanol Production: Implications for Fermentation Efficiency and DDGS Co-Product Quality

Mycotoxins in maize grain intended for ethanol production are enriched in co-product dried distiller’s grains and solubles (DDGS) and may be detrimental to yeast in fermentation. This study was conducted to examine the magnitude of fumonisin enrichment in DDGS and to analyze the impacts of insect injury, Fusarium ear rot severity, and fumonisin contamination on final ethanol yield. Samples of naturally-contaminated grain (0 to 35 mg/kg fumonisins) from field trials conducted in 2008–2011 were fermented and DDGS collected and analyzed for fumonisin content. Ethanol yield (determined gravimetrically) was unaffected by fumonisins in the range occurring in this study, and was not correlated with insect injury or Fusarium ear rot severity. Ethanol production was unaffected in fumonisin B1-spiked grain with concentrations from 0 to 37 mg/kg.Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) maize often has reduced fumonisins due to its protection from insect injury and subsequent fungal infection. DDGS derived from Bt and non-Bt maize averaged 2.04 mg/kg and 8.25 mg/kg fumonisins, respectively. Fumonisins were enriched by 3.0× for 50 out of 57 hybrid × insect infestation treatment combinations; those seven that differed were Bt maize hybrids were consistently lower in fumonisins than DDGS derived from non-Bt hybrids