The performer’s experience: psychological, philosophical and educational perspectives

This portfolio represents a body of original research into components of elite erformance that had hitherto not been investigated. There are three main categories of focus. New perspectives on learning and memorisation, and also expressive use of timbre in elite performance are offered. Additionally, a substantial body of work is concerned with investigating whether certain psychological characteristics may figure as determinants of the ability to perform at elite level. The submission is strengthened by collaboration with other disciplines - predominantly sports psychology and psychoacoustics, but latterly, also with education and philosophy. The purpose of this Critical Analysis is to specify originality and coherence within the portfolio and to evaluate its strengths and weaknesses. The contemporary relevance of the work, in all but the most recent paper, is shown by consideration of ideas suggested by the findings, in the context of subsequent research. In the interests of on-going research in a similar area, for the most recent paper, perspectives that further develop the most interesting emergent themes are offered. Qualitative and quantitative methodologies are critically evaluated in relation to the studies undertaken and limitations are acknowledged. Reference to recent developments in research techniques and processes provides some insight into potential refinement of the chosen research methods that might inform future similar research

Liver copper concentrations in cull cattle in the UK: are cattle being copper loaded?

With the release of the Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs/Advisory Committee on Animal Feed Guidance Note for Supplementing Copper to Bovines it was noted that the current copper status of the national herd was not known. Liver samples were recovered from 510 cull cattle at a single abattoir across a period of three days. The samples were wet-ashed and liver copper concentrations determined by inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry analysis. Breed, age and previous location information were obtained from the British Cattle Movement Service. Dairy breeds had higher liver copper concentrations than beef breeds. Holstein-Friesian and ‘other’ dairy breeds had 38.3 per cent and 40 per cent of cattle above the Animal Health and Veterinary Laboratories Agency (AHVLA) reference range (8000 µmol/kg dry matter), respectively, whereas only 16.9 per cent of animals in the combined beef breeds exceeded this value. It was found that underlying topsoil copper concentration was not related to liver copper content and that age of the animal also had little effect on liver concentration. In conclusion, over 50 per cent of the liver samples tested had greater-than-normal concentrations of copper with almost 40 per cent of the female dairy cattle having liver copper concentrations above the AHVLA reference range, indicating that a significant proportion of the UK herd is at risk of chronic copper toxicity

An Abrupt Aging of Dissolved Organic Carbon in Large Arctic Rivers

Permafrost thaw in Arctic watersheds threatens to mobilize hitherto sequestered carbon. We examine the radiocarbon activity (F14C) of dissolved organic carbon (DOC) in the northern Mackenzie River basin. From 2003‐2017, DOC‐F14C signatures (1.00 ± 0.04; n = 39) tracked atmospheric 14CO2, indicating export of “modern” carbon. This trend was interrupted in June 2018 by the widespread release of aged DOC (0.85 ± 0.16, n = 28) measured across three separate catchment areas. Increased nitrate concentrations in June 2018 lead us to attribute this pulse of 14C‐depleted DOC to mobilization of previously frozen soil organic matter. We propose export through lateral perennial thaw zones occurred at the base of the active layer weakened by preceding warm summer and winter seasons. Although we are not yet able to ascertain the broader significance of this “anomalous” mobilization event, it highlights the potential for rapid and large‐scale release of aged carbon from permafrost

Economic and Market Analysis of CO2 Utilization Technologies – Focus on CO2 derived from North Dakota lignite

AbstractBased on information obtained about the technical aspects of the technologies, several challenges are expected to be faced by any potential CO2 utilization technologies intended for North Dakota lignite plants. The weather, alkaline content of lignite fly ash, and space limitations in the immediate vicinity of existing power plants are challenging hurdles to overcome. Currently, no CO2 utilization option is ready for implementation or integration with North Dakota power plants. Mineralization technologies suffer from the lack of a well-defined product and insufficient alkalinity in lignite fly ash. Algae and microalgae technologies are not economically feasible and will have weather- related challenges

Summer CO2 evasion from streams and rivers in the Kolyma River basin, north-east Siberia

Inland water systems are generally supersaturated in carbon dioxide (CO2) and are increasingly recognized as playing an important role in the global carbon cycle. The Arctic may be particularly important in this respect, given the abundance of inland waters and carbon contained in Arctic soils; however, a lack of trace gas measurements from small streams in the Arctic currently limits this understanding.We investigated the spatial variability of CO2 evasion during the summer low-flow period from streams and rivers in the northern portion of the Kolyma River basin in north-eastern Siberia. To this end, partial pressure of carbon dioxide (pCO2) and gas exchange velocities (k) were measured at a diverse set of streams and rivers to calculate CO2 evasion fluxes. We combined these CO2 evasion estimates with satellite remote sensing and geographic information system techniques to calculate total areal CO2 emissions. Our results show that small streams are substantial sources of atmospheric CO2 owing to high pCO2 and k, despite being a small portion of total inland water surface area. In contrast, large rivers were generally near equilibrium with atmospheric CO2. Extrapolating our findings across the Panteleikha-Ambolikha sub-watersheds demonstrated that small streams play a major role in CO2 evasion, accounting for 86% of the total summer CO2 emissions from inland waters within these two sub-watersheds. Further expansion of these regional CO2 emission estimates across time and space will be critical to accurately quantify and understand the role of Arctic streams and rivers in the global carbon budget

Powder Bed Layer Characteristics: The Overseen First-Order Process Input

A discrete element powder model is used in conjunction with a finite volume melting model on the first layer of a powder bed selective laser melting process

Familial Occurrence of Multiple Sclerosis with Thyroid Disease and Systemic Lupus Erythematosus

Multiple sclerosis (MS) has some features which suggest it is an autoimmune disease. Autoimmune diseases frequently occur in families, and patients and families often have more than one type of autoimmune disease. However, there are few reports of MS occurring in patients or families with other autoimmune conditions. It is difficult to make a separate diagnosis of MS in a patient who has a systemic autoimmune disease such as systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) or Sjogren's syndrome, because these diseases can affect the nervous system directly. However, it is possible to make independent diagnoses of MS and an autoimmune disease confined to another single organ in the same patient, or diagnoses of MS and SLE (or other autoimmune diseases) in different family members. Here we describe clinically definite MS in 2 sisters, one of whom had Graves' disease, and the other of whom had a daughter with SLE and with a high titre of anti-thyroid antibodies. Other female family members over 4 generations had histories of thyroid disease, MS and Addison's disease. Available family members were HLA typed. The MS patients were positive for HLA DR2. All but one of the affected family members were related to the proband on the maternal side, and all of these affected females shared an HLA haplotype. However, this haplotype was also present in unaffected individuals. Thus HLA type alone cannot account for the familial occurrence of these disorders. We conclude that, in this family, MS, like autoimmune thyroid disease and SLE, may be an autoimmune disease developing in genetically predisposed individuals

Palaeontology, the biogeohistory of Victoria

The broad-scale distribution of fossils within Victoria is controlled by general global patterns in the biological evolution of life on Earth, the local development and environmental evolution of habitats, and the occurrence of geological processes conducive to the preservation of fossil floras and faunas. Early Palaeozoic fossils are mostly marine in origin because of the predominance of marine sedimentary rocks in Victoria and because life on land was not significant during most of this time interval. Middle Palaeozoic sequences have both terrestrial and marine fossil records. Within Victoria, marine rocks are only very minor components of strata deposited during the late Palaeozoic, so that few marine fossils are known from this time period. A similar situation existed during most of the Mesozoic except towards the end of this era when marine conditions began to prevail in the Bass Strait region. During long intervals in the Cainozoic, large areas of Victoria were flooded by shallow-marine seas, particularly in the southern basins of Bass Strait, as well as in the northwest of the State (Murray Basin). Cainozoic sediments contain an extraordinary range of animal and plant fossils. During the Quaternary, the landscape of Victoria became, and continues to be, dominated by continental environments including, at times, extensive freshwater lake systems. Fossil floras and faunas from sediments deposited in these lake systems and from other continental sediments, as well as from Quaternary sediments deposited in marginal marine environments, collectively record a history of rapid fluctuations in climate and sea level.<br /