"TEACHING WITH COMMONPLACE BOOKS IN THE AGE OF #RELATABLECONTENT"

An Essay about a Commonplace book assignment I wrote and tested in 2012 (published in Journal of Interactive Technology & Pedagogy in 2014) and have since revisited and reflected upon. The essay goes into more detail about aspects of my assignment that I had not discussed in my earlier, and more practical, publication for JITP––more specifically, the way that its development had animated a kind of existential anxiety within me. As a result, this piece is an idiosyncratic and somewhat personal meditation, one that is as much about the expansiveness and limitations of my pedagogical thinking in the heady, “very online” days of 2013–2015 as it is about teaching Shakespeare or early modern book history

Selves creating stories creating selves: A process model of self development

This article is focused on the growing empirical emphasis on connections between narrative and self-development. The authors propose a process model of self-development in which storytelling is at the heart of both stability and change in the self. Specifically, we focus on how situated stories help develop and maintain the self with reciprocal impacts on enduring aspects of self, specifically self-concept and the life story. This article emphasizes the research that has shown how autobiographical stories affect the self and provides a direction for future work to maximize the potential of narrative approaches to studying processes of self-development. Keywords: self; identity; narrative; autobiographical memory The universe is made up of stories, not of atoms. —Rukeyser (1968) This excerpt from Rukeyser’s poem suggests that, as humans, our worlds are stories; we are made up of, engage in, and are surrounded by stories. The importance of stories is a proposition that is gaining prominence in empirical psychology, and we build on this trend by proposing a process model of narrative selfdevelopment that has at its heart the study of personal autobiographical narratives, or situated stories. We use the term situated stories to emphasize the fact that any narrative account of personal memory is created within a specific situation, by particular individuals, for particular audiences, and to fulfill particular goals. These facts about situated stories provide the backdrop for our major proposition, which is that situated stories are used to develop and maintain the self. We view self-development through situated stories as a lifespan process, beginning in early childhood and extending to old age, and that process is situated in a larger cultural milieu that holds expectations of what makes a healthy narrative and a healthy self. The ideas that stories and self are intimatel

Nutritional and rheological properties of pumpkin seed based fruits spread

Fruit spread is prepared by combining sugar with processed fruit juice, concentrated fruit juice, or whole fruit. Pumpkin (Curcurbita maxima) seeds are commonly seen as industrial waste and discarded. Pumpkin seed was roasted and made into powder form.  β-carotene rich fruits such as mango, papaya, and muskmelon were used to extract the pulp. To obtain a desired consistency of fruit spread, the fruit pulp (25%) was blended with roasted seed powder (70%) Fruits were scattered at 5° to 10° Brix and sugar was added. To extend the shelf life and improve the quality of the spreads, they were pasteurised at 60°C for 30 minutes. The spreads were packaged in two different types of packaging material food grade glass containers and polypropylene containers. They were kept in refrigerated conditions at 4°C for further analysis. After organoleptic evaluation, the fruits spreads were analysed for nutritional content, textural properties and microbial content. Pumpkin seed based fruit spreads have 15.23 to 15.64% moisture, 6.7 to 7.18 %  protein, 4.53  to 4.89% fat, 5.29 to 5.69% fiber and 15.36  to 28.67% carbohydrates. The pumpkin seed based fruit spreads had 15.41 to 23.04°Brix of total soluble solids. The fruit spreads had 85.82 to 764.54 g hardness, -88.54 to-205.45 g adhesiveness, 0.87 to 0.95 springiness,0.48 to 0.74 cohesiveness, 64.78 to 344.06 gumminess and 61.53 to 311.64 chewiness. The pumpkin seed based fruits spread had viscosities of 2.21 to 3.58 centipoises. The mango based fruit spreads had the highest score values among the fruit spreads. The fruit spread encompassed enormous bioactive compounds when compared to other fruit spreads available on the market

Synthesis and optimisation of IrO2 electrocatalysts by Adams fusion method for solid polymer electrolyte electrolysers

IrO2 as an anodic electrocatalyst for the oxygen evolution reaction (OER) in solid polymer electrolyte (SPE) electrolysers was synthesised by adapting the Adams fusion method. Optimisation of the IrO2 electrocatalyst was achieved by varying the synthesis duration (0.5 – 4 hours) and temperature (250 - 500°C). The physical properties of the electrocatalysts were characterised by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and x-ray diffraction (XRD). Electrochemical characterisation of the electrocatalysts toward the OER was evaluated by chronoamperometry (CA). CA analysis revealed the best electrocatalytic activity towards the OER for IrO2 synthesised for 2 hours at 350oC which displayed a better electrocatalytic activity than the commercial IrO2 electrocatalyst used in this study. XRD and TEM analyses revealed an increase in crystallinity and average particle size with increasing synthesis duration and temperature which accounted for the decreasing electrocatalytic activity. At 250°C the formation of an active IrO2 electrocatalyst was not favoured

FORMULATION AND EVALUATION OF MICROEMULSION GEL FOR TRANSDERMAL DELIVERY OF TRAMADOL

Objective: The present work was carried out to design microemulsion gel system for transdermal delivery of the drug to minimize the side effects and to reduce the frequency of administration and for prolonging the duration of action. Methods: Tramadol, an opioid analgesic drug, was mixed with various selected polymers such as sodium alginate (SA), acacia, hydroxypropyl methylcellulose (HPMC), and Eudragit in geometric mixing ratios. The drug, polymer, and other excipients were mixed thoroughly by trituration method and different formulations (F1-F8) were prepared the same quantity of all the ingredients excepting the polymers. Results: The different formulations prepared, studied, and showed that the formulation using SA as polymeric carrier had a better effect on the evaluated parameters. The drug-SA formulation exhibited better drug-polymer compatibility, optimal viscosity (2750 cps), zeta potential (−26.1 Mv), and particle size distribution (262.8 d.nm) values. The in vitro release studies also indicated that the drug-SA formulation was of desirable release pattern, thus indicating that SA to be a better choice in formulating a transdermal delivery gel system. Conclusion: Evaluated microemulsion gel formulation F2 of tramadol with polymeric carriers SA was much stable than other carriers used. Thus, it could be concluded that the gel formulation with SA can be taken as an ideal formulation

Effect of okra plant resistance on transmission rate of okra enation leaf curl virus by its vector whitefly, Bemisia tabaci

The present study aimed to investigate the effect of age of the okra plants that showed varying whitefly resistance responses on the transmission rate of okra enation leaf curl virus (OELCV) by its vector whitefly Bemisia tabaci. The OELCV infected whitefly adults were collected from whitefly colonies and were challenged on the test okra accessions (Upl mona 2, Co 1, Arka anamika and AE 64) of differential ages which were individually caged (7, 10 and 15 d after germination) with glass chimney and the number of such whiteflies used were at the rate of 2, 4, 6, 8, 10, 12, 14 and 20 adults per plant. Observations were made on the virus symptom expression 30 d after challenge. The efficiency of transmission was determined. The efficiency of transmission of OELCV was the highest (maximum T and P*, 0.80, 1.00 and 0.08, 0.10) when 7 d old seedlings were inoculated (Arka anamika and AE 64 respectively) and transmission had decreased as the age of seedlings increased. The estimated transmission rate for single whitefly (P*) increased with an increase in the number of whiteflies used per plant. Okra plant resistance to B. tabaci significantly changed the transmission rates of OELCV on okra. Understanding the resistance mechanisms of the okra accessions and interactions between plant viruses and their insect host can pave the way for novel approaches to protect plants from virus infection

Osmotic Drug Delivery System: A Review

Osmotic drug delivery uses the osmotic pressure level for controlled delivery of drugs by using osmogens. Osmotic systems for controlled drug-delivery applications are well established, both in human pharmaceuticals and in veterinary medicine. The process of osmosis that can control the drug delivery system. Osmotic pressure created from external environment into the dosage form regulates the delivery of drug from osmotic device. Osmotic pumps are promising systems for controlled drug delivery. The systems are used for oral administration and implantation. Osmotic pumps consist of an inner core containing drug and coated with a semi permeable membrane. Keywords: Osmosis, Osmotic drug delivery system, Osmotic pump

Development of Unsupported Ru and Ni Based Oxides with Enhanced Performance for the Oxygen Evolution Reaction in Acidic Media

The high cost of catalyst materials suitable for the oxygen evolution reaction (OER) in polymer electrolyte membrane water electrolyzers (PEMWE) is still a major hurdle that needs overcoming before commercial PEMWE can have a meaningful impact as a technology in the hydrogen economy. Metal oxides based on precious metals are currently still the most reliable and most used materials as catalysts in PEMWE; however, alternative or modified materials are desirable to help reduce the cost associated with the catalyst component. In this study, we report on binary metal oxide catalysts based on Ru and Ni. Ni-based electrodes are typically used in alkaline water electrolyzers due to their high performance, robustness and low cost; however, Ni and NiO electrodes do not show promising performance in acidic environments due to corrosion. By combining NiO with acid stable RuO2, we have demonstrated that the performance of the RuO2 catalyst can be improved and due to the lower cost of Ni, the cost of the catalyst can ultimately be reduced. The Ni addition was limited to 10 mol% to achieve improved OER performance followed by noticeable performance degradation as the Ni composition was increased. The metal oxide catalysts were synthesized via a modified Adams fusion method that produced nano-sized catalysts with superior performance compared to a state-of-art commercial RuO2 catalyst. Physical characterizations were performed via high-resolution transmission electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction, energy dispersive X-ray, and Brunauer Emmett Teller analyses. OER performances were evaluated via cyclic voltammetry, linear sweep voltammetry, chronopotentiometry, and chronoamperometry analyses

Osmotic drug delivery system: A review

Osmotic drug delivery uses the osmotic pressure level for controlled delivery of drugs by using osmogens. Osmotic systems for controlled drug-delivery applications are well established, both in human pharmaceuticals and in veterinary medicine. The process of osmosis is that can control the drug delivery system. Osmotic pressure created from external environment into the dosage form regulates the delivery of drug from osmotic device. Osmotic pumps are promising systems for controlled drug delivery. The systems are used for oral administration and implantation. Osmotic pumps consist of an inner core containing drug and coated with a semi permeable membrane. Keywords: Osmosis, Osmotic drug delivery system, Osmotic pump

The holistic phase model of early adult crisis

The objective of the current study was to explore the structural, temporal and experiential manifestations of crisis episodes in early adulthood, using a holistic-systemic theoretical framework. Based on an analysis of 50 interviews with individuals about a crisis episode between the ages of 25 and 35, a holistic model was developed. The model comprises four phases: (1) Locked-in, (2) Separation/Time-out, (3) Exploration and (4) Rebuilding, which in turn have characteristic features at four levels—person-in-environment, identity, motivation and affect-cognition. A crisis starts out with a commitment at work or home that has been made but is no longer desired, and this is followed by an emotionally volatile period of change as that commitment is terminated. The positive trajectory of crisis involves movement through an exploratory period towards active rebuilding of a new commitment, but ‘fast-forward’ and ‘relapse’ loops can interrupt Phases 3 and 4 and make a positive resolution of the episode less likely. The model shows conceptual links with life stage theories of emerging adulthood and early adulthood, and it extends current understandings of the transitional developmental challenges that young adults encounter