A module-based approach to foster and document the intercultural process before and during the residence abroad

This article contributes to the debate on what form of preparation and support can enhance the intercultural student experience during the Year Abroad. It presents a credit-bearing and multi-modal module at a UK university designed to both prepare students prior to departure through a series of workshops and activities on an e-portfolio and help them engage in meta-reflection on intercultural issues during their stay. The presentation of the curricular components of the course and instances extracted from student blogs are contextualised within theoretical considerations on intercultural education and a holistic approach to student development. The longitudinal evolution of the module is presented in the context of an iterative approach leading to a cycle of revisions and amendments. With its pragmatic stance this article aims to address one of the concerns recently expressed about intercultural education, namely that although intercultural theories are suitably incorporated in the latest thinking on communicative competence, there is a lack of evidence-based practice

Effective Screened Potentials of Strongly Coupled Semiclassical Plasma

The pseudopotentials of particle interaction of astrongly coupled semiclassical plasma, taking into account bothquantum-mechanical effects of diffraction at short distances andalso screening field effects at large distances are obtained. Thelimiting cases of potentials are considered.Comment: 15 pages, TeX, 7 figure

Componential coding in the condition monitoring of electrical machines Part 2: application to a conventional machine and a novel machine

This paper (Part 2) presents the practical application of componential coding, the principles of which were described in the accompanying Part 1 paper. Four major issues are addressed, including optimization of the neural network, assessment of the anomaly detection results, development of diagnostic approaches (based on the reconstruction error) and also benchmarking of componential coding with other techniques (including waveform measures, Fourier-based signal reconstruction and principal component analysis). This is achieved by applying componential coding to the data monitored from both a conventional induction motor and from a novel transverse flux motor. The results reveal that machine condition monitoring using componential coding is not only capable of detecting and then diagnosing anomalies but it also outperforms other conventional techniques in that it is able to separate very small and localized anomalies

Late Maastrichtian carbon isotope stratigraphy and cyclostratigraphy of the Newfoundland Margin (Site U1403, IODP Expedition 342)

Earth’s climate during the Maastrichtian (latest Cretaceous) was punctuated by brief warming and cooling episodes, accompanied by perturbations of the global carbon cycle. Superimposed on a long-term cooling trend, the middle Maastrichtian is characterized by deep-sea warming and relatively high values of stable carbon-isotope ratios, followed by strong climatic variability towards the end of the Cretaceous. A lack of knowledge on the timing of climatic change inhibits our understanding of underlying causal mechanisms. We present an integrated stratigraphy from Integrated Ocean Drilling Program (IODP) Site U1403, providing an expanded deep ocean record from the North Atlantic (Expedition 342, Newfoundland Margin). Distinct sedimentary cyclicity suggests that orbital forcing played a major role in depositional processes, which is confirmed by statistical analyses of high resolution elemental data obtained by X-ray fluorescence (XRF) core scanning. Astronomical calibration reveals that the investigated interval encompasses seven 405-kyr cycles (Ma4051 to Ma4057) and spans the 2.8 Myr directly preceding the Cretaceous/Paleocene (K/Pg) boundary. A high-resolution carbon-isotope record from bulk carbonates allows us to identify global trends in the late Maastrichtian carbon cycle. Low-amplitude variations (up to 0.4‰) in carbon isotopes at Site U1403 match similar scale variability in records from Tethyan and Pacific open-ocean sites. Comparison between Site U1403 and the hemipelagic restricted basin of the Zumaia section (northern Spain), with its own well-established independent cyclostratigraphic framework, is more complex. Whereas the pre-K/Pg oscillations and the negative values of the Mid-Maastrichtian Event (MME) can be readily discerned in both the Zumaia and U1403 records, patterns diverge during a ~ 1 Myr period in the late Maastrichtian (67.8–66.8 Ma), with Site U1403 more reliably reflecting global carbon cycling. Our new carbon isotope record and cyclostratigraphy offer promise for Site U1403 to serve as a future reference section for high-resolution studies of late Maastrichtian paleoclimatic change

Cataract, abnormal electroretinogram and visual evoked potentials in a child with SMA-LED2 - extending the phenotype.

This case report describes a girl who presented antenatal arthrogryposis and postnatal hypotonia, generalized and respiratory weakness, joint deformities particularly affecting the lower limbs and poor swallow. By 5 months, cataracts, abnormal electroretinograms, visual evoked potentials and global developmental impairments were recognized. No causative variants were identified on targeted gene panels. After her unexpected death at 11 months, gene-agnostic trio whole exome sequencing revealed a likely pathogenic de novo BICD2 missense variant, NM_001003800.1, c.593T>C, p.(Leu198Pro), confirming the diagnosis of spinal muscular atrophy lower extremity predominant type 2 (SMA-LED2). We propose that cataracts and abnormal electroretinograms are novel features of SMA-LED2

Diversity of HLA Class I and Class II blocks and conserved extended haplotypes in Lacandon Mayans.

Here we studied HLA blocks and haplotypes in a group of 218 Lacandon Maya Native American using a high-resolution next generation sequencing (NGS) method. We assessed the genetic diversity of HLA class I and class II in this population, and determined the most probable ancestry of Lacandon Maya HLA class I and class II haplotypes. Importantly, this Native American group showed a high degree of both HLA homozygosity and linkage disequilibrium across the HLA region and also lower class II HLA allelic diversity than most previously reported populations (including other Native American groups). Distinctive alleles present in the Lacandon population include HLA-A*24:14 and HLA-B*40:08. Furthermore, in Lacandons we observed a high frequency of haplotypes containing the allele HLA-DRB1*04:11, a relatively frequent allele in comparison with other neighboring indigenous groups. The specific demographic history of the Lacandon population including inbreeding, as well as pathogen selection, may have elevated the frequencies of a small number of HLA class II alleles and DNA blocks. To assess the possible role of different selective pressures in determining Native American HLA diversity, we evaluated the relationship between genetic diversity at HLA-A, HLA-B and HLA-DRB1 and pathogen richness for a global dataset and for Native American populations alone. In keeping with previous studies of such relationships we included distance from Africa as a covariate. After correction for multiple comparisons we did not find any significant relationship between pathogen diversity and HLA genetic diversity (as measured by polymorphism information content) in either our global dataset or the Native American subset of the dataset. We found the expected negative relationship between genetic diversity and distance from Africa in the global dataset, but no relationship between HLA genetic diversity and distance from Africa when Native American populations were considered alone

FISH and DAPI staining of the synaptonemal complex of the Nile tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus) allow orientation of the unpaired region of bivalent 1 observed during early pachytene

Bivalent 1 of the synaptonemal complex (SC) in XY male Oreochromis niloticus shows an unpaired terminal region in early pachytene. This appears to be related to recombination suppression around a sex determination locus. To allow more detailed analysis of this, and unpaired regions in the karyotype of other Oreochromis species, we developed techniques for FISH on SC preparations, combined with DAPI staining. DAPI staining identified presumptive centromeres in SC bivalents, which appeared to correspond to the positions observed in the mitotic karyotype (the kinetochores could only be identified sporadically in silver stained EM SC images). Furthermore, two BAC clones containing Dmo (dmrt4) and OniY227 markers that hybridize to known positions in chromosome pair 1 in mitotic spreads (near the centromere, FLpter 0.25, and the putative sex determination locus, FLpter 0.57, respectively) were used as FISH probes on SCs to verify that the presumptive centromere identified by DAPI staining was located in the expected position. Visualization of both the centromere and FISH signals on bivalent 1 allowed the unpaired region to be positioned at Flpter 0.80 to 1.00, demonstrating that the unpaired region is located in the distal part of the long arm(s). Finally, differences between mitotic and meiotic measurements are discussed

From inclusion to independence – Training consumers to review research

Health and medical research invariably impacts on the lives of everyday people. Organisations in the developed world are increasingly involving the public in health research projects, and research governance structures and processes. The form the involvement takes varies, as does the level of involvement, from individuals, to groups, to the wider community. Lay community members can be trained to independently review health and medical research, and wider societal involvement in funding decisions, can be effectively fostered. The theoretical foundation, design and development of a task based consumer-training program, including a number of enabling factors to support the success of such training are presented. This work is likely to be of value to those planning to train consumers in technical or complex areas