Quality wool production at lower cost

Low wool prices are forcing farmers to reduce their sheep management costs but, fortunately, cost cutting is not resulting in lower wool production, poorer wool quality or lessened sheep care on the best wool growing properties

It's just a word : CALL, French verbs and mixed-ability pupils

This thesis follows the trail of a perennial problem in the written work of pupils studying GCSE French, and suggests a CALL solution. The motivation for the research lies in the decline of grammatical accuracy, particularly in verb use, in the French produced by mixed-ability pupils and university students alike.Theories of language acquisition are assessed and a limited amount of guidance emerges. French GCSE Examiners' Reports then provide a firm foundation for research with their suggestion that the rise in oral work has affected written standards. A review of the literature reveals a wide range of barriers to verb learning. These can be classified as linguistic, psycholinguistic and pedagogic.One of the most impenetrable barriers is the redundancy of many verb endings. Empirical evidence from written and interview data is presented to show the startling kinds of misconceptions held by many pupils about verbs,and the complex of systems learners devise to solve problems.The thesis then proposes an explicit grammar-teaching approach based on principles of pedagogical grammar. Current Computer Assisted Language Learning (CALL) approaches to verb teaching offer admirable formal practice for able pupils but do not cater for the difficulties experienced by less able learners, who may therefore be disenfranchised. Detailed proposals are given for the creation of 'mixed-ability CALL' for verb learning, followed by a description of the design and production processes of three new programs aimed at less able pupils. Further empirical work is undertaken with GCSE pupils in order to assess the effects of tutorial, game and 'cognitive' CALL approaches. The quantitative data show that written performance can improve after using these programs. However, the most striking result of CALL intervention is the transformation of weak pupils' spoken metalanguage from restricted grammatical expression to accurate verb articulation within a short space of time

Removal of disinfection by-product precursors by coagulation and an innovative suspended ion exchange process

This investigation aimed to compare the disinfection by-product formation potentials (DBPFPs) of three UK surface waters (1 upland reservoir and 2 lowland rivers) with differing characteristics treated by (a) a full scale conventional process and (b) pilot scale processes using a novel suspended ion exchange (SIX) process and inline coagulation (ILCA) followed by ceramic membrane filtration (CMF). Liquid chromatography-organic carbon detection analysis highlighted clear differences between the organic fractions removed by coagulation and suspended ion exchange. Pretreatments which combined SIX and coagulation resulted in significant reductions in dissolved organic carbon (DOC), UV absorbance (UVA), trihalomethane and haloacetic acid formation potential (THMFP, HAAFP), in comparison with the SIX or coagulation process alone. Further experiments showed that in addition to greater overall DOC removal, the processes also reduced the concentration of brominated DBPs and selectively removed organic compounds with high DBPFP. The SIX/ILCA/CMF process resulted in additional removals of DOC, UVA, THMFP, HAAFP and brominated DBPs of 50, 62, 62, 62% and 47% respectively compared with conventional treatment

Careful clip preparation will increase profit

The current wool market has forced wool growers into producing the maximum number of kilograms of quality wool for the least cost. Preparation of the clip is now much more important to maximise possible net returns. Careful clip preparation will ensure that growers receive the maximum overall average price for each kilogram of wool in the clip

Image guidance during breast radiotherapy: A phantom dosimetry and radiation-induced second cancer risk study

Imaging procedures utilised for patient position verification during breast radiotherapy can add a considerable dose to organs surrounding the target volume on top of therapeutic scatter dose. This study investigated the dose from a breast kilovoltage cone-beam CT (kV-CBCT), a breast megavoltage fan-beam CT (MV-FBCT), and a TomoDirectTM breast treatment. Thermoluminescent dosimeters placed within a female anthropomorphic phantom were utilised to measure the dose to various organs and tissues. The contralateral breast, lungs and heart received 0.40 cGy, 0.45 cGy and 0.40 cGy from the kV-CBCT and 1.74 cGy, 1.39 cGy and 1.73 cGy from the MV-FBCT. In comparison to treatment alone, daily imaging would increase the contralateral breast, contralateral lung and heart dose by a relative 12%, 24% and 13% for the kV-CBCT, and 52%, 101% and 58% for the MV-FBCT. The impact of the imaging dose relative to the treatment dose was assessed with linear and linear-quadratic radiation-induced secondary cancer risk models for the contralateral breast. The additional imaging dose and risk estimates presented in this study should be taken into account when considering an image modality and frequency for patient position verification protocols in breast radiotherapy

Quantifying Isoniazid Levels in Small Hair Samples: A Novel Method for Assessing Adherence during the Treatment of Latent and Active Tuberculosis.

BackgroundTuberculosis (TB) is the leading cause of death from an infectious pathogen worldwide and the most prevalent opportunistic infection in people living with HIV. Isoniazid preventive therapy (IPT) reduces the incidence of active TB and reduces morbidity and mortality in HIV-infected patients independently of antiretroviral therapy. However, treatment of latent or active TB is lengthy and inter-patient variability in pharmacokinetics and adherence common. Current methods of assessing adherence to TB treatment using drug levels in plasma or urine assess short-term exposure and pose logistical challenges. Drug concentrations in hair assess long-term exposure and have demonstrated pharmacodynamic relevance in HIV.MethodsA large hair sample from a patient with active TB was obtained for assay development. Methods to pulverize hair and extract isoniazid were optimized and then the drug detected by liquid chromatography/ tandem mass spectrometry (LC/MS-MS). The method was validated for specificity, accuracy, precision, recovery, linearity and stability to establish the assay's suitability for therapeutic drug monitoring (TDM). Hair samples from patients on directly-observe isoniazid-based latent or active TB therapy from the San Francisco Department of Public Health TB clinic were then tested.ResultsOur LC/MS-MS-based assay detected isoniazid in quantities as low as 0.02ng/mg using 10-25 strands hair. Concentrations in spiked samples demonstrated linearity from 0.05-50ng/mg. Assay precision and accuracy for spiked quality-control samples were high, with an overall recovery rate of 79.5%. In 18 patients with latent or active TB on treatment, isoniazid was detected across a wide linear dynamic range.ConclusionsAn LC-MS/MS-based assay to quantify isoniazid levels in hair with performance characteristics suitable for TDM was developed and validated. Hair concentrations of isoniazid assess long-term exposure and may be useful for monitoring adherence to latent or active TB treatment in the setting of HIV

Structure Theorems for Idempotent Residuated Lattices

In this paper we study structural properties of residuated lattices that are idempotent as monoids. We provide descriptions of the totally ordered members of this class and obtain counting theorems for the number of finite algebras in various subclasses. We also establish the finite embeddability property for certain varieties generated by classes of residuated lattices that are conservative in the sense that monoid multiplication always yields one of its arguments. We then make use of a more symmetric version of Raftery’s characterization theorem for totally ordered commutative idempotent residuated lattices to prove that the variety generated by this class has the amalgamation property. Finally, we address an open problem in the literature by giving an example of a noncommutative variety of idempotent residuated lattices that has the amalgamation property