Self-directed disability support: building people’s capacity through peer support and action research

How are people with disability experiencing and managing the transition towards self directed support and preparing for the NDIS? In this project, small groups of people with disability around Australia met over 6 months to talk about their disability support. The peer support groups enabled action research about how they are deciding the practical details about support, such as how, when and by whom it is provided

Flight Testing an Iced Business Jet for Flight Simulation Model Validation

A flight test of a business jet aircraft with various ice accretions was performed to obtain data to validate flight simulation models developed through wind tunnel tests. Three types of ice accretions were tested: pre-activation roughness, runback shapes that form downstream of the thermal wing ice protection system, and a wing ice protection system failure shape. The high fidelity flight simulation models of this business jet aircraft were validated using a software tool called "Overdrive." Through comparisons of flight-extracted aerodynamic forces and moments to simulation-predicted forces and moments, the simulation models were successfully validated. Only minor adjustments in the simulation database were required to obtain adequate match, signifying the process used to develop the simulation models was successful. The simulation models were implemented in the NASA Ice Contamination Effects Flight Training Device (ICEFTD) to enable company pilots to evaluate flight characteristics of the simulation models. By and large, the pilots confirmed good similarities in the flight characteristics when compared to the real airplane. However, pilots noted pitch up tendencies at stall with the flaps extended that were not representative of the airplane and identified some differences in pilot forces. The elevator hinge moment model and implementation of the control forces on the ICEFTD were identified as a driver in the pitch ups and control force issues, and will be an area for future work

Ongoing Development of a Series Bosch Reactor System

Future manned missions to deep space or planetary surfaces will undoubtedly require highly robust, efficient, and regenerable life support systems that require minimal consumables. To meet this requirement, NASA continues to explore a Boschbased carbon dioxide reduction system to recover oxygen from CO2. In order to improve the equivalent system mass of Bosch systems, we seek to design and test a "Series Bosch" system in which two reactors in series are optimized for the two steps of the reaction, as well as to explore the use of in situ materials as carbon deposition catalysts. Here we report recent developments in this effort including assembly and initial testing of a Reverse WaterGas Shift reactor (RWGSr) and initial testing of two gas separation membranes. The RWGSr was sized to reduce CO2 produced by a crew of four to carbon monoxide as the first stage in a Series Bosch system. The gas separation membranes, necessary to recycle unreacted hydrogen and CO2, were similarly sized. Additionally, we report results of preliminary experiments designed to determine the catalytic properties of Martian and Lunar regolith simulant for the carbon deposition step

Objectively measured physical activity and fat mass in a large cohort of children

Background Previous studies have been unable to characterise the association between physical activity and obesity, possibly because most relied on inaccurate measures of physical activity and obesity. Methods and Findings We carried out a cross sectional analysis on 5,500 12-year-old children enrolled in the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children. Total physical activity and minutes of moderate and vigorous physical activity (MVPA) were measured using the Actigraph accelerometer. Fat mass and obesity (defined as the top decile of fat mass) were measured using the Lunar Prodigy dual x-ray emission absorptiometry scanner. We found strong negative associations between MVPA and fat mass that were unaltered after adjustment for total physical activity. We found a strong negative dose-response association between MVPA and obesity. The odds ratio for obesity in adjusted models between top and the bottom quintiles of minutes of MVPA was 0.03 (95% confidence interval [CI] 0.01-0.13, p-value for trend < 0.0001) in boys and 0.36 (95% CI 0.17-0.74, p-value for trend = 0.006) in girls. Conclusions We demonstrated a strong graded inverse association between physical activity and obesity that was stronger in boys. Our data suggest that higher intensity physical activity may be more important than total activity

Examination of the Potential of Structure-from-Motion Photogrammetry and Terrestrial Laser Scanning for Rapid Nondestructive Field Measurement of Grass Biomass

Above ground biomass (AGB) is a parameter commonly used for assessment of grassland systems. While destructive sampling of AGB is highly accurate, it is time consuming and often precludes repeat temporal sampling or sampling in sensitive ecosystems. Consequently, a number of nondestructive techniques that relate grass structural properties to AGB have been developed. This study investigated the application of two recent technologies, Terrestrial Laser Scanning (TLS) and Structurefrom- Motion (SfM), in the development of rapid nondestructive AGB estimation of grassland plots. TLS and SfM volume metrics generated using a rasterized surface differencing method were linearly related to destructively measured total AGB and grass AGB excluding all litter, and results were compared to the conventional disc pasture meter. The linear models were assessed using a leave-one-out cross validation scheme. The disc pasture meter was found to be the least reliable method in assessing total AGB (r2 = 0.32, RMSELOOCV = 269 g/m2). SfM (r2 = 0.74, RMSELOOCV = 169 g/m2) outperformed TLS (r2 = 0.56, RMSELOOCV = 219 g/m2), though a much larger slope in SfM regressions suggests an increased sensitivity to error. Litter removal decreased the effectiveness of AGB estimation for both TLS (r2 = 0.49) and SfM (r2 = 0.51) but increased the fit of disc pasture meter estimations (r2 = 0.42), highlighting the complex relationship between litter accumulation and AGB. TLS and SfM derived volumes were shown to be insensitive to cell dimensions when calculating volume provided cell dimensions were large enough to ensure no empty cells occurred. Using observed ground surfaces in volumetric calculations rather than an estimated ground plane increased r2 to 0.63 for TLS and 0.77 for SfM. Though the disc pasture meter was found to be the most rapid of the three methods, TLS and SfM both out performed it and have clearly demonstrated their potential utility for AGB estimation of grass systems. Their ability to systematically collect measurements over larger spatial extents than those investigated here could greatly outpace the disc pasture meter’s predictive capabilities and speed

Parliament should have had a meaningful vote on the EU trade deal. But it did not.

Luke Cooper and Sam Fowles write that contrary to received wisdom, Parliament does not have the power to overturn the UK-EU agreement. This means Parliament cannot bring about a ‘no deal’ by voting against the implementation bill

Efficacy of a blended learning mastery progression cycle on student achievement and attitude in high school science

This study was conducted to examine the effect of a Blended Learning Mastery Progression Cycle (BLMPC) on student achievement and attitude in a High School Physics context, specifically through the use of the Minds on Physics (MOP) (Minds on Physics, 2022) application for the formative assessment and corrective activity components of the Mastery Learning cycle. The sample (N = 199) consisted of mixed gender classes from Year 10 cohorts in a single Queensland high school. Classes were randomly assigned to the treatment or control condition. An experimental pretest–posttest approach was used to measure any changes in students’ understanding of the Newtonian Force concept, measured using the Force Concept Inventory (FCI) (Hestenes et al.,1995), and Attitudes toward Science, measured using the Test of Science Related Attitudes (TOSRA) (Fraser, 1982). All students were exposed to the same initial learning activities; the control group then continued through the course content in a linear manner followed by working through non-personalized revision material, whilst the treatment group completed the relevant MOP module at the end of each subtopic. Data were analyzed in terms of FCI and TOSRA mean pre- and post-unit scores, the distribution and standard deviation of scores, a t-test comparison of the pre- and post-unit scores, and the FCI normalized change and effect size. When comparing the control and treatment group FCI scores, the latter demonstrated significantly more improvement in the raw score, normalized gain and effect size, demonstrated a larger improvement in all dimensions of the Newtonian Force Concept, and showed greater stability in correct responses from the pre- to post-unit test. An analysis of TOSRA results showed there was no significant difference between the control and treatment groups. It was concluded that the use of the MOP platform in a BLMPC led to improvements in understanding of the Newtonian force. These findings indicate that the use of Blended Learning activities as correctives is an effective way of improving students’ understanding of the Newtonian Force Concept. REFERENCES Fraser, B. J. (1982). TOSRA Test of Science Related Attitudes handbook. Australian Council for Educational Research. Hestenes, D., Wells, M., Swackhamer, G., Halloun, I., Hake, R. R., & Mosca, E. (1995). Revised force concept inventory. The Physics Teacher. Retrieved from http://modeling.asu.edu/R&E/Research.html Minds On Physics (2021). Retrieved from https://www.physicsclassroom.com/Minds-on-Physics

Corporate Social Responsibility: A Study Of Progression To The Next Level

Corporate Social Responsibility was an initiative constructed many years before its popularity or implementation. The 2001 economic state, local, and world affairs brought this inspiration to the front of actionable items. The terrorist attacks of September 11, the collapse and scandals of Enron, WorldCom, and Tyco left thousands without their retirement. The bankruptcy of many ancillary businesses and similar corporations are excellent examples of imbalanced management. Other examples of poor silo-style management have proliferated through many organizations serving as the root cause for the adoption of socially responsible initiatives. Corporations over the past fifty years have made attempts at serving greater causes. However, these initiatives were simply a random string of projects, which were short in duration. Further they were sporadic in nature, small, and did not compliment other projects benefiting the community. Projects were based on volunteerism and little else. Some influence by a peer might inspire a reluctant person to participate once but rarely a second time. Albeit, corporations encouraged their employees to be active with these projects; corporate money was seldom used as it would inspire these causes to request additional funds. At that time, corporate sponsored social responsibility within society was the exception and not the rule. Today’s companies are measured by their initiatives of corporate social responsibility. Public companies are including environmental and social accountability in their Securities and Exchange Commission documents. Massive air time is being devoted to market social responsibility and a company’s compliance with a demanding public. Corporate social responsibility can now be measured as the extra mile

A Simple High Performance Liquid Chromatography Method for Determination of Rebamipide in Rat Urine

Rebamipide is a mucoprotective agent commonly used to prevent nonsteriodal anti-inflammatory drug-induced gastrointenstinal side effects [1]. Human plasma and urine analysis of rebamipide utilizing high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) have been reported [2]. Recently, we reported on the plasma levels of rebamipide in presense or absence of celecoxib or diclofenac in rats [3] using a modified HPLC method of detection developed by Jeoung et al. [4]. To tailor the method towards use in urinary rebamipide extraction and analysis, the following modifications were made:To compensate for high concentrations of rebamipide found in urine, a new rebamipide stock solution was prepared with a final concentration of 50,000 ng/mL.Rat urine calibration standards were obtained within the range of 50-1000 ng/mL and 1000-50,000 ng/mL.Plasma samples were replaced with urine samples

The Plasmodium falciparum rhoptry protein RhopH3 plays essential roles in host cell invasion and nutrient uptake.

Merozoites of the protozoan parasite responsible for the most virulent form of malaria, Plasmodium falciparum, invade erythrocytes. Invasion involves discharge of rhoptries, specialized secretory organelles. Once intracellular, parasites induce increased nutrient uptake by generating new permeability pathways (NPP) including a Plasmodium surface anion channel (PSAC). RhopH1/Clag3, one member of the three-protein RhopH complex, is important for PSAC/NPP activity. However, the roles of the other members of the RhopH complex in PSAC/NPP establishment are unknown and it is unclear whether any of the RhopH proteins play a role in invasion. Here we demonstrate that RhopH3, the smallest component of the complex, is essential for parasite survival. Conditional truncation of RhopH3 substantially reduces invasive capacity. Those mutant parasites that do invade are defective in nutrient import and die. Our results identify a dual role for RhopH3 that links erythrocyte invasion to formation of the PSAC/NPP essential for parasite survival within host erythrocytes