HOW CAN A SYSTEM WITH NO PUBLIC EXAMS BE FAIR?

For 25 years, I have worked in a high school education system, where for the final 2 years of schooling, teachers at each school write their own programs of work and write their own assessment items. They then mark and report on this assessment. There are no final public statewide exams, and as an outcome students right throughout the State are ranked for University entry. What follows is an exploration into the procedures that are put in place to ensure that each and every student is treated fairly and equitably. I will discuss the various levels of moderation that take place between schools, the processes that aid in keeping a level playing field for all concerned

Pesticide effects on body temperature of torpid/hibernating rodents (Peromyscus leucopus and Spermophilus tridecemlineatus)

Environmental contaminants have been shown in the lab to alter thyroid hormone concentrations. Despite the role these hormones play in the physiological ecology of small mammals, no one has investigated the possible effects of thyroid-disrupting chemicals on mammalian thermal ecology and thermoregulatory ability. Because the energetic impact of such a disruption is likely to be most dramatic during times already energetically stressful, we investigated the effects of two common pesticides (atrazine and lindane) on the use of daily torpor in white-footed mice, and the use of hibernation in 13-lined ground squirrels. Fortunately, we found that these strategies for over-wintering success were not impaired

Cost-effectiveness of ranibizumab in treatment of diabetic macular oedema (DME) causing visual impairment : evidence from the RESTORE trial

Background/aims To evaluate the cost-effectiveness of ranibizumab as either monotherapy or combined with laser therapy, compared with laser monotherapy, in the treatment of diabetic macular oedema (DME) causing visual impairment from a UK healthcare payer perspective. Methods A Markov model simulated long-term outcomes and costs of treating DME in one eye (BCVA <= 5 letters) based on data from the RESTORE Phase III trial. Outcomes measured in quality-adjusted life-years (QALYs) were simulated for a 15-year time horizon based on 12-month follow-up from RESTORE and published long-term data. Costs included treatment, disease monitoring, visual impairment and blindness (at 2010 price levels). Results Ranibizumab monotherapy resulted in a 0.17 QALY gain at an incremental cost of 4191 pound relative to laser monotherapy, yielding an incremental cost-effectiveness ratio (ICER) of 24 pound 028. Probabilistic sensitivity analysis showed a 64% probability of being cost-effective at a threshold of 30 pound 000 per QALY. Combined ranibizumab and laser therapy resulted in a 0.13 QALY gain at an incremental cost of 4695 pound relative to laser monotherapy (ICER 36 pound 106; 42% probability of ICER <30 pound 000). Conclusions Based on RESTORE 1-year follow-up data, ranibizumab monotherapy appears to be cost-effective relative to laser monotherapy, the current standard of care. Cost-effectiveness of combination therapy is less certain. Ongoing studies will further inform on disease progression and the need for additional ranibizumab treatment

The evolution of a subharmonic mode in a vortex street

The development of a subharmonic three-dimensional instability mode in a vortex street is investigated both numerically and experimentally. The flow past a ring is considered as a test case, as a previous stability analysis has predicted that for a range of aspect ratios, the first-occurring instability of the vortex street is subharmonic. For the flow past a circular cylinder, the development of three-dimensional flow in the vortex street is known to lead to turbulent flow through the development of spatio-temporal chaos, whereas subharmonic instabilities have been shown to cause a route to chaos through the development of a period-doubling cascade. The three-dimensional vortex street in the flow past a ring is analysed to determine if a subharmonic instability can alter the route to turbulence for a vortex street. A linear stability analysis and non-axisymmetric computations are employed to compute the flow past a ring with an aspect ratio AR=5, and comparisons with experimental dye visualizations are included to verify the existence of a subharmonic mode in the wake. Computations at higher Reynolds numbers confirm that the subharmonic instability does not initiate a period-doubling cascade in the wake

A4_5 Ground Control to Major Steven

We investigated the resultant velocity that Steven from Steven Universe would be accelerated to due to an explosive decompression within a “Moon base”, and if his velocity would cause him to be ejected out into the solar system. Using fluid dynamics and the conservation of momentum, we found Steven's outward velocity to be 96% smaller than the escape velocity and hence would not escape the gravitational influence of the Moon