A Paradigm for Promoting Visual Synthesis through Freehand Sketching

Research (Fish, 2004) suggests that everybody should be taught how to freehand sketch and utilise it as a tool for supporting the visualising instinct. A fundamental shift in philosophy of the technology education system in Ireland towards design driven subjects brought with it a need to develop practising teacher’s technological capabilities. This paper is concerned with the exploration and development of freehand sketching as a support tool for visual synthesis and creative discovery during design driven activities. The fundamental hypothesis tested was whether a set of empirically derived activities ranging from observation to imagination, improved the ability of students with novice sketching ability to develop, manipulate and synthesise graphical libraries through the medium of freehand sketching. 124 students of an Initial Technology Teacher Education programme participated in a journey through the activities as part of a third year undergraduate Design and Communication Graphics module. The study was carried out over a four week period, it involved eight hours of classroom based instruction and the sketching ability of all students was measured pre and post-instruction. Results from the study reveal a statistically significant increase in student’s ability to freehand sketch with notable improvement in their fluency and ability to synthesise concepts and geometries. Overall, the novel and original activities have a notable effect on student’s ability to form, manipulate and synthesise visual information and communicate this through freehand sketching. The model presented has potential to be successively implemented by other teachers in a variety of educational settings and student populations

Integrating Assessment and Design Activity in Engineering Education: A Proposed Synthesis of Adaptive Comparative Judgement and the CDIO Framework

One of the leading frameworks in engineering education specifically associated with design based competencies is the CDIO framework. This has been incorporated internationally into many institutions offering engineering education courses. Characterized by four unique stages, the CDIO framework affords an ideal scenario to incorporate a continuous assessment model. This paper presents a proposed synthesis between CDIO and Adaptive Comparative Judgement (ACJ). In particular, the opportunity to provide feedback through the ACJ system is theorized to have potentially positive educational effects. As part of a larger study, this approach is in the process of being refined prior to implementation as a pilot study for feasibility which will ultimately be succeeded by large-scale implementation to determine any potentially positive effect sizes

The Understated Value of Freehand Sketching in Technology Education

As education plays such a vital role in economic competitiveness, it is no surprise that the focus for many governments is to invest in educational initiatives. Innovation in pedagogy, refined curriculum and much research into the science of teaching and learning is hoped to promote a knowledge economy. In recent years the Irish education systems have been particularly proactive in the area of technology education. Four new subjects were drafted at Senior Cycle level, all with a common philosophy grounded in design and technology. This clear shift in focus from the traditional craft based subjects to a more creative design-based suite of subjects has brought with it an unprecedented need for continuous professional development.   This paper focuses on the shift in skill set from teaching in a predefined drawing mode to that of a conceptual mode that fosters creativity. As technical sketching is a fundamental building block of all design-based activities, it formed the core of this study. Focusing on the learning process under the descriptors of presage, process and product enabled a linear exploration of an otherwise complex dynamic learning experience.   Although the perception of innate ability restricts the level of application of many teachers in terms of sketching, it proved a valuable attribute as a comparative criterion when selecting contributors. The study included participants that subjectively claimed an average standard of sketching capabilities and a polar group with a prerequisite mindset governed by the phrase “I cannot sketch”. All participants completed a purpose designed five-week course of study. The course included much psychomotor skill development; however the significant value of the course content centered on the cognitive development that progressed from knowledge acquisition to synthesis.   The paper concludes by highlighting the value of “Process” based education over the traditional “Product” approach and presents empirical evidence that illustrate enhanced cognitive capabilities of the participants. The use of pre and post intervention data and qualitative commentary validates the suggestion that there is a greater cognitive value to sketching than a completed composition

Precision measurements of A1N in the deep inelastic regime

We have performed precision measurements of the double-spin virtual-photon asymmetry A1A1 on the neutron in the deep inelastic scattering regime, using an open-geometry, large-acceptance spectrometer and a longitudinally and transversely polarized 3He target. Our data cover a wide kinematic range 0.277≤x≤0.5480.277≤x≤0.548 at an average Q2Q2 value of 3.078 (GeV/c)2, doubling the available high-precision neutron data in this x range. We have combined our results with world data on proton targets to make a leading-order extraction of the ratio of polarized-to-unpolarized parton distribution functions for up quarks and for down quarks in the same kinematic range. Our data are consistent with a previous observation of anA1n zero crossing near x=0.5x=0.5. We find no evidence of a transition to a positive slope in(Δd+Δd¯)/(d+d¯) up to x=0.548x=0.548

Atrasentan and renal events in patients with type 2 diabetes and chronic kidney disease (SONAR): a double-blind, randomised, placebo-controlled trial

Background: Short-term treatment for people with type 2 diabetes using a low dose of the selective endothelin A receptor antagonist atrasentan reduces albuminuria without causing significant sodium retention. We report the long-term effects of treatment with atrasentan on major renal outcomes. Methods: We did this double-blind, randomised, placebo-controlled trial at 689 sites in 41 countries. We enrolled adults aged 18–85 years with type 2 diabetes, estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR)25–75 mL/min per 1·73 m 2 of body surface area, and a urine albumin-to-creatinine ratio (UACR)of 300–5000 mg/g who had received maximum labelled or tolerated renin–angiotensin system inhibition for at least 4 weeks. Participants were given atrasentan 0·75 mg orally daily during an enrichment period before random group assignment. Those with a UACR decrease of at least 30% with no substantial fluid retention during the enrichment period (responders)were included in the double-blind treatment period. Responders were randomly assigned to receive either atrasentan 0·75 mg orally daily or placebo. All patients and investigators were masked to treatment assignment. The primary endpoint was a composite of doubling of serum creatinine (sustained for ≥30 days)or end-stage kidney disease (eGFR <15 mL/min per 1·73 m 2 sustained for ≥90 days, chronic dialysis for ≥90 days, kidney transplantation, or death from kidney failure)in the intention-to-treat population of all responders. Safety was assessed in all patients who received at least one dose of their assigned study treatment. The study is registered with ClinicalTrials.gov, number NCT01858532. Findings: Between May 17, 2013, and July 13, 2017, 11 087 patients were screened; 5117 entered the enrichment period, and 4711 completed the enrichment period. Of these, 2648 patients were responders and were randomly assigned to the atrasentan group (n=1325)or placebo group (n=1323). Median follow-up was 2·2 years (IQR 1·4–2·9). 79 (6·0%)of 1325 patients in the atrasentan group and 105 (7·9%)of 1323 in the placebo group had a primary composite renal endpoint event (hazard ratio [HR]0·65 [95% CI 0·49–0·88]; p=0·0047). Fluid retention and anaemia adverse events, which have been previously attributed to endothelin receptor antagonists, were more frequent in the atrasentan group than in the placebo group. Hospital admission for heart failure occurred in 47 (3·5%)of 1325 patients in the atrasentan group and 34 (2·6%)of 1323 patients in the placebo group (HR 1·33 [95% CI 0·85–2·07]; p=0·208). 58 (4·4%)patients in the atrasentan group and 52 (3·9%)in the placebo group died (HR 1·09 [95% CI 0·75–1·59]; p=0·65). Interpretation: Atrasentan reduced the risk of renal events in patients with diabetes and chronic kidney disease who were selected to optimise efficacy and safety. These data support a potential role for selective endothelin receptor antagonists in protecting renal function in patients with type 2 diabetes at high risk of developing end-stage kidney disease. Funding: AbbVie

Guidelines for the use and interpretation of assays for monitoring autophagy (3rd edition)

In 2008 we published the first set of guidelines for standardizing research in autophagy. Since then, research on this topic has continued to accelerate, and many new scientists have entered the field. Our knowledge base and relevant new technologies have also been expanding. Accordingly, it is important to update these guidelines for monitoring autophagy in different organisms. Various reviews have described the range of assays that have been used for this purpose. Nevertheless, there continues to be confusion regarding acceptable methods to measure autophagy, especially in multicellular eukaryotes. For example, a key point that needs to be emphasized is that there is a difference between measurements that monitor the numbers or volume of autophagic elements (e.g., autophagosomes or autolysosomes) at any stage of the autophagic process versus those that measure fl ux through the autophagy pathway (i.e., the complete process including the amount and rate of cargo sequestered and degraded). In particular, a block in macroautophagy that results in autophagosome accumulation must be differentiated from stimuli that increase autophagic activity, defi ned as increased autophagy induction coupled with increased delivery to, and degradation within, lysosomes (inmost higher eukaryotes and some protists such as Dictyostelium ) or the vacuole (in plants and fungi). In other words, it is especially important that investigators new to the fi eld understand that the appearance of more autophagosomes does not necessarily equate with more autophagy. In fact, in many cases, autophagosomes accumulate because of a block in trafficking to lysosomes without a concomitant change in autophagosome biogenesis, whereas an increase in autolysosomes may reflect a reduction in degradative activity. It is worth emphasizing here that lysosomal digestion is a stage of autophagy and evaluating its competence is a crucial part of the evaluation of autophagic flux, or complete autophagy. Here, we present a set of guidelines for the selection and interpretation of methods for use by investigators who aim to examine macroautophagy and related processes, as well as for reviewers who need to provide realistic and reasonable critiques of papers that are focused on these processes. These guidelines are not meant to be a formulaic set of rules, because the appropriate assays depend in part on the question being asked and the system being used. In addition, we emphasize that no individual assay is guaranteed to be the most appropriate one in every situation, and we strongly recommend the use of multiple assays to monitor autophagy. Along these lines, because of the potential for pleiotropic effects due to blocking autophagy through genetic manipulation it is imperative to delete or knock down more than one autophagy-related gene. In addition, some individual Atg proteins, or groups of proteins, are involved in other cellular pathways so not all Atg proteins can be used as a specific marker for an autophagic process. In these guidelines, we consider these various methods of assessing autophagy and what information can, or cannot, be obtained from them. Finally, by discussing the merits and limits of particular autophagy assays, we hope to encourage technical innovation in the field

Do Ideal Standards Guide Hypothetical Internet-Dating Choices?

The study of human mate preferences has flourished over recent years, in large part thanks to the impact of evolutionary considerations. However, this work has been criticised for overly relying on self-report data (Cooper & Sheldon, 2002). A recent study by Eastwick and Finkel (2008) sought to address this issue by investigating actual mate selection behaviour in a speed-dating setting, but they found, surprisingly, that although participants’ reported mate preferences replicated previous research, participants’ actual choices did not. In this thesis I describe two studies that aimed to partially replicate and explain these findings by asking participants to imagine themselves in a hypothetical internet dating scenario. In Study 1 (N = 104), instructions were designed to manipulate both the consequence of obtaining a match with a target and the control participants had over whether they obtained a match. Contrary to my hypotheses, neither of these manipulations influenced hypothetical mate choices. However, as predicted, correlational indices of preference for attractive targets were related in a curvilinear fashion to number of targets picked, suggesting that such indices may suffer from restriction of range problems. Moreover, across experimental cells participants’ choices were broadly consistent with evolutionary considerations, and sex differences in preference for attractive targets were mediated by participants’ interest in short-term relationships. These latter two findings were replicated in Study 2 (N = 71) using a forced choice paradigm along with alternate measures of preferred target. These two studies suggest that individuals make mate choices that are predictably different across sex and held ideal standards. The results were also broadly consistent with evolutionary theory