Evaluating Student Opinion of Constructivist Learning Activities on Computing Undergraduate Degrees

This paper discusses the student-focused learning activities employed by a number of computing lecturers at the University of Worcester to encourage learning amongst 2nd and 3rd year undergraduates. These activities include on-line discussions, variations on group discussion and presentational activities, students undertaking and analysing computer simulations, and the completion of a structured series of programming activities. The paper introduces the background to these learning activities, documents them and then analyses the approach adopted by members of staff. This is followed by a review of the feedback from both students and academic staff. Finally, the paper comments on the awareness of the academics of the term ‘Constructive Alignment’

Behind and ahead: The Formally undocumented travels of Egon Schiele to Ireland 1905-1918

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CLARITY at the TREC 2011 microblog track

For the first year of the TREC Microblog Track the CLARITY group concentrated on a number of areas, investigating the underlying term weighting scheme for ranking tweets, incorporating query expansion to introduce new terms into the query, as well as introducing an element of temporal re-weighting based on the temporal distribution of assumed relevant microblogs

Maintaining the Identity of Dynamically Embodied Agents

Virtual agents are traditionally constrained in their embod- iment, as they are restricted to one form of body. We propose allowing them to change their embodiment in order to expand their capabili- ties. This presents users with a number of di±culties in maintaining the identity of the agents, but these can be overcome by using identity cues, certain features that remain constant across embodiment forms. This pa- per outlines an experiment that examines these identity cues, and shows that they can be used to help address this identity problem

Remote monitoring of landfill gases from solid waste landfill

Landfill gas is primarily made up from Methane (CH4) and Carbon Dioxide (CO2). Global methane emissions from landfill are estimated to be between 30 and 70 million tonnes each year. Methane makes landfill gas explosive when it is present in the 5-15% concentration range. Landfill directives state that licensed landfills in the UK and Ireland should never exceed a concentration of 1% for CH4 and 1.5% for CO2, at perimeter borehole wells[1]. However, the EPA has cited large noncompliance with suggested targets [2]. This is partly due to the single point nature of the CH4 and CO2 sampling, and also the low sampling frequency. This research group has developed a dual autonomous CH4 and CO2 sensor, and has successfully run extensive field trials over the last 2 years. Currently using the system, three live data streams are being populated logging methane and carbon dioxide values in real-time on three different landfill sites

Remote real-time monitoring of subsurface landfill gas migration

The cost of monitoring greenhouse gas emissions from landfill sites is of major concern for regulatory authorities. The current monitoring procedure is recognised as labour intensive, requiring agency inspectors to physically travel to perimeter borehole wells in rough terrain and manually measure gas concentration levels with expensive hand-held instrumentation. In this article we present a cost-effective and efficient system for remotely monitoring landfill subsurface migration of methane and carbon dioxide concentration levels. Based purely on an autonomous sensing architecture, the proposed sensing platform was capable of performing complex analytical measurements in situ and successfully communicating the data remotely to a cloud database. A web tool was developed to present the sensed data to relevant stakeholders. We report our experiences in deploying such an approach in the field over a period of approximately 16 months

Maternal supplementation with Bacillus altitudinis spores improves porcine offspring growth performance and carcass weight

The objective of this study was to evaluate the effect of feeding Bacillus altitudinis spores to sows and/or offspring on growth and health indicators. On day (D) 100 of gestation, 24 sows were selected and grouped as: control (CON), fed with a standard diet; and probiotic (PRO), fed the standard diet supplemented with B. altitudinis WIT588 spores from D100 of gestation until weaning. Offspring (n=144) from each of the two sow treatments were assigned to either a CON (no probiotic) or PRO (B. altitudinis-supplemented) treatment for 28 days post-weaning (pw), resulting in four treatment groups: 1) CON/CON, non-probiotic supplemented sow/non-probiotic supplemented piglet; 2) CON/PRO, non-probiotic supplemented sow/probiotic-supplemented piglet; 3) PRO/CON, probiotic-supplemented sow/non-probiotic supplemented piglet; 4) PRO/PRO, probiotic-supplemented sow/probiotic-supplemented piglet. Bacillus altitudinis WIT588 was detected in the faeces of probiotic supplemented sows and their piglets, and in the faeces and intestine of probiotic-supplemented piglets. Colostrum from PRO sows had higher total solids (P=0.02), protein (P=0.04), and true protein (P=0.05), and lower lactose (P<0.01) than colostrum from CON sows. Maternal treatment improved offspring feed conversion ratio at D0-14 pw (P<0.001) and increased offspring body weight at D105 and D127 pw (P=0.01), carcass weight (P=0.05) and kill-out percentage (P<0.01). It also increased small intestinal absorptive capacity and impacted the haematological profile of sows and progeny. Little impact of post-weaning treatment was observed on any of the parameters measured. Overall, the lifetime growth benefits in the offspring of B. altitudinis-supplemented sows offer considerable economic advantages for pig producers in search of alternatives to in-feed antibiotics/zinc oxide

α-Methyl-α-phenylsuccinimide ameliorates neurodegeneration in a C. elegans model of TDP-43 proteinopathy

The antiepileptic drug ethosuximide has recently been shown to be neuroprotective in various Caenorhabditis elegans and rodent neurodegeneration models. It is therefore a promising repurposing candidate for the treatment of multiple neurodegenerative diseases. However, high concentrations of the drug are required for its protective effects in animal models, which may impact on its translational potential and impede the identification of its molecular mechanism of action. Therefore, we set out to develop more potent neuroprotective lead compounds based on ethosuximide as a starting scaffold. Chemoinformatic approaches were used to identify compounds with structural similarity to ethosuximide and to prioritise these based on good predicated blood-brain barrier permeability and C. elegans bioaccumulation properties. Selected compounds were initially screened for anti-convulsant activity in a C. elegans pentylenetetrazol-induced seizure assay, as a rapid primary readout of bioactivity; and then assessed for neuroprotective properties in a C. elegans TDP-43 proteinopathy model based on pan-neuronal expression of human A315T mutant TDP-43. The most potent compound screened, α-methyl-α-phenylsuccinimide (MPS), ameliorated the locomotion defects and extended the shortened lifespan of TDP-43 mutant worms. MPS also directly protected against neurodegeneration by reducing the number of neuronal breaks and cell body losses in GFP-labelled GABAergic motor neurons. Importantly, optimal neuroprotection was exhibited by external application of 50 μM MPS, compared to 8 mM for ethosuximide. This greater potency of MPS was not due to bioaccumulation to higher internal levels within the worm, based on 1H-nuclear magnetic resonance analysis. Like ethosuximide, the activity of MPS was abolished by mutation of the evolutionarily conserved FOXO transcription factor, daf-16, suggesting that both compounds act via the same neuroprotective pathway(s). In conclusion, we have revealed a novel neuroprotective activity of MPS that is >100-fold more potent than ethosuximide. This increased potency will facilitate future biochemical studies to identify the direct molecular target(s) of both compounds, as we have shown here that they share a common downstream DAF-16-dependent mechanism of action. Furthermore, MPS is the active metabolite of another approved antiepileptic drug, methsuximide. Therefore, methsuximide may have repurposing potential for treatment of TDP-43 proteinopathies and possibly other human neurodegenerative diseases

The impact of donor and recipient common clinical and genetic variation on estimated glomerular filtration rate in a European renal transplant population

Genetic variation across the HLA is known to influence renal‐transplant outcome. However, the impact of genetic variation beyond the HLA is less clear. We tested the association of common genetic variation and clinical characteristics, from both the donor and recipient, with post‐transplant eGFR at different time‐points, out to 5‐years post‐transplantation. We conducted GWAS meta‐analyses across 10,844 donors and recipients from five European ancestry cohorts. We also analysed the impact of polygenic risk scores (PRS), calculated using genetic variants associated with non‐transplant eGFR, on post‐transplant eGFR. PRS calculated using the recipient genotype alone, as well as combined donor and recipient genotypes were significantly associated with eGFR at 1‐year post‐transplant. 32% of the variability in eGFR at 1‐year post‐transplant was explained by our model containing clinical covariates (including weights for death/graft‐failure), principal components and combined donor‐recipient PRS, with 0.3% contributed by the PRS. No individual genetic variant was significantly associated with eGFR post‐transplant in the GWAS. This is the first study to examine PRS, composed of variants that impact kidney function in the general population, in a post‐transplant context. Despite PRS being a significant predictor of eGFR post‐transplant, the effect size of common genetic factors is limited compared to clinical variables