Analytical solutions for compartmental models of contaminant transport in enclosed spaces

Understanding the transport of hazardous airborne materials within buildings and other enclosed spaces is important for predicting and mitigating the impacts of deliberate terrorist releases of chemical and biological materials. Multizone models provide an approach to modelling the contamination levels in enclosed spaces but in certain cases they can be computationally expensive. Alternative methods are being explored at DSTL that involve the direct solution of the contaminant dynamics equation. The Study Group was asked to identify the limits to this alternative approach and to explore its extension

"Man" and his "Others"

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The Quality of the Student Experience of Higher Education: an Investigation in Hong Kong

This work begins by examining the issue of quality in higher education. No universally agreed definition seems to exist. It is argued that the concept of the quality of higher education can only be expressed in terms of each of the different purposes of a university. The concept of the quality of the teaching and learning dimension of a university's mission is considered. It is then further argued that the quality of this dimension must be connected, in part at least, to the student experience and to students' learning outcomes. Various literatures on quality and quality assurance, students' approaches to learning and student engagement are explored. In order to explore this relationship between quality, the student experience and learning outcomes some empirical research was conducted in Hong Kong to address the following research questions which emerged and were refined through the review of the literature: 'What is the student experience of higher education in Hong Kong like (ie what are its qualities)?' 'How does the student experience affect learning outcomes?' The fieldwork was conducted by means of an adapted version of the North American survey instrument the 'College Students' Experience Questionnaire'. The instrument was adapted using a progressive Focus Group technique. The questionnaire was then administered to a representative sample of (5600) full time undergraduate students in all of the universities in Hong Kong. The results describe the student experience in Hong Kong. By using multiple regression techniques an exploration is made of the association between certain forms of engagement in university activities and learning outcomes. The results of these analyses are reported and the implications discussed. Finally some policy recommendations are made

Using scenarios to test the appropriateness of pharmacist prescribing in asthma management

Objective: To explore the potential for community pharmacist prescribing in terms of usefulness, pharmacists' confidence, and appropriateness, in the context of asthma management. Methods: Twenty community pharmacists were recruited using convenience sampling from a group of trained practitioners who had already delivered asthma services. These pharmacists were asked to complete a scenariobased questionnaire (9 scenarios) modelled on information from real patients. Pharmacist interventions were independently reviewed and rated on their appropriateness according to the Respiratory Therapeutic Guidelines (TG) by three expert researchers. Results: In seven of nine scenarios (78%), the most common prescribing intervention made by pharmacists agreed with TG recommendations. Although the prescribing intervention was appropriate in the majority of cases, the execution of such interventions was not in line with guidelines (i.e. dosage or frequency) in the majority of scenarios. Due to this, only 47% (76/162) of the interventions overall were considered appropriate. However, pharmacists were deemed to be often following common clinical practice for asthma prescribing. Therefore 81% (132/162) of prescribing interventions were consistent with clinical practice, which is often not guideline driven, indicating a need for specific training in prescribing according to guidelines. Pharmacists reported that they were confident in making prescribing interventions and that this would be very useful in their management of the patients in the scenarios. Conclusion: Community pharmacists may be able to prescribe asthma medications appropriately to help achieve good outcomes for their patients. However, further training in the guidelines for prescribing are required if pharmacists are to support asthma management in this way

Isolation and characterization of microsatellite loci from two inbreeding bark beetle species (Coccotrypes)

We developed 14 microsatellite markers in Coccotrypes carpophagus and 14 in C. dactyliperda. These loci will be used for studying genetic structure and the level of inbreeding in populations in the Canary Islands and Madeira. As a result of long-term inbreeding, genetic variability is relatively low in these bark beetle species. We found one to five alleles per locus in 29 C. carpophagus and 41 C. dactyliperda from various localities. Eleven of the markers developed for C. carpophagus amplified in C. dactyliperda and seven of the markers developed for C. dactyliperda amplified in C. carpophagus

Dynamical instabilities of a resonator driven by a superconducting single-electron transistor

We investigate the dynamical instabilities of a resonator coupled to a superconducting single-electron transistor (SSET) tuned to the Josephson quasiparticle (JQP) resonance. Starting from the quantum master equation of the system, we use a standard semiclassical approximation to derive a closed set of mean field equations which describe the average dynamics of the resonator and SSET charge. Using amplitude and phase coordinates for the resonator and assuming that the amplitude changes much more slowly than the phase, we explore the instabilities which arise in the resonator dynamics as a function of coupling to the SSET, detuning from the JQP resonance and the resonator frequency. We find that the locations (in parameter space) and sizes of the limit cycle states predicted by the mean field equations agree well with numerical solutions of the full master equation for sufficiently weak SSET-resonator coupling. The mean field equations also give a good qualitative description of the set of dynamical transitions in the resonator state that occur as the coupling is progressively increased.Comment: 23 pages, 6 Figures, Accepted for NJ