Teaching mathematics for search using a tutorial style of delivery

Understanding of mathematics is needed to underpin the process of search, either explicitly with Exact Match (Boolean logic, adjacency) or implicitly with Best match natural language search. In this paper we outline some pedagogical challenges in teaching mathematics for information retrieval (IR) to postgraduate information science students. The aim is to take these challenges either found by experience or in the literature, to identify both theoretical and practical ideas in order to improve the delivery of the material and positively affect the learning of the target audience by using a tutorial style of teaching. Results show that there is evidence to support the notion that a more pro-active style of teaching using tutorials yield benefits both in terms of assessment results and student satisfaction

Effects of air pollution and the introduction of the London Low Emission Zone on the prevalence of respiratory and allergic symptoms in schoolchildren in East London: a sequential cross-sectional study

The adverse effects of traffic-related air pollution on children’s respiratory health have been widely reported, but few studies have evaluated the impact of traffic-control policies designed to reduce urban air pollution. We assessed associations between traffic-related air pollutants and respiratory/allergic symptoms amongst 8–9 year-old schoolchildren living within the London Low Emission Zone (LEZ). Information on respiratory/allergic symptoms was obtained using a parent-completed questionnaire and linked to modelled annual air pollutant concentrations based on the residential address of each child, using a multivariable mixed effects logistic regression analysis. Exposure to traffic-related air pollutants was associated with current rhinitis: NOx (OR 1.01, 95% CI 1.00–1.02), NO2 (1.03, 1.00–1.06), PM10 (1.16, 1.04–1.28) and PM2.5 (1.38, 1.08–1.78), all per μg/m3 of pollutant, but not with other respiratory/allergic symptoms. The LEZ did not reduce ambient air pollution levels, or affect the prevalence of respiratory/allergic symptoms over the period studied. These data confirm the previous association between traffic-related air pollutant exposures and symptoms of current rhinitis. Importantly, the London LEZ has not significantly improved air quality within the city, or the respiratory health of the resident population in its first three years of operation. This highlights the need for more robust measures to reduce traffic emissions

Childhood exposure to ambient air pollution and predicting individual risk of depression onset in UK adolescents

Knowledge about early risk factors for major depressive disorder (MDD) is critical to identify those who are at high risk. A multivariable model to predict adolescents’ individual risk of future MDD has recently been developed however its performance in a UK sample was far from perfect. Given the potential role of air pollution in the aetiology of depression, we investigate whether including childhood exposure to air pollution as an additional predictor in the risk prediction model improves the identification of UK adolescents who are at greatest risk for developing MDD. We used data from the Environmental Risk (E-Risk) Longitudinal Twin Study, a nationally representative UK birth cohort of 2,232 children followed to age 18 with 93% retention. Annual exposure to four pollutants – nitrogen dioxide (NO(2)), nitrogen oxides (NO(X)), particulate matter <2.5μm (PM(2.5)) and <10μm (PM(10)) – were estimated at address-level when children were aged 10. MDD was assessed via interviews at age 18. The risk of developing MDD was elevated most for participants with the highest (top quartile) level of annual exposure to NO(X) (adjusted OR=1.43, 95% CI=0.96-2.13) and PM(2.5) (adjusted OR=1.35, 95% CI=0.95-1.92). The separate inclusion of these ambient pollution estimates into the risk prediction model improved model specificity but reduced model sensitivity – resulting in minimal net improvement in model performance. Findings indicate a potential role for childhood ambient air pollution exposure in the development of adolescent MDD but suggest that inclusion of risk factors other than this may be important for improving the performance of the risk prediction model

Author Correction: A consensus-based transparency checklist.

An amendment to this paper has been published and can be accessed via a link at the top of the paper

New NOx and NO2 vehicle emission curves, and their implications for emissions inventories and air pollution modelling

Emissions of NOx and primary NO2 from road transport sources are highly influential in NO2 exposure at both local and regional scales; quantifying these accurately is therefore an important but challenging component of emissions inventory and air pollution model development. Results are presented from an urban air pollution model, after creation of new speed-emissions curves for NOx through the combination of available vehicle drive cycles and nearly 500,000 UK-based remote sensing measurements of exhaust emissions. Vehicle power-based relationships are applied to 1 Hz drive cycle datasets, with random sampling of the outputs allowing generation of the new curves. These demonstrate significantly higher emissions than those predicted by existing curves for most Euro VI HGVs, and among successive petrol and diesel passenger cars; this may be partly explained by relatively low UK ambient temperatures, as well as an underestimation of the level of tampering with HGV SCR systems. Implementation of the curves in a detailed emissions inventory for London, UK in 2019 leads to substantially improved air pollution model performance for NOx/NO2; normalised mean bias reduces in magnitude, changing from −0.18 to +0.01 for NOx and −0.12 to +0.01 for NO2. The curves developed are widely applicable, and the novel approach outlined has the potential to improve source apportionment and future model predictions under differing policy scenarios, produce better exposure estimates for health-related studies and revise NOx emissions budgets for compliance with the NEC Directive, all of which are important for the development of mitigation policies

β-Hydroxybutyrate Oxidation in Exercise Is Impaired by Low-Carbohydrate and High-Fat Availability.

Purpose: In this study, we determined ketone oxidation rates in athletes under metabolic conditions of high and low carbohydrate (CHO) and fat availability. Methods: Six healthy male athletes completed 1 h of bicycle ergometer exercise at 75% maximal power (WMax) on three occasions. Prior to exercise, participants consumed 573 mg·kg bw-1 of a ketone ester (KE) containing a 13C label. To manipulate CHO availability, athletes undertook glycogen depleting exercise followed by isocaloric high-CHO or very-low-CHO diets. To manipulate fat availability, participants were given a continuous infusion of lipid during two visits. Using stable isotope methodology, β-hydroxybutyrate (βHB) oxidation rates were therefore investigated under the following metabolic conditions: (i) high CHO + normal fat (KE+CHO); (ii) high CHO + high fat KE+CHO+FAT); and (iii) low CHO + high fat (KE+FAT). Results: Pre-exercise intramuscular glycogen (IMGLY) was approximately halved in the KE+FAT vs. KE+CHO and KE+CHO+FAT conditions (both p < 0.05). Blood free fatty acids (FFA) and intramuscular long-chain acylcarnitines were significantly greater in the KE+FAT vs. other conditions and in the KE+CHO+FAT vs. KE+CHO conditions before exercise. Following ingestion of the 13C labeled KE, blood βHB levels increased to ≈4.5 mM before exercise in all conditions. βHB oxidation was modestly greater in the KE+CHO vs. KE+FAT conditions (mean diff. = 0.09 g·min-1, p = 0.03; d = 0.3), tended to be greater in the KE+CHO+FAT vs. KE+FAT conditions (mean diff. = 0.07 g·min-1; p = 0.1; d = 0.3) and were the same in the KE+CHO vs. KE+CHO+FAT conditions (p < 0.05; d < 0.1). A moderate positive correlation between pre-exercise IMGLY and βHB oxidation rates during exercise was present (p = 0.04; r = 0.5). Post-exercise intramuscular βHB abundance was markedly elevated in the KE+FAT vs. KE+CHO and KE+CHO+FAT conditions (both, p < 0.001; d = 2.3). Conclusion: βHB oxidation rates during exercise are modestly impaired by low CHO availability, independent of circulating βHB levels

A consensus-based transparency checklist

We present a consensus-based checklist to improve and document the transparency of research reports in social and behavioural research. An accompanying online application allows users to complete the form and generate a report that they can submit with their manuscript or post to a public repository

Molecular modelling of self assembled peptide nanostructures

EThOS - Electronic Theses Online ServiceGBUnited Kingdo