CAL and FE: A Welsh perspective

The core of this paper is the result of an investigation into the use of computer‐aided learning (CAL) in further education (FE) colleges in Wales: All institutions surveyed used CAL to some extent in teaching or learning, and academic staff were in some way involved in producing CAL materials in almost all. However, student numbers were found not to be a good indicator of the degree to which CAL is used Furthermore, only two‐thirds of colleges approached claimed to have received any external funding for CAL and distance learning involved only a small proportion of FE students. Nevertheless, the general conclusion drawn is that all FE colleges in Wales use ICTs (information and communication technologies) extensively, although there are significant differences in the equipment/student ratios, and there appears to be little strategic college‐wide planning concerning such developments

Training Youth for Christian Youth Leadership

In this thesis an attempt is made to present the theories of leadership training and the methods available for the training of youth as youth leaders in the church. Therefore, the materials are directed towards the youth, both boys and girls, between the ages sixteen and twenty-four who have been confirmed in The Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod

Paradoxical Magnetic Cooling in a Structural Transition Model

In contrast to the experimentally widely used isentropic demagnetization process for cooling to ultra-low temperatures we examine a particular classical model system that does not cool, but rather heats up with isentropic demagnetization. This system consists of several magnetite particles in a colloidal suspension, and shows the uncommon behavior of disordering structurally while ordering magnetically in an increasing magnetic field. For a six-particle system, we report an uncommon structural transition from a ring to a chain as a function of magnetic field and temperature.Comment: 3 pages, 2 figures. For recent information on physics of small systems see http://www.smallsystems.d

A tale of two worlds: A comparative study of language ecologies in Asia and the Americas

Language use patterns of individual speech communities are largely conditioned by the different language ecologies in which they are immersed. We believe this ecological stance helps explain why minority languages of Asia are more likely to be sustainable than those in the Americas. We have identified fourteen traits which characterize ecologies in general, describing how they play out differently in the Americas versus Asia. Each trait is considered to be on a continuum, with opposing values that measure whether conditions are more or less favorable to language maintenance. On one side of the continuum, we discuss the values in the Americas, and explain how these are more favorable to language shift. On the other side of the scale, we talk about the values in Asia, and explain how these are more conducive to language maintenance. To show the application of these traits, the paper also includes two in-depth case studies as prototypical examples from each area, one from the Americas and one from Asia. We conclude with some comments about how these traits can be useful for those engaged in language development work.National Foreign Language Resource Cente

Non-destructive Investigation of “The Violinist” a Lead Sculpture by Pablo Gargallo, Using the Neutron Imaging Facility NEUTRA in the Paul Scherrer Institute

AbstractThe Violinist (1920), the only sculpture made by Gargallo using lead sheet and wood, is being corroded by carbonation, most probably due to the organic vapours released by the wood inside, a material not chemically compatible with lead. Hydrogen plasma has been tested and proved to be an effective treatment meaning that the sculpture has to be dismantled in order to give the plasma gas access to the lead carbonate crusts on the inner surface of the lead sheet. Prior to dismantling, a complete exploration and diagnosis of this lead sculpture has been carried out through neutron imaging at the Paul Scherrer Institute. This non-destructive technique has produced different sets of images including radiography, tomography and 3D reconstruction. Despite the presence of a core made of an organic material such as wood, the digital processing of the images and their in depth visual analysis have yielded new three-dimensional information of inaccessible details of the sculpture, allowing us to assess its present state of conservation and the manufacturing technique and materials used by the artist. The results presented in this article highlight how information from neutron imaging can be of great value when it comes to set the strategies for future conservation treatmen

Cholinergic Stimulation of Inositol Phosphate Formation in Bovine Adrenal Chromaffin Cells: Distinct Nicotinic and Muscarinic Mechanisms

The ability of cholinergic agonists to activate phospholipase C in bovine adrenal chromaffin cells was examined by assaying the production of inositol phosphates in cells prelabeled with [ 3 H]inositol. We found that both nicotinic and muscarinic agonists increased the accumulation of [ 3 H]inositol phosphates (mainly inositol monophos-phate) and that the effects mediated by the two types of receptors were independent of each other. The production of inositol phosphates by nicotinic stimulation required extracellular Ca 2+ and was maximal at 0.2 m M Ca 2+ . Increasing extracellular Ca 2+ from 0.22 to 2.2 m M increased the sensitivity of inositol phosphates formation to stimulation by submaximal concentrations of 1,1-dimethyl-4-phenyl-piperazinium iodide (DMPP) but did not enhance the response to muscarine. Elevated K + also stimulated Ca 2+ -dependent [ 3 H]inositol phosphate production, presumably by a non-receptor-mediated mechanism. The Ca 2+ channel antagonists D600 and nifedipine inhibited the effects of DMPP and elevated K + to a greater extent than that of muscarine. Ca 2+ (0.3–10 Μ M ) directly stimulated the release of inositol phosphates from digitonin-permeabilized cells that had been prelabeled with [ 3 H]inositol. Thus, cholinergic stimulation of bovine adrenal chromaffin cells results in the activation of phospholipase C by distinct muscarinic and nicotinic mechanisms. Nicotinic receptor stimulation and elevated K + probably increased the accumulation of inositol phosphates through Ca 2+ influx and a rise in cytosolic Ca 2+ . Because Ba 2+ caused catechol-amine secretion but did not enhance the formation of inositol phosphates, phospholipase C activation is not required for exocytosis. However, diglyceride and wyo -inositol 1,4,5-trisphosphate produced during cholinergic stimulation of chromaffin cells may modulate secretion and other cellular processes by activating protein kinase C and/or releasing Ca 2+ from intracellular stores.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/65738/1/j.1471-4159.1987.tb01037.x.pd

Neutron attenuation coefficients for non-invasive quantification of wood properties

Attenuation coefficients and mass attenuation coefficients of wood were determined theoretically and experimentally for thermal and cold neutrons. Experiments were carried out at the neutron imaging facilities at the Paul Scherrer Institute, Villigen (CH). For the calculation of theoretical attenuation coefficients, only the three main elemental components (carbon, oxygen and hydrogen) were taken into consideration. While hydrogen accounts only for 6% (by wt) of wood, over 90% of the attenuation can be attributed to this element. Nitrogen and other trace elements were estimated to have a negligible impact on the theoretical attenuation coefficient. For the experimental determination of the attenuation coefficients, samples from different European and tropical wood species were tested in order to examine the influence of density and extractives content. Experimental results show a very strong linear correlation between attenuation coefficient and wood density irrespective of the tested species and extractives content that play only a minor role. As neutrons are very susceptible to scattering, it is necessary to apply a scattering correction if a quantitative evaluation is intende