A decade of monitoring and management of freshwater algae, in particular Cyanobacteria, in England and Wales

Although the toxicity of cyanobacteria has been known for many years, cyanobacteria-related problems in the UK were generally limited in frequency. However, this all changed and became of national concern following the exceptional environmental conditions in the autumn of 1989, when widespread cyanobacterial blooms and scums developed in fresh waters. This paper summarises the Environment Agency's monitoring programme for freshwater algae since 1991 and describes the actions the Environment Agency has taken as a result of the monitoring data

Replacement of dichloromethane within chromatographic purification : a guide to alternative solvents

Replacement of dichloromethane as the bulk medium within chromatographic purification has been evaluated with a broad range of molecules containing functionality common within Medicinal Chemistry programmes. Analysis of the data set has generated a set of general guidelines to assist in the selection of alternative solvents for CH2Cl2 as the bulk media in these ubiquitously employed processes

Developing early learners' creativity and collaboration using iPads

Continuing developments in technology and consequent societal changes have been accompanied by calls for education to emphasise 21st century competencies such as critical thinking, communication, collaboration, and creativity. These competencies are reflected in the general capabilities of the Australian Curriculum and are to be developed across all learning areas. The study from which this paper is drawn investigated how teachers might use iPads to support development of creativity and collaboration in an early primary classroom. The study used primarily observational methods to describe the pedagogical practices of a teacher working in a shared teaching arrangement with 25 Year 2 students and access to 6 iPads. The focus was on discovering and describing effective approaches to enhancing creativity and collaboration in young learners. Results suggest that learning activities using iPads can be successful in separately developing creativity and collaboration among early learners but that learners were less likely to manifest both creativity and collaboration in the same activity. Implications of the findings are discussed

Developing early learners' creativity and collaboration using iPads

Continuing developments in technology and consequent societal changes have been accompanied by calls for education to emphasise 21st century competencies such as critical thinking, communication, collaboration, and creativity. These competencies are reflected in the general capabilities of the Australian Curriculum and are to be developed across all learning areas. The study from which this paper is drawn investigated how teachers might use iPads to support development of creativity and collaboration in an early primary classroom. The study used primarily observational methods to describe the pedagogical practices of a teacher working in a shared teaching arrangement with 25 Year 2 students and access to 6 iPads. The focus was on discovering and describing effective approaches to enhancing creativity and collaboration in young learners. Results suggest that learning activities using iPads can be successful in separately developing creativity and collaboration among early learners but that learners were less likely to manifest both creativity and collaboration in the same activity. Implications of the findings are discussed

The moral profession of teaching: a case study investigating trainee teachers' public good capability formation and functioning

The dominance of the discourses of globalisation and the neoliberal ideology of the free market have led to teachers being considered as central to ensuring the global competitiveness of a nation’s education service and of its citizens. The neoliberal policy reforms of New Labour (1997-2010) and the Coalition governments of 2010- 2015 were continued by the Conservative governments from 2015 through to the present time in 2022. It is in this political context that an ongoing teacher recruitment and retention problem exists, and I have argued that these pervading neoliberal policies have contributed significantly to these issues. The impact of a globalised and neoliberal policy direction has seen Initial Teacher Training (ITT) in England being overtaken by a more instrumental, action-oriented training approach, which I challenge, arguing that teaching is a moral profession which requires teachers to be educated as public good professionals. National and international teacher education literature recognises the moral nature of teaching, and the moral role of teachers yet provides very little on how these matters are dealt with within ITT programmes. To address this gap, I designed a case study that focussed on the public good professional capability expansion of six Teach First trainee teachers undergoing their ITT year within one Teach First partnership in the North of England. It has been argued that each of the professions gets its core purpose and value from the contribution it makes to human flourishing and a good society. Accepting that a conception of the good life includes happiness and wellbeing, it can be further argued that such a life requires certain human capabilities (Sen, 1985, Nussbaum, 2000). Capabilities are conceptualised as a person's real opportunities to do and be what they have reason to value, and what he or she is able to be or do (functioning) can determine the value of their given life. Appropriately then, the theoretical framework used to interrogate the data incorporated the capability approach (CA) to human development (Sen, 1985, Nussbaum, 2000) and in particular the Public-Good Professional Capabilities Index (PPCI) developed by Walker and McLean, (2013), as well as the literature conceptualising the moral nature of teaching. An interpretative, constructivist method underpinned the gathering and analysis of the data. This approach reflected the focus of the study which was to understand and make sense of the multiple realities, experiences and views of the trainee teachers. Data were gathered using two focus group discussions and two individual face-to-face interviews at four points across the ITT year. The analysis established how the trainee teachers understood and came to value the professional capabilities in the PPCI. Enabling and constraining factors to capability formation and functioning were analysed in order to establish the extent to which their valued capabilities and functioning could be realised. The findings revealed that the CA and the PPCI offer trainee teachers a wider vision of what teaching and learning entails, offering them a contrasting vision to the instrumental, action-oriented view of teacher knowledge and preparation that pervaded their Teach First ITT programme. The CA with its emphasis on human flourishing and the PPCI with its expansive view of a range of public-good professional capabilities send a message that foregrounds possibilities and aspirations, while directly engaging trainee teachers with issues of social justice. Encountering such frameworks would broaden student teachers’ visions of the purposes and possibilities of teaching and learning. An adapted PPCI for trainee teachers is presented that reveals the valued professional capabilities and functionings held by the group as well as the enabling and constraining factors to their capability formation and achieved functioning

Scope and limitations of a DMF bio-alternative within Sonogashira cross-coupling and Cacchi-type annulation

Pd-catalysed C-C bond formation is an essential tool within the pharmaceutical and agrochemical industries. Many of these reactions rely heavily on polar aprotic solvents; however, despite their utility, these solvents are incompatible with the drive towards more sustainable chemical synthesis. Herein, we describe the scope and limitations of an alternative to DMF derived from renewable sources (CyreneTM) in Sonogashira crosscoupling and Cacchi-type annulations

Extensive and anomalous grounding line retreat at Vanderford Glacier, Vincennes Bay, Wilkes Land, East Antarctica

Wilkes Land, East Antarctica, has been losing mass at an accelerating rate over recent decades in response to enhanced oceanic forcing. Overlying the Aurora Subglacial Basin, it has been referred to as the ‘weak underbelly’ of the East Antarctic Ice Sheet and is drained by several major outlet glaciers. Despite their potential importance, few of these glaciers have been studied in detail. This includes the six outlet glaciers which drain into Vincennes Bay, a region recently discovered to have the warmest intrusions of modified Circumpolar Deep Water (mCDW) ever recorded in East Antarctica. Here, we use remotely sensed optical imagery, differential satellite aperture radar interferometry (DInSAR) and datasets of ice surface velocity, ice surface elevation and grounding line position, to investigate ice dynamics between 1963 and 2022. Decadal trends in frontal position are observed across the Vincennes Bay outlet glaciers, potentially correlated to variations in sea ice production. Ice surface velocities were generally stable between 2000 and 2021, with some fluctuations measured across the grounding line of Bond East Glacier. Changes in ice surface elevation were spatially variable, but a clear and consistent thinning trend was measured at Vanderford Glacier between 2003 and 2020. Enhanced rates of ice thinning were seen across each of the Vanderford, Adams, Anzac, and Underwood Glaciers between 2017 and 2020. Most importantly, our results confirm extensive grounding line retreat at Vanderford Glacier, measured at 18.6 km between 1996 and 2020. Such rapid grounding line retreat (0.8 km yr-1) is consistent with the notion that warm mCDW is able to access deep cavities formed below the Vanderford Ice Shelf, driving high rates of basal melting. With a retrograde slope observed inland along the Vanderford Trench, such oceanic forcing may have significant implications for the future stability of Vanderford Glacier

Cyrene as a bio-based solvent for HATU mediated amide coupling

Amide bonds are one of the underpinning linkages in all living systems and are fundamental within drug discovery. Current methods towards their synthesis frequently rely on the use of dipolar aprotic solvents; however, due to increasingly stringent regulations and growing societal pressures, safe and more sustainable alternatives are highly sought after. Herein, we evaluate the application of the bio-based solvent Cyrene™ in the HATU mediated synthesis of amides and peptides. We found that Cyrene functioned as a competent replacement for DMF in the synthesis of a series of lead-like compounds and dipeptides (25 examples, 63–100%).PostprintPeer reviewe