An Empirical Study Comparing the Learning Environments of Open and Closed Computer Laboratories

In Computer Science and Information Systems courses, where the computer is an integral part of the course, there are two main ways in which the practical component of the course, the computer laboratory class, may be organized. They may be closed laboratories which are scheduled and staffed in the same way as other classes, or open laboratories where the students come and go as they please. In universities in the United States, the open laboratory is more common, whereas in Australia, it is the closed laboratory that provides the practical experience for students. This study investigates differences between students’ perceptions of some aspects of the learning environment of open and closed computer laboratories, and also investigates differences in student outcomes from courses that adopt these two approaches to organizing computer laboratory classes. The use of closed laboratories requires more resources in terms of physical space and equipment and greater commitment on the part of the faculty. This study investigates whether the extra resources and commitment lead to an improvement in student outcomes. In the study, two previously developed instruments, the Computer Laboratory Environment Inventory (CLEI) and the Attitude towards Computing and Computing Courses Questionnaire (ACCC) were used. The CLEI has five scales for measuring students’ perceptions of aspects of their laboratory environment. These are Student Cohesiveness, Open-Endedness, Integration, Technology Adequacy and Laboratory Availability. The ACCC has four scales, Anxiety, Enjoyment, Usefulness of Computers and Usefulness of the Course. Of the environment variables, significant differences in the means were found for Open- Endedness, Technology Adequacy and Laboratory Availability. There was also a difference for Anxiety. There was no significant difference in achievement by students on the courses

The uptake and outcomes of Internet cognitive behavioural therapy for health anxiety symptoms during the COVID-19 pandemic

Background: Internet cognitive behavioural therapy (iCBT) for health anxiety has demonstrated efficacy but has not been evaluated during the COVID-19 pandemic. This study presents the first evaluation of the uptake and outcomes of iCBT for health anxiety during the COVID-19 pandemic. Methods: THIS WAY UP is an Australian digital mental health service which delivers iCBT interventions to community members. We compared the uptake of THIS WAY UP's iCBT course for health anxiety in an Australian adult sample who started the course before the pandemic (12th September 2019–11 th March 2020) to during the pandemic (12th March to 11th June 2020). The course was accessible to Australian adults over 18 years old, with no inclusion criteria. Outcomes included course registrations and commencements, lesson and course completion, and self-reported health anxiety (Short Health Anxiety Inventory), depression (Patient Health Questionnaire 9-item) and distress (Kessler-10). Results: From March to June 2020, we observed significant increases in course registrations (N = 238 vs N = 1057); and course commencements (N = 126 vs. N = 778). Large, significant improvements in health anxiety (g = 0.89), and distress (K10: g = 0.91), and medium improvements in depression (g = 0.55) were found. Course completion during COVID was 30.5%. Conclusions: iCBT improved health anxiety during the COVID-19 pandemic, and provides scalable intervention that can address increased demands for mental health services in the community

Data Mining of Historical Human Data to Assess the Risk of Injury due to Dynamic Loads

The NASA Occupant Protection Group is charged with ensuring crewmembers are protected during all dynamic phases of spaceflight. Previous work with outside experts has led to the development of a definition of acceptable risk (DAR) for space capsule vehicles. The DAR defines allowable probability rates for various categories of injuries. An important question is how to validate these probabilities for a given vehicle. One approach is to impact test human volunteers under projected nominal landing loads. The main drawback is the large number of subject tests required to attain a reasonable level of confidence that the injury probability rates would meet those outlined in the DAR. An alternative is to mine existing databases containing human responses to impact. Testing an anthropomorphic test device (ATD) at the same humanexposure levels could yield a range of ATD responses that would meet DAR. As one aspect of future vehicle validation, the ATD could be tested in the vehicle's seat and suit configuration at nominal landing loads and compared with the ATD responses supported by the human data set. This approach could reduce the number of humanvolunteer tests NASA would need to conduct to validate that a vehicle meets occupant protection standards. METHODS: The U.S. Air Force has recorded hundreds of human responses to frontal, lateral, and spinal impacts at many acceleration levels and pulse durations. All of this data are stored on the Collaborative Biomechanics Data Network (CBDN), which is maintained by the Wright Patterson Air Force Base (WPAFB). The test device for human occupant restraint (THOR) ATD was impact tested on WPAFB's horizontal impulse accelerator (HIA) matching humanvolunteer exposures on the HIA to 5 frontal and 3 spinal loading conditions. No human injuries occurred as a result of these impact conditions. Peak THOR response variables for neck axial tension and compression, and thoracicspine axial compression were collected. Maximal chest deflection was determined from motion capture video of the impact test. HIC 15 and BRIC were calculated from head acceleration responses. Given the number of human subjects for each test condition a confidence interval of injury probability will be obtained. RESULTS: Results will be discussed in terms of injuryrisk probability estimates based on the human data set evaluated. Also, gaps in the data set will be identified. These gaps could be one of two types. One is areas where additional THOR testing would increase the comparable human data set, thereby improving confidence in the injury probability rate. The other is where additional human testing would assist in obtaining information on other acceleration levels or directions. DISCUSSION: The historical human data showed validity of the THOR ATD for supplemental testing. The historical human data are limited in scope, however. Further data are needed to characterize the effects of sex, age, anthropometry, and deconditioning due to spaceflight on risk of injur

Response of Ambulatory Human Subjects to Artificial Gravity (Short Radius Centrifugation)

Prolonged exposure to microgravity results in significant adaptive changes, including cardiovascular deconditioning, muscle atrophy, bone loss, and sensorimotor reorganization, that place individuals at risk for performing physical activities after return to a gravitational environment. Planned missions to Mars include unprecedented hypogravity exposures that would likely result in unacceptable risks to crews. Artificial gravity (AG) paradigms may offer multisystem protection from the untoward effects of adaptation to the microgravity of space or the hypogravity of planetary surfaces. While the most effective AG designs would employ a rotating spacecraft, perceived issues may preclude their use. The questions of whether and how intermittent AG produced by a short radius centrifuge (SRC) could be employed have therefore sprung to the forefront of operational research. In preparing for a series of intermittent AG trials in subjects deconditioned by bed rest, we have examined the responses of several healthy, ambulatory subjects to SRC exposures

Loss of BMPR2 Expression in Skeletal Progenitor Cells Reduces Age-Related Bone Loss

Osteoporosis is a disease of low bone mineral density (BMD) that affects 10 million Americans with an additional 34 million at risk for developing the disease. Current FDA-approved therapies for osteoporosis involve anti-resorptive agents but many patients would benefit from augmenting bone formation as well as inhibiting bone loss. We recently reported that targeted deletion of the type 2 BMP receptor BMPR2 using Prx1-Cre in skeletal progenitor cells in mice leads to dramatically increased bone mass and bone formation rate by ten weeks of age in the absence of changes in osteoclast function (Lowery et al 2015). In the present study, we examined the age-related impact of Bmpr2 deletion and found that, consistent with our previous results, both male and female Bmpr2-cKO mice exhibit high bone mass when compared to control mice at 55 weeks of age. We also found that the age-related decline in bone mass from 15 weeks to 55 weeks of age in Bmpr2-cKO mice is reduced approximately three-fold compared to control mice, with male and female Bmpr2-cKO mice losing on average only 18% and 27%, respectively, while male and female control mice lost 55% and 77%, respectively, over the same time span. High bone mass in aged Bmpr2-cKO mice is associated with elevated serum levels of the bone formation marker Procollagen Type I N-terminal Propeptide (P1NP). In contrast, serum levels of the bone resorption marker Collagen Type I C-telopeptide (CTx) are unchanged in Bmpr2-cKO mice. Collectively, these findings indicate that loss of Bmpr2 in skeletal progenitor cells causes a sustained imbalance in bone formation vs. bone resorption and results in high bone mass in the aging skeleton. Our findings suggest that strategies aimed at controlling signaling through BMPR2 have the potential to impact bone mass in the aging adult skeleton

Performance adaptation of gas turbines for power generation applications

One of the greatest challenges that the world is facing is that of providing everyone access to safe and clean energy supplies. Since the liberalization of the electricity market in the UK during the 1990s many combined cycle gas turbine (CCGT) power plants have been developed as these plants are more energy efficient and friendlier to the environment. The core component in a combined cycle plant is the gas turbine. In this project the MEA’s Pulrose Power Station CCGT plant is under investigation. This plant cronsists of two aeroderivative LM2500+ gas turbines of General Electric for producing a total of 84MW power in a combined cycle configuration. Cont/d.EThOS - Electronic Theses Online ServiceGBUnited Kingdo