Fetal alcohol spectrum disorders: a review of interventions for prevention and management in Indigenous communities

This resource sheet provides estimates on the prevalence of fetal alcohol spectrum disorders in the general and Indigenous populations of Australia, and reviews the local and international evidence on the effectiveness of programs that aim to prevent or alleviate this group of disorders. Introduction This resource sheet defines fetal alcohol spectrum disorders and provides currently available estimates of their prevalence in the overall Australian population and in the Indigenous population. The current recommendation of the National Health and Medical Research Council on the consumption of alcohol during pregnancy is also provided. Where appropriate, comparisons are made with other countries. The resource sheet reviews the Australian and international literature published since 1990 on the effectiveness of programs that aim to prevent fetal alcohol spectrum disorders or to alleviate its effects. Evidence on the effectiveness of Australian and Indigenous specific programs is also assessed, including those programs that have been developed and implemented in partnership with Indigenous Australians

Experimental and Numerical Investigations on Microcoining of Stainless Steel 304

Increasing demands for miniature metallic parts have driven the application of microforming in various industries. Only a limited amount of research is, however, available on the forming of miniature features in high strength materials. This study investigated the forming of microfeatures in Type 304 stainless steel by using the coining process. Experimental work was performed to study the effects of workpiece thickness, preform shape, grain size, and feature size on the formation of features ranging from 320μmto800μm. It was found that certain preform shapes enhance feature formation by allowing a favorable flow of the bulk material. In addition, a flow stress model for Type 304 stainless steel that took into consideration the effects of the grain and feature sizes was developed to accurately model and better understand the coining process. Weakening of the material, as the grain size increased at the miniature scale, was explained by the Hall–Petch relationship and the feature size effect

Lithographic band gap tuning in photonic band gap crystals

We describe the lithographic control over the spectral response of three-dimensional photonic crystals. By precise microfabrication of the geometry using a reproducible and reliable procedure consisting of electron beam lithography followed by dry etching, we have shifted the conduction band of crystals within the near-infrared. Such microfabrication has enabled us to reproducibly define photonic crystals with lattice parameters ranging from 650 to 730 nm. In GaAs semiconductor wafers, these can serve as high-reflectivity (> 95%) mirrors. Here, we show the procedure used to generate these photonic crystals and describe the geometry dependence of their spectral response

One More Awareness Gap? The Behaviour–Impact Gap Problem

Preceding research has made hardly any attempt to measure the ecological impacts of pro-environmental behaviour in an objective way. Those impacts were rather supposed or calculated. The research described herein scrutinized the ecological impact reductions achieved through pro-environmental behaviour and raised the question how much of a reduction in carbon footprint can be achieved through voluntary action without actually affecting the socio-economic determinants of life. A survey was carried out in order to measure the difference between the ecological footprint of “green” and “brown” consumers. No significant difference was found between the ecological footprints of the two groups—suggesting that individual pro-environmental attitudes and behaviour do not always reduce the environmental impacts of consumption. This finding resulted in the formulation of a new proposition called the BIG (behaviour–impact gap) problem, which is an interesting addition to research in the field of environmental awareness gaps

Bridging the Gap

School districts across the country are increasingly seeking out digital tools to support the work of educators, in the hopes of improving students' academic achievement. With the rapid emergence of this new market, many districts have been challenged by the task of identifying and procuring educational technology (ed-tech) products that match the needs of their educators and students.The NYC Department of Education's "Innovate NYC Schools" division, supported by a U.S. DOE Investing in Innovation (i3) grant, aims to address this problem, in part by promoting "user-centered design," an approach that puts the needs and preferences of products' intended users (in this case, teachers, students, and parents) front and center in the development and procurement of new technology.Bridging the Gap describes the design and implementation of three Innovate NYC Schools initiatives grounded in user-centered design theory:School Choice Design Challenge (SCDC),an effort to develop apps that would help students explore and narrow down their choices of high school.#SharkTankEDU events, during which ed-tech developers present a product to a panel of educators who provide feedback on the tool.Short-Cycle Evaluation Challenges (SCEC), a classroom-based, semester-long pilot of ed-tech tools intended to inform product development, as well as the ultimate procurement decisions of school staff.The report focuses on four phases of work involved in bringing ed-tech companies and the users of their products together: defining a problem; selecting users and ed-tech companies; implementing pilot-based initiatives; and evaluating products. It describes strategies used and challenges faced, and offers practical lessons gleaned from the experiences of the individuals who designed and participated in these efforts.

Novel Josephson effects between multi-gap and single-gap superconductors

Multi-gap superconductors can exhibit qualitatively new phenomena due to existence of multiple order parameters. Repulsive electronic interactions may give rise to a phase difference of $\pi$ between the phases of the order parameters. Collective modes due to the oscillation of the relative phases of these order parameters are also possible. Here we show that both these phenomena are observable in Josephson junctions between a single-gap and a multi-gap superconductor. In particular, a non-monotonic temperature dependence of the Josephson current through the junction reveals the existence of the $\pi$ phase differences in the multi-gap superconductor. This mechanism may be relevant for understanding several experiments on the Josephson junctions with unconventional superconductors. We also discuss how the presence of the collective mode resonantly enhances the DC Josephson current when the voltage across the junction matches the mode frequency. We suggest that our results may apply to MgB$_2$, 2H-NbSe$_2$, spin ladder and bilayer cuprates.Comment: 4 pages, 2 figure