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Innovations within the second generation of Eurocode 4
No full textThis paper presents some of the innovations that will be included within the forthcoming second generation of Eurocode 4, which is currently being prepared for CEN Enquiry. Since 2015 the development of this standard has been undertaken by several project teams under the direction of the European Committee for Standardization subcommittee CEN/TC 250/SC 4, which is currently Chaired by the present author. The author of this paper will present the new structure of Eurocode 4, together with an overview of the research work that led to the development of some of the new design provisions. In addition, technical issues that were left unresolved by the project teams are given, which are considered worthy for future research
An extended Laplacian smoothing for boundary element analysis of 3D bubble dynamics
No full textFrequently, smoothing techniques have to be applied to tackle the numerical instability and mesh distortion in modelling bubble dynamics using the boundary element method (BEM). Laplacian smoothing (LS) and its variants have been commonly used in the literature due to their ease of implementation and computational efficiency. Nevertheless, these methods are prone to inducing shrinking and oversmoothing effects. To address this issue, an efficient smoothing technique, called the Extended LS (ELS) method, is devised based on the LS method to accurately capture the salient features of the liquid jet of a collapsing bubble near complex boundaries. The efficacy of the ELS method is demonstrated through its application to various test cases for which theoretical, numerical, or experimental data are available in the literature. The ELS method is then used to simulate intricate bubble dynamics, including the oscillation of a 3D gas bubble near two rigid, fixed spherical particles. The influence of the dimensionless distance between the bubble and the particles on the dynamics of the bubble is thoroughly examined. As
decreases, the bubble moves closer to the particles, causing its lower side surface to change from concave to convex
Exome sequencing identifies genes associated with sleep-related traits
No full textSleep is vital for human health and has a moderate heritability. Previous genome-wide association studies have limitations in capturing the role of rare genetic variants in sleep-related traits. Here we conducted a large-scale exome-wide association study of eight sleep-related traits (sleep duration, insomnia symptoms, chronotype, daytime sleepiness, daytime napping, ease of getting up in the morning, snoring and sleep apnoea) among 450,000 participants from UK Biobank. We identified 22 new genes associated with chronotype (ADGRL4, COL6A3, CLK4 and KRTAP3-3), daytime sleepiness (ST3GAL1 and ANKRD12), daytime napping (PLEKHM1, ANKRD12 and ZBTB21), snoring (WDR59) and sleep apnoea (13 genes). Notably, 20 of these genes were confirmed to be significantly associated with sleep disorders in the FinnGen cohort. Enrichment analysis revealed that these discovered genes were enriched in circadian rhythm and central nervous system neurons. Phenotypic association analysis showed that ANKRD12 was associated with cognition and inflammatory traits. Our results demonstrate the value of large-scale whole-exome analysis in understanding the genetic architecture of sleep-related traits and potential biological mechanisms. [Abstract copyright: © 2024. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Nature Limited.
Review of Using video to support teacher reflection and development in ELT by Laura Baecher, Steve Mann, and Cecilia Nobre
Get PDFIn an era where technology integration is paramount in educational practices, the book Using Video to Support Teacher Reflection and Development in ELT emerges as an essential guide for incorporating video into language teacher education. Authored by Laura Baecher, Steve Mann, and Cecilia Nobre, this book offers a practitioner-oriented framework, enriched with real-world examples, for applying a variety of video-based methodologies to teacher education. Across its eight chapters, the book draws from a broad spectrum of teacher educators to illustrate how video can promote reflective thinking, enhance awareness, stimulate collaboration, disseminate pedagogical techniques, provide analytic tools, support the crafting of educational resources, and build online communities, all within the context of teacher education and development
An integrated understanding of the impact of Hospital at Home : a mixed-methods study to articulate and test a programme theory
No full textBackground
Hospital at Home (HaH) provides intensive, hospital-level care in patients’ homes for acute conditions that would normally require hospitalisation, using multidisciplinary teams. As a programme of complex medical-social interventions, a HaH programme theory has not been fully articulated although implicit in the structures, functions, and activities of the existing HaH services. We aimed to unearth the tacit theory from international evidence and test the soundness of it by studying UK HaH services.
Methods
We conducted a literature review (29 articles) adopting a ‘realist review’ approach (theory articulation) and examined 11 UK-based services by interviewing up to 3 staff members from each service (theory testing). The review and interview data were analysed using Framework Analysis and Purposive Text Analysis.
Results
The programme theory has three components- the organisational, utilisation and impact theories. The impact theory consists of key assumptions about the change processes brought about by HaH’s activities and functions, as detailed in the organisational and utilisation theories. HaH teams should encompass multiple disciplines to deliver comprehensive assessments and have skill sets for physically delivering hospital-level processes of care in the home. They should aim to treat a broad range of conditions in patients who are clinically complex and felt to be vulnerable to hospital acquired harms. Services should cover 7 days a week, have plans for 24/7 response and deliver relational continuity of care through consistent staffing. As a result, patients’ and carers’ knowledge, skills, and confidence in disease management and self-care should be strengthened with a sense of safety during HaH treatment, and carers better supported to fulfil their role with minimal added care burden.
Conclusions
There are organisational factors for HaH services and healthcare processes that contribute to better experience of care and outcomes for patients. HaH services should deliver care using hospital level processes through teams that have a focus on holistic and individually tailored care with continuity of therapeutic relationships between professionals and patients and carers resulting in less complexity and fragmentation of care. This analysis informs how HaH services can organise resources and design processes of care to optimise patient satisfaction and outcomes
matscipy : materials science at the atomic scale with Python
Get PDFBehaviour of materials is governed by physical phenomena that occur at an extreme range of length and time scales. Computational modelling requires multiscale approaches. Simulation techniques operating on the atomic scale serve as a foundation for such approaches, providing necessary parameters for upper-scale models. The physical models employed for atomic simulations can vary from electronic structure calculations to empirical force fields. However, construction, manipulation and analysis of atomic systems are independent of the given physical model but dependent on the specific application. matscipy implements such tools for applications in materials science, including fracture, plasticity, tribology and electrochemistry
Optimizing porous metal–organic layers for stable zinc anodes
No full textAqueous zinc-ion batteries (ZIBs) have been considered as alternative stationary energy storage systems, but the dendrite and corrosion issues of Zn anodes hinder their practical applications. Here we report a series of two-dimensional (2D) metal–organic frameworks (MOFs) with Zr12 clusters, which act as artificial solid electrolyte interphase (SEI) layers to prevent dendrites and corrosion of Zn anodes. The Zr12-based 2D MOF layers were formed by incubating 3D layer-pillared Zr-MOFs in ZnSO4 aqueous electrolytes, which replaced the pillar ligands with terminal SO42–. Furthermore, the pore sizes of Zr12-based 2D MOF layers were systematically tuned, leading to optimized Zn2+ conduction properties and protective performance for Zn anodes. In contrast to the traditional 2D-MOFs with Zr6 clusters, Zr12-based 2D MOF layers as artificial SEI significantly reduced the polarization and increased the stability of Zn anodes in MOF@Zn||MOF@Zn symmetric cells and MOF@Zn||MnO2 full cells. In situ experiments and DFT computations reveal that the enhanced cell performance is attributed to the unique Zr12-based layered structure with intrinsic pores to allow fast Zn2+ diffusion, surface Zr-SO4 zincophilic sites to induce uniform Zn deposition, and inhibited hydrogen evolution by 2D MOF Zr12 layers
Pre-application doctoral communications : a missing dimension in research on doctoral admissions
No full textThis paper makes a novel contribution to international doctoral education scholarship by offering a detailed examination of pre-application doctoral communications (PADC) between prospective applicants and various university staff members. While PADC is currently an under-considered phenomenon within extant research literature, the paper argues that it ought to be conceived of as an important subset of doctoral admissions practices. Given the possible gatekeeping effects of informal communication, PADC should be understood as a key avenue for addressing equity, diversity and inclusion (EDI) agendas in doctoral recruitment. The article is in two parts. First, we undertake a literature review to track the extent to which PADC features in the scholarly and grey literature to date and to characterise existing nomenclature and representations. Second, we draw on data from an empirical single-institution case study in a UK university with doctoral supervisors (19), doctoral programme officers (8) and directors of doctoral programmes (12), to understand how these actors engage in PADC as part of their respective roles. The paper sets out the forms PADC took, what role key stakeholders play, and prevalent topics of communication. Ultimately, the paper establishes definitional clarity around PADC and establishes its importance as a key stage of doctoral recruitment alongside formal admissions