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The case for early, time-sensitive speech, language, and communication interventions for young children with Down syndrome or other intellectual and developmental disabilities
No full textConsensus of T-S fuzzy fractional-order, singular perturbation, multi-agent systems
Get PDFDue to system complexity, research on fuzzy fractional-order, singular perturbation, multi-agent systems (FOSPMASs) remains limited in control theory. This article focuses on the leader-following consensus of fuzzy FOSPMASs with orders in the range of 0, 2. By employing the T-S fuzzy modeling approach, a fuzzy FOSPMAS is constructed. In order to achieve the consensus of a FOSPMAS with multiple time-scale characteristics, a fuzzy observer-based controller is designed, and the error system corresponding to each agent is derived. Through a series of equivalent transformations, the error system is decomposed into fuzzy singular fractional-order systems (SFOSs). The consensus conditions of the fuzzy FOSPMASs are obtained based on linear matrix inequalities (LMIs) without an equality constraint. The theorems provide a way to tackle the uncertainty and nonlinearity in FOSPMASs with orders in the range of 0, 2. Finally, the effectiveness of the theorems is verified through an RLC circuit model and a numerical example
Why study in English? Teachers’ and students’ perceptions of EMI policy and motivations at Turkish universities
No full textIncreasingly, English is used as a medium of instruction (EMI) at universities in non-Anglophone countries to teach academic subjects other than English itself (Macaro, 2018). Driven by trends toward the internationalization of higher education, EMI programs are often assumed to improve both students’ understanding of content knowledge and their English language skills. However, the degree to which EMI programs achieve these alleged dual aims remains unknown and highly debated (see Macaro et al., 2018a, for an overview). Moreover, there remains a lack of understanding in terms of how teachers and students perceive these dual aims with respect to EMI policy and the degree to which these dual aims affect their rationale or motivation for participating in EMI programs. An in-depth understanding of teachers’ and students’ perceptions of EMI policies and motivations for EMI is needed, given the role these stakeholders play in classroom-level implementation.
The study reported in this chapter addresses that research gap by exploring EMI teachers’ and students’ perceptions of EMI policies and their motivations (or reasons) for joining EMI programs, to better understand how they understand the complexities of language and content learning in EMI university settings. The chapter draws from qualitative data gathered for a larger project which investigated EMI implementation in Turkish higher education. The study reported here relates specifically to teachers’ and students’ perceptions of EMI policy and perceptions of EMI motivations using data collected from interviews with teachers (n = 21) and focus group discussions with students (n = 150) in Engineering Faculties at seven universities in Turkey
Hominin brain size increase has emerged from within-species encephalization
Get PDFThe fact that rapid brain size increase was clearly a key aspect of human evolution has prompted many studies focusing on this phenomenon, and many suggestions as to the underlying evolutionary patterns and processes. No study to date has however separated out the contributions of change through time within vs. between hominin species while simultaneously incorporating effects of body size. Using a phylogenetic approach never applied before to paleoanthropological data, we show that relative brain size increase across ~7 My of hominin evolution arose from increases within individual species which account for an observed overall increase in relative brain size. Variation among species in brain size after accounting for this effect is associated with body mass differences but not time. In addition, our analysis also reveals that the within-species trend escalated in more recent lineages, implying an overall pattern of accelerating relative brain size increase through time
Role of FeoA: interaction with the Fe2+ -Fur complex
No full textThis project focusses on the role of ‘Feo’ (the FeoABC system of Escherichia coli), the major
anaerobic bacterial ferrous iron uptake system, in the regulation of bacterial iron metabolism.
Whereas the role of FeoB is well understood (ferrous permease), the purposes of the small,
cytosolic FeoA and FeoC proteins remain unclear and there is a strong possibility that they have a
regulatory function. In particular, the role of FeoA is intriguing since it is essential for Feo activity
and is highly conserved and is homologous to a domain (SH3 domain) associated with a type of
global iron regulator (DtxR-family members) found in high G+C Gram-positive bacteria.
One possible role for FeoA is as an iron-dependent regulator of FeoB iron uptake activity. The
hypothesis to be tested is that FeoA interacts with the Fe2+
-Fur complex (present when cytosolic
levels of free iron are relatively high) but is released from apo-Fur (when iron levels are low) and
instead binds to FeoB to activate its iron uptake activity. This hypothesis suggests that FeoA also
modulates Fur-regulatory activity which would be relevant anaerobically, when the feoABC
operon is induced. Here, this theory was investigated by initially studying the expression of the
Fe-Fur regulated bfr, yncE and yqjH genes via semi-quantitative western blot analysis of the
corresponding proteins Bfr, YncE and YqjH proteins in E. coli strains with mutations in feoA, feoB
or feoC, both aerobically and anaerobically. No good evidence for FeoA in relieving Fur
dependent gene control was obtained, although the iron chelator, BIP, impacted the abundance of
these proteins in a fashion indicative of iron and Fur control. In addition, the feoA and feoB
mutations caused expression-effects consistent with a reduction in iron-uptake activity,
particularly anaerobically.
To further determine whether FeoA plays a part in Fur-dependent gene control, the feoA and
feoABC genes were induced from plasmids carrying the corresponding feo genes in arabinose inducible format and the impact on bfr and yqjH was monitored by western blotting under aerobic
conditions in the wildtype and fur mutant, in the presence/absence of BIP. Again, clear iron/Fur
dependent regulation was observed for both targets. Further, induction of feoABC caused a
suppression of Bfr levels consistent with the hypothesis. Similarly, for YqjH, feoA induction
stimulated an increase in levels in the first few hours of induction, which is also consistent with
the hypothesis being explored
The effect of diurnal warming of sea‐surface temperatures on the propagation speed of the Madden–Julian oscillation
Get PDFThe diurnal warm layer in the upper ocean develops during low surface winds and high incoming solar radiation conditions, often increasing sea-surface temperatures (SSTs) by up to 1°C. The suppressed phase of the Madden–Julian Oscillation (MJO) favours the formation of such a layer. Here, we analyse the coupled ocean–atmosphere and atmosphere-only numerical weather prediction systems of the UK Met Office to reveal that important differences arise from the representation of the diurnal warm layer in the coupled model. Though both models are skilful in predicting the MJO to at least a 7-day lead time, the coupled model predicts approximately 12% faster MJO RMM phase speed propagation than the atmosphere-only model due to the ability to resolve diurnal warming in the upper ocean that rectifies onto MJO-associated SST anomalies. The diurnal warming of SST (dSST) in the coupled model leads to an increase in daily mean SST compared with the atmosphere-only model persisted foundation SST. The strength of the dSST in the coupled model is modulated by MJO conditions. During suppressed MJO conditions on lead day 1, the dSST is enhanced, leading to 0.2°C warmer daily mean MJO-associated SST anomalies and increased convection in the coupled model by lead day 7. During active MJO convection, the dSST is suppressed, leading to 0.1°C colder MJO-associated SST anomalies in the coupled model and reduced convection by lead day 7. This variability in dSST further amplifies the MJO propagation speed, underlining the importance of the two-way feedback between the MJO and the diurnal cycle of SST and the need to accurately represent this process in coupled models
Assessment of front and back of pack nutrition labels of selected convenience food products and snacks available in the Indian market
Get PDFNutrition labels on packaged food items provide at-a-glance information about the nutritional composition of the food, serving as a quick guide for consumers to assess the quality of food products. The aim of the current study is to evaluate the nutritional information on the front and back of pack labels of selected packaged foods in the Indian market. A total of 432 food products in six categories (idli mix, breakfast cereals, porridge mix, soup mix, beverage mix and extruded snacks) were investigated by a survey. Nutritional profiling of the foods was done based on the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) claims regulations. The healthiness of the packaged foods was assessed utilising nutritional traffic light system. The products were classified into 'healthy', 'moderately healthy' and 'less healthy' based on the fat, saturated fat, and sugar content. Most of the food products evaluated belong to healthy' and 'moderately healthy' categories except for products in extruded snacks. Reformulation of 'extruded snacks' are necessary to decrease the total and saturated fat content. The nutrient content claims were classified using the International Network for Food and Obesity / NCDs Research, Monitoring and Action Support (INFORMAS) taxonomy. Protein, dietary fibre, fat, sugar, vitamins and minerals were the most referred nutrients in the nutrient content claims. Breakfast cereal carried highest number of nutritional claims while porridge mix had the lowest number of claims. The overall compliance of the nutrient content claims for the studied food products is 80.5%. This study gives an overall view about the nutritional quality of the studied convenience food products and snacks in Indian market
Intergenerational educational mobility and the destitution programme in Botswana
No full textIn development economics, socio-economic mobility is frequently regarded as being
intrinsically connected to the principle of equal opportunity. This connection has sparked
considerable research suggesting that socio-economic mobility plays a vital role in
societal progress. By examining mobility, researchers can gauge how individuals may
ascend or descend along economic or social hierarchies, offering insights into the
dynamics of opportunity within a society. Through three distinct studies, this thesis adds
to this literature by investigating intergenerational educational mobility in Botswana.
Specifically, the first study lays a foundation by examining the relationship between
parental education and children's educational attainment, including an analysis of gender
and regional differences. The second study investigates three-generational educational
mobility by analysing how grandparents' education affects their grandchildren's
educational achievements, while also evaluating the impact of grandparents co-residency
and regional differences. Finally, the third study investigates the effects of parental
participation in the destitution programme on children's educational attainment, analysing
variations across different policy periods and geographical locations.
The first study utilises data from the 2015 Botswana Multi-Topic Household Survey
focusing on adult children aged 25-48 (linked to their parents education information), and
employs intergenerational regression coefficients to measure educational persistence,
alongside correlation coefficients and probability transition matrices to analyse
educational mobility. The second study uses primary data from 1986 individuals across
273 families in nine locations in Botswana, targeting adult children aged 18-48, and
similarly employs regression based analysis to measure educational persistence while
examining gender and regional differences. The third study also utilises primary data from
the same sample, focusing on the impact of parental participation in the destitution
programme on children's educational outcomes, and its effects on intergenerational
educational mobility
In the first study, a notable relationship between parental education and children's
educational outcomes is identified, with an IGRC of 0.568 indicating substantial
educational persistence. Gender disparities emerge, with daughters demonstrating a
higher sensitivity to parental education than sons. The analysis highlights that educational
persistence is stronger in rural areas compared to urban settings. For the second study,
there is also significant intergenerational educational persistence between children and
parents (IGRC of 0.579), consistent with other developing nations. Notably, grandparents'
education has a positive influence on grandchildren's educational attainment, with an
IGRC estimate of 0.179.
Further, grandfathers have a greater influence on grandsons, while grandmothers
positively affect granddaughters. Additionally, maternal education shows a stronger
correlation with children's education than paternal education. The analysis reveals
regional differences, with grandparents' education exerting a stronger influence in rural
areas (0.197) compared to urban areas (0.135). The residency status of grandparents is
crucial; co-resident grandparents significantly enhance grandchildren's educational
outcomes, particularly for granddaughters. In the third study, participation in the
destitution programme is found to be associated with lower educational attainment for
children compared to children of non-destitutes parents, especially for those in rural
areas. Together, these studies underscore the roles of family structure, gender, regional
context, and socio-economic policies in shaping educational mobility, contributing
valuable perspectives for educational and social policy in Botswana.
This research contributes by filing a research gap by addressing educational mobility in
a Sub-Saharan African country’s varied urban and rural contexts, where limited research
exists. By examining educational mobility across three generations using original data
collected on both maternal and paternal grandparents, this research provides insights that
are especially relevant in the African context, where extended families frequently live
together. This research offers a unique perspective on multigenerational educational
mobility, which is often overlooked in existing studies that primarily focus on two-generation analyses within developed countries. The third study provides a novel look at
how a social protection programme, not designed for educational outcomes, may impact
educational mobility in impoverished families
Exploring the moderating effects of incidental emotions on rewards for encouraging hotel guests’ towel reuse behavior
Get PDFPromoting sustainable practices to hotel guests, such as towel reuse, can help reduce the hotel industry’s environmental impact and raise awareness about the importance of environmental conservation. However, little is known about how hotel guests’ incidental emotions that arise incidentally (not intentionally induced) influence the effectiveness of rewards in promoting sustainable behavior. This study adopts the Appraisal Tendency Framework (ATF) to examine the interaction effect of incidental emotions (hope vs. fear) and reward certainty on tourists’ pro-environmental behaviors. The study employs a 2 × 2 between-subject experimental design (Incidental emotions: hope vs. fear) × (Reward types: certainty vs uncertainty). The findings show that there are significant interaction effects of incidental emotions and (un)certain monetary rewards on guests’ towel reuse behavior. The research has both theoretical implications for research on reward types and incidental emotions and practical implications for designing and implementing rewards to encourage pro-environmental behaviors
Autistic adults exhibit a typical search advantage for facing dyads
Get PDFRecent findings obtained with non-autistic participants indicate that pairs of facing individuals (face-to-face dyadic targets) are found faster than pairs of non-facing individuals (back-to-back dyadic targets) when hidden amongst distractor pairings (e.g., pairs of individuals arranged face-to-back) in visual search displays. These results suggest that facing dyads may compete for observers’ attention more effectively than non-facing dyads. In principle, such an advantage might aid the detection of social interactions and facilitate social learning. Autistic individuals are known to exhibit differences in visual processing that impede their perception of other individuals. At present, however, little is known about multi-actor visual processing in autism. Here, we sought to determine whether autistic individuals show a typical search advantage for facing dyads. In an online study, autistic and non-autistic participants were tasked with finding target dyads (pairs of faces arranged face-to-face or back-to-back) embedded amongst distractor dyads (pairs of faces arranged face-to-back). Relative to the non-autistic controls, the autistic participants took slightly longer to locate target dyads. However, a clear and comparable search advantage for facing dyads was seen in both participant groups. This preliminary evidence suggests that multi-actor processing of autistic participants exhibits typical sensitivity to dyadic arrangement