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How to...obtain accurate objective measurements of health at a distance
No full textLarge scale longitudinal studies are an excellent tool for increasing our understanding of the aetiology of health and disease. Obtaining accurate measures of health status is important in these kinds of studies. However, self-report measures of health are subject to bias and obtaining objective health measures can be costly. This paper outlines the process and challenges of designing a home testing kit to enable participants to obtain objective health measures themselves, using the example of a new cohort study, the 6-Day Sample
Experimental study on the optimisation of chemical treatment to reduce waste rubber aggregates absorption properties
Full text linkUtilisation of abundant waste rubber generated from scrap tyres in pavement engineering applications could be a useful route to consume large extent of the waste from the scrap tyres. It may contribute towards maintaining a greener environment by reducing the associated environmental and social impacts as well as improve the properties of bituminous mixture used for pavement engineering applications. This paper focuses on the upgrading of waste rubber aggregates surface properties by identifying and applying optimised chemical treatment (oxidation and cross-linking). The focus was to increase the life span of bituminous mixtures containing waste rubber as an aggregate by reducing a phenomenon of migration of light fractions (maltenes) from bitumen to rubber which occur at elevated temperatures ranging between 160-180ºC. The results of various tests conducted showed the potential of the treatment to reduce the absorption of maltenes into rubber. The existence of the surface treatment was verified through the Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM) analysis of the rubber aggregate. The reduction in the absorption properties of rubber due to the existence of the treatment was verified using the Microwave Spectroscopy technique. The results of both the tests were promising in terms of indicating the durability of the treatment and the reduction in the absorption properties of rubber. Mechanical tests such as Indirect Tensile Stiffness Modulus (ITSM) and Repeated Load Axial (RLA) tests were conducted on the newly devised bituminous mix design with 10% of added rubber (by mass of the sample). The results were promising in the case of the aged samples with both the stiffness and load bearing capacity being higher for the aged samples. However, the results need improvement in terms of its applications on the light traffic areas through the replacement of the ordinary filler with the mineral filler. Also, a higher percentage of waste rubber should be added to study the suitability of its use in the flexible surface applications such as children’s playgrounds, sports pitches and surfaces, etc
ON THE PROGENITORS OF LOCAL GROUP NOVAE. I. THE M31 CATALOG
No full textWe report the results of a survey of M31 novae in quiescence. This is the first catalog of extragalactic
systems in quiescence to be published, and contains data for 38 spectroscopically confirmed novae from 2006 to 2012. We used Liverpool Telescope (LT) images of each nova during eruption to define an accurate position for each system. These positions were then matched to archival Hubble Space Telescope (HST) images and we performed photometry on any resolved objects that were coincident with the eruption positions. The survey aimed to detect quiescent systems with red giant secondaries,
as only these, along with a few systems with bright sub-giant secondaries, will be resolvable in the HST images. There are only a few confirmed examples of such red giant novae in our Galaxy, the majority of which are recurrent novae. However, we find a relatively high percentage of the nova eruptions in M31 may occur in systems containing red giant secondaries. Of the 38 systems in this
catalog, 11 have a progenitor candidate whose probability of being a coincidental alignment is less than 5%. We show that, at the 3� limit, up to only two of these eleven systems may be due to chance alignments, leading to an estimate of the M31 nova population with evolved secondaries of up to 24%, compared to the � 3% seen Galactically. Such an elevated proportion of nova systems with evolved secondaries may imply the presence of a much larger population of recurrent novae than previously
thought. This would have considerable impact, particularly with regards their potential as Type Ia supernova progenitors.
Additionally, for several novae, serendipitous HST images had been taken when the nova was still fading; this allowed us to produce light curves that go fainter than is usually achievable for most extragalactic systems. Finally, as this survey is astrometric in nature, we also update the position of each nova in the catalog
Graduate Students as Academic Writers: Writing Anxiety, Self-Efficacy, and Emotional Intelligence
Full text linkResearchers interested in psychological factors affecting writers in higher-education institutions, or academic writers, are concerned with internal variables affecting writing productivity; however few empirical studies explore these factors with samples of students who are in the process of earning master’s or doctoral degrees (i.e., graduate students). In this study, we examined writing anxiety, self-efficacy, and emotional intelligence in a sample of graduate students at a large, research-intensive university in the United States. Using a survey, we collected measures on these variables in addition to demographic information from the participants. We then used the measures to descriptively compare groups of students with similar characteristics and to run three regression models to identify which variables best predicted writing anxiety. Our findings indicate self-efficacy is a statistically significant and large predictor of writing anxiety while emotional intelligence (EI) is not, though descriptive data showed moderate effects between EI and first language (i.e., whether or not a student reported English as a first language). In the presence of self-efficacy, gender remained a significant predictor of writing anxiety, while first language did not. We discuss implications for future research and practice focused on helping graduate student academic writers succeed
Speciation and potential long-term behaviour of chromium in urban sediment particulates
No full textPurpose: Chromium, a potentially harmful element, occurs commonly within the urban sediment cascade as a result of abundant industrial and transport-related sources. The risks that Cr-bearing particles pose to ecosystems and humans depend on the solid phase chemical speciation of Cr and its environmental mobility. In this study, we adopt an integrated geochemical approach to investigate and determine the long-term fate of Cr in the urban sediment cascade.
Materials and methods: We use bulk chemical digests, sequential chemical extraction analysis, electron microscopy, electron microprobe and microfocus XANES analysis to describe the solid-phase speciation, geochemical characteristics and potential long-term behaviour of Cr in urban particulate matter from both aquatic sediment and road dust sediment (RDS) in Manchester, UK.
Results and discussion: Cr-bearing grains within RDS and aquatic sediment are predominantly iron oxides and alumino-silicate glass grains. Electron microprobe analysis indicates Cr concentrations up to 3,300 μg g-1 and 133,400 μg g-1 in the RDS and aquatic grains, respectively. XANES analysis indicates that Cr(III) is the dominant oxidation state, with only trace amounts of Cr(VI). Importantly, Cr speciation does not appear to have changed between sedimentary environments and the dominance of Cr(III) suggests limited bioavailability or toxicity under predominant environmental (anoxic and neutral pH) conditions in the aquatic sediment sink. Furthermore, geochemical analyses suggest the environmental mobility of Cr in the aquatic sediment sink is low (compared to other toxic metals) due to its association mainly with alumino-silicate glass grains and its inclusion as an integral part of the glass structure.
Conclusions: Industrial glass grains are a major component of urban sediment worldwide. The speciation and geochemical investigations performed in this study suggest most Cr within the urban sediment cascade may be resistant to environmental processes that could mobilise other toxic metals
Dirty and 40 days in the wilderness: Eliciting childbirth and postnatal cultural practices and beliefs in Nepal
No full textPregnancy and childbirth are socio-cultural events that carry varying meanings across different societies and cultures. These are often translated into social expectations of what a particular society expects women to do (or not to do) during pregnancy, birth and/or the postnatal period. This paper reports a study exploring beliefs around childbirth in Nepal, a low-income country with a largely Hindu population. The paper then sets these findings in the context of the wider global literature around issues such as periods where women are viewed as polluted (or dirty even) after childbirth
Polynuclear Cu4I4py4 complex loaded in mesoporous silica: Photophysics, theoretical investigation, and highly sensitive oxygen sensing application
No full textThe polynuclear Cu4I4py4 complex has been largely studied in solution and in the powder form due to its interesting luminescent properties, which are largely dependent on temperature and pressure. In this work, we present the synthesis of the complex and its wet impregnation in a mesoporous silica host obtained by sol-gel methodology. For optimized guest loadings, the well-dispersed guest molecules exhibit strong interaction with molecular oxygen, resulting in a significant quenching of the luminescence. The process is highly reversible with a Stern-Volmer constant of Ksv = 33.8, which is the largest value found in the literature for similar complexes in the solid state, suggesting that the new material is a promising candidate for high sensitivity oxygen sensing. Density Functional Theory (DFT) and Time-Dependent DFT (TD-DFT) calculations reveal a weak intermolecular interaction between two guest complexes in the excited state, suggesting the formation of an excited state complex (excimer). The assumption of triplet excimer formation is confirmed by temperature- and concentration-dependent experiments, which provides a new way to explain the giant Stokes shift observed for the guest complex in different media
Janus-faced Youth Justice Work and the Transformation of Accountability
Full text linkThis article revisits claims about the relationship between ‘standardisation’, ‘discretion’ and ‘accountability’ in youth justice made in the wake of the Crime and Disorder Act 1998. We argue that less centralisation and less standardisation have transformed accountability, but this is experienced differently according to the place held in the organisational hierarchy. This recognition demands a more nuanced understanding of ‘practitioner discretion’, which can account for differences between managerial and frontline experiences of what we describe as ‘janus-faced youth justice work’, and a broad definition of the youth justice field and associated actors
FOREIGN LANGUAGES IN PRIMARY EDUCATION IN ENGLAND: AN ETHNOGRAPHIC CASE STUDY OF THREE SCHOOL CONTEXTS
Full text linkThis study focuses on primary foreign language teaching and learning. It seeks to reveal the perspectives and practice of three different stakeholders: specialist teachers, generalist teachers and head teachers. The study then places these beliefs and practice within a local, national and international context, considering the supporting factors for Primary Foreign Languages (PFL), as well as the challenges. It is a timely piece of research as it was conducted during the period when foreign language learning, for the first time in England, became statutory in primary schools. Furthermore, it took place during a timeframe of rapid change at all levels of education, which has had an effect on the translation of policy to practice. Data collection took place in two phases. In Phase One, an initial PFL practice mapping online questionnaire was sent to all schools in the Local Authority (LA) (n=69). Three schools agreed to participate. In Phase Two data collection methods employed in each of the three schools consisted of participant observations, semi-structured interviews, a self-reflective diary, informal conversation with staff and analysis of policy documents. The findings of the study show that all stakeholders in each school were supportive of PFL. However, this support did not translate into practice as the responsibility for PFL often rested solely with the specialist. As a result, the subject and specialists could be described as annexed, not fully integrated into the curriculum, and the specialists sought support from private companies instead of internally within the school. The majority of generalist teachers did not feel qualified to deliver the subject and there was a lack of future training options open to teachers wishing to train as PFL specialists. Those teachers who did express an interest in learning how to teach PFL felt that they could not engage fully with this endeavour due to internal and external pressure imposed upon them to achieve the highest possible pupil attainment in English and Maths. A disconnect was also revealed between the teachers’ most popular rationale for PFL teaching, which was preparing children to be ‘21st century global citizens’, and their actual practice. The teachers in the study recognised that, through learning a language and experiencing its culture, it may be possible to move from “egocentricity and ethnocentricity to a more altruistic sense of mutual benefit” (Byram, 2008:131). However, while espousing support for the teaching of intercultural understanding (ICU), the study reveals a lack of understanding in practice from stakeholders, policy writers and teachers. Overall, there is much goodwill for PFL as a subject, however, due to national and international drivers, it occupies a vulnerable place within the curriculum
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