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Creating and evaluating transition from primary to high school utilising children’s rights.
No full textThe United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) sets out a series of rights for children. UNICEF has developed a Rights Respecting Schools Award (RRSA) through which schools can embed a whole-school approach to the UNCRC. This research used action research in an RRSA primary school to create and evaluate a rights-based transition process for a cohort of Year 6 pupils (10-11 years old). Data were collected from a questionnaire developed with pupils, a researcher diary, a staff focus group and a group interview with four pupils (11-12 years old) in their first term at high school following the rights-based transition. The utility of embedding rights in the transition process to support preparation and transfer of rights is identified, as is the importance of a visible rights framework to enable pupils to continue to promote and work towards rights realisation throughout transition and at their new setting
High Flux Thin Film Composite PIM-1 Membranes for Butanol Recovery: Experimental Study and Process Simulation
No full textThin film composite (TFC) membranes of the prototypical polymer of intrinsic microporosity (PIM-1) have been prepared by dip coating on a highly porous electrospun polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) nanofibrous support. Prior to coating, the support was impregnated in a non-solvent to avoid the penetration of PIM-1 inside the PVDF network. Different non-solvents were considered and the results were compared with those of the dry support. When applied for the separation of n-butanol/water mixtures by pervaporation (PV), the developed membranes exhibited very high permeate fluxes, in the range of 16.1-35.4 kg m-2 h-1, with an acceptable n-butanol/water separation factor of about 8. The PV separation index (PSI) of the prepared membranes is around 115, which is among the highest PSI values that have been reported so far. Hybrid PV-distillation systems have been designed and modelled in Aspen HYSYS using Aspen Custom Modeler for setting up the PIM-1 TFC and commercial PDMS membranes as a benchmark. The butanol recovery cost for the hybrid systems is compared with a conventional standalone distillation process used for n-butanol/water separation and a 10% reduction in recovery cost was obtained
Adsorption desalination: Advances in porous adsorbents
No full textWith the continuous growth of the world population, the demand for fresh water is ever increasing. Water desalination is a means of producing fresh water from saline water, and one of the proposed solutions in the scientific community for solving the current global freshwater shortage. Adsorption is foreseen as a promising technology for desalination due to its relatively low energy requirements, low environmental impact, low cost and high salt removal efficiency. More importantly, chemicals are not required in adsorption processes. Active carbons, zeolites, carbon nanostructures, graphene and coordination framework materials are amongst the most investigated adsorbents for adsorption desalination, which show different performances regarding adsorption rate, adsorption capacity, stability and recyclability. In this review, the latest adsorbent materials with their features are assessed (using metrics) and commented critically, and the current trend for their development is discussed. The adsorption mode is also reviewed, which can provide guidance for the design of adsorbents from the engineering application point of view
Xar-Trek: Run-time Execution Migration among FPGAs and Heterogeneous-ISA CPUs
No full textDatacenter servers are increasingly heterogeneous: from x86 host CPUs, to ARM or RISC-V CPUs in NICs/SSDs, to FPGAs. Previous works have demonstrated that migrating application execution at run-time across heterogeneous-ISA CPUs can yield significant performance and energy gains, with relatively little programmer effort. However, FPGAs have often been overlooked in that context: hardware acceleration using FPGAs involves statically implementing select application functions, which prohibits dynamic and transparent migration. We present Xar-Trek, a new compiler and run-time software framework that overcomes this limitation. Xar-Trek compiles an application for several CPU ISAs and select application functions for acceleration on an FPGA, allowing execution migration between heterogeneous-ISA CPUs and FPGAs at run-time. Xar-Trek’s run-time monitors server workloads and migrates application functions to an FPGA or to heterogeneous-ISA CPUs based on a scheduling policy. We develop a heuristic policy that uses application workload profiles to make scheduling decisions. Our evaluations conducted on a system with x86-64 server CPUs, ARM64 server CPUs, and an Alveo accelerator card reveal 88%-1% performance gains over no-migration baselines
Romantic Attachment and Support Adequacy in New Mothers
No full textIn the present research, we examined whether attachment anxiety and avoidance in support recipients were related to the extent to which social support received from a romantic partner matched the actual needs of the recipient. In addition, we examined whether receiving too much support from one’s partner (i.e., over-provision of support) was perceived as less helpful than not receiving enough support. Two-hundred and forty-five first-time mothers, currently involved in romantic relationships, participated in study 1, in which perceptions of support were appraised over the previous month using self-reports. In study 2, we sought to replicate these findings using an experience sampling method to examine the association between attachment and momentary support perceptions in the daily life of mothers with babies (N = 40). Results indicated that high levels of attachment avoidance or anxiety in mothers were associated with negative appraisals of support matching and with perceptions of being under-supported
Embracing nature’s complexity: Immunoparasitology in the wild
No full textA wealth of research is dedicated to understanding how resistance against parasites is conferred and how parasite-driven pathology is regulated. This research is in part driven by the hope to better treatments for parasitic diseases of humans and livestock, and in part by immunologists who use parasitic infections as biomedical tools to evoke physiological immune responses. Much of the current mechanistic knowledge has been discovered in laboratory studies using model organisms, especially the laboratory mouse. However, wildlife are also hosts to a range of parasites. Through the study of host-parasite interactions in these non-laboratory systems we can gain a deeper understanding of parasite immunology in a more natural, complex environment. With a focus on helminth parasites, we here explore the insights gained into parasite-induced immune responses through (for immunologists) non-conventional experimental systems, and how current core findings from laboratory studies are reflected in these more natural conditions. The quality of the immune response is undoubtedly a central player in susceptibility versus resistance, as many laboratory studies have shown. Yet, in the wild, parasite infections tend to be chronic diseases. Whilst reading our review, we encourage the reader to consider the following questions which may (only) be answered by studying naturally occurring parasites in the wild: a) what type of immune responses are mounted against parasites in different hosts in the wild, and how do they vary within an individual over time, between individuals of the same species and between species? b) can we use wild or semi-wild study systems to understand the evolutionary drivers for tolerance versus resistance towards a parasite? c) what determines the ability of the host to cope with an infection and is there a link with the type of immune response mounted? d) can we modulate environmental factors to manipulate a wild animal’s immune response to parasitic infections, with translation potential for humans, wildlife, and livestock? and e) in context of this special issue, what lessons for type 2 immunity can we glean from studying animals in their natural environments? Further, we aim to integrate some of the knowledge gained in semi-wild and wild settings with knowledge gained from traditional laboratory-based research, and to raise awareness for the opportunities (and challenges) that come with integrating a multitude of naturally-occurring variables into immunoparasitological research
How do gender-diverse young people experience high school? A systematic literature review
No full textAims: The current review provides an overview of the international research relating to the lived high school (ages 11-16) experiences of gender-diverse young people. Method: Web and database searches were conducted between October 2019 and January 2020 to identify 12 studies which included direct, first-hand testimonial experiences relating to high school. Data were analysed using thematic synthesis. Findings: The findings indicate that gender-diverse youth experience a range of both negative and affirming experiences throughout high school linked to key themes including cisnormativity, language, identity, relationships and transphobia. Limitations: Not all database searches proved productive, therefore hand searches, reference harvesting and grey literature searches were also conducted. However, given the variability in terminology within this field, there is the possibility that not all relevant literature may have been captured through this process.Conclusions: Findings are discussed in relation to inclusive practices which schools may adopt to support their gender-diverse students. Strategies include: the avoidance of accommodating approaches to inclusion; adopting rights respecting principles; embedding safe and supportive spaces for self-determination; and providing further training for educators. The paper also discusses implications for professional practice
Is COVID-19 associated with self-reported audio-vestibular symptoms?
No full textObjective: To determine if a positive test for COVID-19 is associated with self-reported audio-vestibular symptoms.Design: Self-reported changes in hearing, tinnitus, hyperacusis, and dizziness/rotatory vertigo were assessed in hospitalised and non-hospitalised COVID-19 patients during and after the acute phase of the disease and compared to non-COVID controls. Study sample: There were 150 severe cases of COVID-19 requiring hospital admission and 150 mild cases that were managed at home. Controls were 267 adults, 32 of whom had been hospitalised for a non-COVID-19 condition, and a further 85 who worked in hospital settings.Results : Deterioration in hearing and/or tinnitus was reported in 8% of the COVID-19 cases (tinnitus had resolved in 2% after the acute phase), with no significant difference between severe and mild cases. Deterioration in hearing or tinnitus was not significantly different from controls. However, rotatory vertigo was reported by 5% in the COVID-19 groups and 1.1% in the controls, and this difference was statistically significant.Conclusions: There is no evidence that COVID-19 results in deterioration in hearing or tinnitus during the acute phase or after recovery in mild or severe cases. However, rotatory vertigo, which could be vestibular in origin, may be a clinical manifestation of COVID-19
COVID-19 in women with rheumatic disease who are pregnant: Data from the COVID-19 Global Rheumatology Alliance
No full textObjectivesTo describe coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19) and pregnancy outcomes in patients with rheumatic disease who were pregnant at the time of infection.MethodsSince March 2020 the COVID-19 Global Rheumatology Alliance (GRA) has collected cases of patients with rheumatic disease with COVID-19. We report details of pregnant women at the time of COVID-19 infection, including obstetric details separately ascertained from providers.ResultsWe report on 39 patients, including 22 with obstetric detail available. The mean and median age was 33 years, range 24-45 years. Rheumatic disease diagnoses included: rheumatoid arthritis (n=9), systemic lupus erythematosus (n=9), psoriatic/other inflammatory arthritides (n=8) and anti-phospholipid antibody syndrome (n=6). Most had a term birth (16/22), with 3 pre-term births, one termination, one miscarriage and one woman yet to deliver at time of report. A quarter (n=10/39) of pregnant women were hospitalised following COVID-19 diagnosis. Two of 39 (5%) required supplemental oxygen (both hospitalised); no patient died. The majority did not receive specific medication treatment for their COVID-19 (n=32/39, 82%), seven patients received some combination of anti-malarials, colchicine, anti-IL-1beta, azithromycin, glucocorticoids, and lopinavir/ritonavir.ConclusionWomen with rheumatic diseases who were pregnant at the time of COVID-19 had favourable outcomes. These data have limitations due to the small size and methodology, though they provide cautious optimism for pregnancy outcomes for women with rheumatic disease given the increased risk of poor outcomes that have been reported in other series of pregnant women with COVID-19.<br/
Modelling hollow thermoplastic syntactic foams under high-strain compressive loading
No full textThe mechanical response of syntactic foams comprising hollow thermoplastic microspheres (HTMs) embedded in a polyurethane matrix were experimentally examined under uniaxial compressive strain. Phenomenological strain energy models were subsequently developed to capture both the axial stress-strain and transverse strain response of the foams. HTM syntactic foams were found to exhibit increased small-strain stiffness with reduced density, revealing a highlytuneable and extremely lightweight syntactic foam blend for applications. The foams were also found to become strongly compressible at large strains and possess a high threshold for plastic deformation, making them a robust alternative to hollow glass microsphere syntactic foams. The non-standard transverse strain relationship exhibited by HTM syntactic foams at high filling fractions was captured by Ogden-type strain energy models. The thermal characteristics of these syntactic foams were also explored with Differential Scanning Calorimetry testing which showed that HTMs have a negligible impact on the thermal characteristics of the matrix