The goal for learners to make successful use of information technology (IT) has become a staple of education policy and curriculum. The literature about how this can be achieved offers various ...conceptions of this goal, namely, skills, competence, literacy, fluency, capabilities, etc. When these concepts are reified as a taxonomy or model, they are presented in abstract forms distinct from the people who are supposed to attain them: in particular their attitudes and aspirations, which can change over time. This study, informed by Legitimation Code Theory’s (LCT) ‘specialisation’ concept (Maton 2014), surveyed student nurses (n = 310) in one UK university to find out what approach to learning they thought would lead to success in IT. The survey asked participants to select from four different ‘specialisation’ codes for four different subjects, and the responses were normalised. Each of the three year groups revealed a ‘code shift’, from a ‘knowledge code’ (ER+,SR-) in year 1, to a ‘relativist code’ (ER-,SR-) in year 2, to a ‘knower code’ (ER-,SR+) in year 3. The discussion offers some possible causes for these shifts and points to a possible contribution towards the field of digital literacies which has often depicted success in IT as a knowledge code, largely bypassing aspects of personality and intuition seen in the responses from year 3 students. Clearly further research would be needed to affirm and explicate these shifts.
An ac/dc + dual active bridge (DAB) circuit was found as one solution for the high-efficiency and high-power-density electric vehicle charger. One control option is to let the ac/dc part only convert ...the grid voltage to a double-line-frequency folded sine wave and let the DAB stage handle both the power factor (PF) and power delivery. While conventional single-phase-shift tends to lose zero-voltage switching (ZVS) at light load and the variable-switching-frequency dual-phase-shift (DPS) sacrifices the light-load performance, this letter proposes a multiple-phase-shift control, which allows for a fixed-switching-frequency triple-phase-shift (TPS) control at the light load to enhance the grid power quality. At medium- and heavy-load conditions, a phase-shift jump from TPS to DPS is performed to reduce the circulating current and improve efficiency. The proposed control strategy secures ZVS, realizes unity PF accurately and minimizes the control complexity. Experimental results on a SiC-based 7.2-kW charger validated its effectiveness and the smooth transition between the heavy load and light load.
Fasiglifam (TAK-875), a Free Fatty Acid Receptor 1 (FFAR1) agonist in development for the treatment of type 2 diabetes, was voluntarily terminated in phase 3 due to adverse liver effects. A ...mechanistic investigation described in this manuscript focused on the inhibition of bile acid (BA) transporters as a driver of the liver findings. TAK-875 was an in vitro inhibitor of multiple influx (NTCP and OATPs) and efflux (BSEP and MRPs) hepatobiliary BA transporters at micromolar concentrations. Repeat dose studies determined that TAK-875 caused a dose-dependent increase in serum total BA in rats and dogs. Additionally, there were dose-dependent increases in both unconjugated and conjugated individual BAs in both species. Rats had an increase in serum markers of liver injury without correlative microscopic signs of tissue damage. Two of 6 dogs that received the highest dose of TAK-875 developed liver injury with clinical pathology changes, and by microscopic analysis had portal granulomatous inflammation with neutrophils around a crystalline deposition. The BA composition of dog bile also significantly changed in a dose-dependent manner following TAK-875 administration. At the highest dose, levels of taurocholic acid were 50% greater than in controls with a corresponding 50% decrease in taurochenodeoxycholic acid. Transporter inhibition by TAK-875 may cause liver injury in dogs through altered bile BA composition characteristics, as evidenced by crystalline deposition, likely composed of test article, in the bile duct. In conclusion, a combination of in vitro and in vivo evidence suggests that BA transporter inhibition could contribute to TAK-875-mediated liver injury in dogs.
At a time when interventions in widening access to, and participation in, higher education aim to maximise impact by engaging with schools located in the most deprived communities, school pupils in ...rural communities, and who experience deprivation, are, in practice, less likely to benefit. Using statistics available from the Scottish government, we show that state secondary schools located in Scottish remote or rural areas are not well served by the indicators capturing socio‐economic, educational, or geographical deprivation widely used in the selection of schools for these outreach interventions. We construct a marker that identifies schools facing higher levels of deprivation than the Scottish average. We argue that (1) this marker is a step in the direction towards levelling the playing field between remote or rural schools and urban schools; and (2) it selects a wider range of schools for outreach interventions.
BackgroundAcute exacerbations of asthma are common in children, however, treatment decisions for severe exacerbations are challenging due to a lack of robust evidence. In order to create more robust ...research, a core set of outcome measures needs to be developed. In developing these outcomes, it is important to understand the views of clinicians who care for these children in particular, views that relate to outcome measures and research priorities.MethodsTo determine the views of clinicians, a total of 26 semistructured interviews based on the theoretical domains framework were conducted. These included experienced clinicians from emergency, intensive care and inpatient paediatrics across 17 countries. The interviews were recorded, and later transcribed. All data analyses were conducted in Nvivo by using thematic analysis.ResultsThe length of stay in hospital and patient-focused parameters, such as timing to return to school and normal activity, were the most frequently highlighted outcome measures, with clinicians identifying the need to achieve a consensus on key core outcome measure sets. Most research questions focused on understanding the best treatment options, including the role of novel therapies and respiratory support.ConclusionOur study provides an insight into what research questions and outcome measures clinicians view as important. In addition, information on how clinicians define asthma severity and measure treatment success will assist with methodological design in future trials. The current findings will be used in parallel with a further Paediatric Emergency Research Network study focusing on the child and family perspectives and will contribute to develop a core outcome set for future research.
There are almost two million people in the United Kingdom living with sight loss, including around 360,000 people who are registered as blind or partially sighted. Sight threatening diseases, such as ...diabetic retinopathy and age related macular degeneration have contributed to the 40% increase in outpatient attendances in the last decade but are amenable to early detection and monitoring. With early and appropriate intervention, blindness may be prevented in many cases.
Ophthalmic imaging provides a way to diagnose and objectively assess the progression of a number of pathologies including neovascular ("wet") age-related macular degeneration (wet AMD) and diabetic retinopathy. Two methods of imaging are commonly used: digital photographs of the fundus (the 'back' of the eye) and Optical Coherence Tomography (OCT, a modality that uses light waves in a similar way to how ultrasound uses sound waves). Changes in population demographics and expectations and the changing pattern of chronic diseases creates a rising demand for such imaging. Meanwhile, interrogation of such images is time consuming, costly, and prone to human error. The application of novel analysis methods may provide a solution to these challenges.
This research will focus on applying novel machine learning algorithms to automatic analysis of both digital fundus photographs and OCT in Moorfields Eye Hospital NHS Foundation Trust patients.
Through analysis of the images used in ophthalmology, along with relevant clinical and demographic information, Google DeepMind Health will investigate the feasibility of automated grading of digital fundus photographs and OCT and provide novel quantitative measures for specific disease features and for monitoring the therapeutic success.
Summary
This offers doctoral students a detailed, sympathetic and accessible overview of action research, broadly defined and illustrated with ten exemplar chapters. Three of these chapters are ...directly relevant to learning technology research. Recommended for institutional libraries, from where, if the content of this book is likely to be relevant to you, I strongly suggest that you arrange to borrow a copy for a while.
Mike Johnson
Summary This offers doctoral students a detailed, sympathetic and accessible overview of action research, broadly defined and illustrated with ten exemplar chapters. Three of these chapters are ...directly relevant to learning technology research. Recommended for institutional libraries, from where, if the content of this book is likely to be relevant to you, I strongly suggest that you arrange to borrow a copy for a while. Mike Johnson
Summary "Teaching" is in the title and the target audience is American, yet anyone using the internet can benefit from thumbing through these pages. Doing that will give you personal insight and ...strategies that will enhance any search, and raise awareness of the ethical dimension of dealing with what you find. Teachers of all subjects will enjoy the book's practical suggestions for embedding aspects of information fluency in class. If you feel the content of this book is relevant to you, I strongly suggest you borrow a copy for a while. Mike Johnson
The Frampton Cotterell fibre-reinforced polymer road bridge deck comprises pultruded glass-fibre-reinforced polymer units which are laid longitudinally and are adhesively bonded transversely, in ...contrast to previous glass-fibre-reinforced polymer deck bridges where the pultruded units were laid transversely. This novel layout dictates that transverse distribution of live loading occurs only through the deck’s flanges and entails possible transverse tension which should be controlled to avoid cracks through the bonded deck–deck joints. This article assesses these structural actions by interpreting strains and deflections recorded during lorry testing of the bridge. Transverse distribution is evaluated by comparing transverse profiles of recorded longitudinal strains and of predicted longitudinal moments, with the conclusions qualitatively reinforced using a deflected surface based on the test recordings. Evidence of the deck acting as a continuum free of propagating joint cracks comes from the fact that the strains recorded during complementary lorry runs along the bridge satisfy the superposition principle and that the recorded strain influence lines replicate an idiosyncratic feature of the moment influence line without redistribution effects. That feature was then exploited to inform the strategy for a braking test which produced valuable vibration data for the bridge. Test data integrity is corroborated by cross checking deflections recorded from different types of sensors. It is concluded that since longitudinal placement of pultruded decks enhances the versatility of fibre-reinforced polymer bridges, this sensor layout and data interpretation process may form part of a wider strategy for health monitoring of such bridges.
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